More on OA for lay readers

Yesterday news broke that a new species of mouse had been discovered in Cyprus.  Mark Stoeckle reports that 193 mainstream news media picked up the story --and that the original peer-reviewed article is only accessible to subscribers.  His conclusion:  

Limited access limits taxonomy....The press coverage of this article demonstrates discovery of new species is of wide public interest, and there are many persons who would want to read beyond the headlines. As it stands, readership is often limited to a small number of specialists, guaranteeing continuing obscurity for taxonomic science.  Open access for new species descriptions could help increase visibility and willingness to fund taxonomic science.