Scientists get media-savvy? It’s about time.

The New York Times reports on “science for the Mediacene age, the unveiling at the American Museum of Natural History of a 47-million-year-old fossil that some claim “could revolutionize the understanding of human evolution.”

Coinciding with “the publishing of a peer-reviewed article about the find (the event) is the first stop in a coordinated, branded media event, orchestrated by the scientists and the History Channel, including a film detailing the secretive two-year study of the fossil, a book release, an exclusive arrangement with ABC News and an elaborate Web site.”