A group of 111 basic and applied scientists from two Ohio university campuses was interviewed to gather data about the amount of contact between scientists and media reporters, and the effects of such contact on scientists' attitudes toward media coverage of science. The data indicated that scientists had been interviewed by journalists much more frequently than hypothesized, with 75% of the sample expressing interest in further contact with journalists. Social scientists and scientists higher in academic rank had been contacted more freqently than had any other kinds of scientists. Both rank and amount of contact were positively related to evaluations of the quality of mass media science reporting, while scientists were far more critical of media coverage of their own specialty areas than they were of coverage of science in general. (Author/RL)