AFAIK, any material published by US government agencies is automatically public domain. This implies that all NASA photos which are published are automatically put in the public domain.

In contrast, our (European) publicly funded research institutes and space agencies do not have this legal constraint.

So it's nothing to do with good will or good media planning by the leaderships of either US or European institutes: it's due to a legal constraint which presumably was obtained during one or another of various civil rights campaigns or defence/interpretation of constitutional rights in the USA. (i'd be curious to hear specifically how this happened...)

The article corresponds exactly with my experience as a radio journalist. I never realized why scientific organizations pay a lot of money for brochures, snacks at press conferences and all the like, but are unfamiliar with the essential needs of communication.

Then they wonder why the media isn't so much interested in their work and might even blame them for this (and, of course, the deficient public). Of course, this is a general observation, I am not talking about ESA or NASA.

ESA appears to put significant effort into its PR activities, but unlike with NASA it pays little or no regard to journalistic demand, and it has no public-friendly face. That is, ESA gives reporters only what it thinks is appropriate, not what journalists ask for.

Professional media workers aside, ESA's online outreach material is not exactly attractive to families casually websurfing of a lazy Sunday afternoon. ESA doesn't do fun, despite the inclusion of a token "kids" section on the "web portal". This is a pale imitation of the NASA equivalent.

ESA is a classic example of an arcane and media-unfriendly bureaucracy, but there are similar problems with a number of other institutions, including the European Commission. Much of my science writing involves reporting on developments in materials science, and I've become so frustrated with official bodies that I tend now to avoid covering European science and technology policy stories unless I'm not reliant on official input, and can replace this with an empty chair if needs be.

US federal agencies can also be obstructive, but it is definitely easier to get our friends across the Pond to respond to journalistic requests. Many European PR people simply expect journalists to regurgitate press releases. And often when one manages to secure interviews with officials, the responses are content-free.