✍️Science Writing News Roundup #125

Can Mastodon be a reasonable Twitter substitute for journalists?

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💡Articles

• Can Mastodon be a reasonable Twitter substitute for journalists?

• Answering 6 common questions journalists have about Mastodon.

• A new approach to teaching science can help inoculate against misinformation, Stanford researchers say.

• Journalists reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic relied on research that had yet to be peer reviewed.

• The science writer every science nerd wants you to read: A visit with David Quammen, who confronted in COVID a story that refused to stay at a safe distance.

• The 2022 Lancet climate change and health report: Dire warnings and glimmers of hope. The seventh annual report finds climate change is increasingly undermining every pillar of good health and compounding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing conflicts. While mitigation efforts remain inadequate, the report does offer some hope.

🎼Videos/Podcasts

• Tripledemic: A virtual conversation with NYT Reporter Apoorva Mandavilli.

• The feminist test we keep failing: Named for the science writer, Ann Finkbeiner, the Finkbeiner Test is a checklist for writing profiles of female scientists without being sexist.

• Climate Communication - A Carbon Brief Special with Ayesha Tandon on the importance of inclusive journalism and how to get involved in journalism.

• A conversation with Naomi Oreskes, a professor of the history of science at Harvard University. She is author of Why Trust Science? (Princeton University Press, 2019) and co-author of Discerning Experts (University of Chicago, 2019).

• Get Unstuck: Aha! Moments in Editing | Student Journalism Challenge

🧵Tweets

marion renault @MarionRenault

characters, plot, scenes, themes, and dialogue are *not* just for longform! in my first for @Open_Notebook, I collected some excellent advice for how to infuse even the shortest of stories with narrative:

theopennotebook.comHow to Cultivate Narrative in Stories of All Lengths - The Open NotebookWe often reserve storytelling’s basic elements—characters, plot, scene, theme, and dialogue—for long-form work, where they can take root and bloom through intensive research, reporting, and editing. News writing’s speed and rhythm can simply feel incompatible with narrative’s transportive qualities.…

The Open Notebook @Open_Notebook

NEWS! 📰 TON is growing!! While these 3 wonderful science writers have been doing regular work with us for a while, we’ve made it official by adding them to our masthead! Please welcome @yosoynes_, @elaberwarren and @sandeeprtweets! theopennotebook.com/editorial-team/

theopennotebook.comEditorial Team - The Open NotebookMeet the people of The Open Notebook. Siri Carpenter, co-founder and editor-in-chief. Jeanne Erdmann, co-founder and editor-at-large.

🌾Resources

• Resources for covering RSV and the ‘tripledemic.’ Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, are overwhelming hospitals, and some health care experts are urging families to bring back some of the pandemic’s mitigation measures during the holiday.

• Tips for new environmental reporters + How to transcribe audio recordings 👉Bonus content for monthly supporters.

☄️Opportunities

• Calls for pitches to write about sustainability, medicine, Covid-19, and the environment + Reporting grants and fellowships for science writers👉Bonus content for monthly supporters.

🎺Events

• Royal Society Science Book Prize award ceremony (November 29, 2022)

• Freelancing FAQs: An Interactive Workshop (November 29, 2022)

• The Climate Lens: A Workshop for Screenwriting in the Age of Climate Change (November 29, 2022)

• A Virtual Conversation with Ryan Prior, Author of The Long Haul: Solving the Puzzle of the Pandemic's Long Haulers and How They Are Changing Healthcare Forever (November 30, 2022)

• How to Cover the Illegal Wildlife Trade (December 1, 2022)

• Fiver Fridays: Dr Claire Price - Writing About Science for the Public (December 2, 2022)

• Covering Maternal Health in Post-Roe America (December 5, 2022)

• Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains holiday party (December 5, 2022)

• Beyond COP27: Who will pay for climate solutions? (December 7, 2022)

• Experts on Camera, Dr. Seema Lakdawala: Influenza (December 8, 2022)

🛤️Jobs

👉Check out 7 science writing jobs, click here to become a member!

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