✍️Science Writing News Roundup #13 (October 23, 2020)
The last day of #SciWri20 + What makes scientific writing hard and how to make it easier + Seminars for underrepresented science writers + Emerging technologies in science journalism
👏 Resources
Apply for The Open Notebook/Burroughs Wellcome Fund fellowship for early-career science writers by October 25, 2020. The fellowship will be remote, part-time and each fellow will receive a stipend of $4,200!
Become a better writer with these online tools: Here are some tools that can flag the worst of your mistakes, offer advice, and help you get your thoughts and ideas in order so you can communicate them more efficiently.
SciLine’s free "matching" service connects reporters with credible scientist-sources, on deadline. If you are writing a story about a 2020 election issue and have a science question for an expert, SciLine can help connect you rapidly!
🥁 Opportunities
The Best Shortform Science Writing project is compiling a list as an online resource for science writers who are interested in writing news and front-of-book articles. Submit your favorite short science articles!
The Association of British Science Writers is developing a new ABSW mentoring scheme. They would like your input at this early stage so that they can shape the scheme around your needs!
💎 Tips
Writing science: What makes scientific writing hard and how to make it easier. Why is academic writing so difficult? In this article, Kathleen E. Grogan suggests simple strategies for developing the skill of scientific writing:
“When writing, you should have concrete, accomplishable goals every time you sit down, like writing 500 words, editing four pages, or writing for 30 minutes.”
“Feedback is critical to improving your writing and will be a necessary and persistent presence throughout your career.”
A day in the life of Maya Wei-Haas, a science writer at National Geographic and former AAAS Mass Media Fellow. “I use Pear Note for my interviews. It records while I type so when I go back through my notes, it will skip back to precisely the point in the audio that was happening when I was typing. I also use a mix of Quip and Google Docs for writing things up—autosave and history functions are key for me,” she says.
Today is the last day of ScienceWriters2020, join the conversation on Twitter (#SciWri20)!
🎤 Videos
Propelling and protecting science through storytelling: Learn about strategies and innovations in science communication and storytelling to effectively connect with a variety of non-science audiences.
Meet a science writer: Dr. Theanne Griffith is a neuroscientist and the author of the STEM-themed chapter book series, The Magnificent Makers.
Winners of the science writing awards given by the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing and the National Association of Science Writers talk about their winning stories!
The pandemic's impacts on families, kids, and college students: This was the third event in the series "COVID-19 Science & Coverage."
Rethinking science communication: Science stories in perspective. A discussion at The EuroScience Open Forum ESOF2020 Trieste (Click here to read the session description!)
“Journalism in the time of crisis” with Ed Yong, Science Writer at The Atlantic.
📻 News
New Scientist editor Emily Wilson: “We've completely changed our business, all from our bedrooms.” Emily explains how the magazine has survived the pandemic and why it will be in better shape at the end of 2020 than at the start.
This summer, NASW offered a virtual mentoring program for students. Congratulations to the students whose pieces were selected for publication by Eos, the Indianapolis Star, Inside Science, Nautilus, Physics World, Science News for Students, and Scientific American.
Science writer wins top honor among national peers: CU Boulder senior science editor Lisa Marshall won this year’s Excellence in Institutional Writing Award in the short-form category. Her article, “Healthy, stress-busting fat found hidden in dirt,” explores how exposure to microbes in soil can improve peoples’ mental health.
The Brazilian Ministry of Science used a generic Shutterstock infographic to present Covid-19 data. In a public statement, the Ministry of Science said that the graphic was for illustrative purposes only — and avoided the much-needed apology for trying to manipulate Brazilians.
🌍 Events
“Science journalism during the pandemic: How do you keep up with the facts and the fears.” Science journalist Wendy Zukerman will deliver her lecture at the Trottier Public Science Symposium on October 26.
Join the Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains for a recap of the ScienceWriters2020 meeting! Kicking off the discussion will be Kendall Powell and Hillary Rosner, followed by opportunities to talk and network further with fellow science writers from across the U.S. (October 27, 2020)
Kendra Pierre-Louis from Gimlet Media joins UW–Madison professor Dietram Scheufele for a discussion on climate change and climate reporting, as well as how the media and the public discuss and frame controversial topics, including the coronavirus response. (October 28, 2020)
Johns Hopkins University MA in Science Writing Online Information Session (October 29, 2020)
Award-winning journalist Ed Yong to discuss covering the Covid-19 pandemic in Amanpour Lecture (October 29, 2020)
Freelancer Etiquette: Navigating Writer-Editor Relationships (October 29, 2020)
The Art of the Interview with Frank Sesno (DC Science Writers Association, October 29, 2020)
Kavli Conversations on Science Communication: Writing About Weird Biology for More than Just Laughs (October 29, 2020)
The Living at the Intersection Symposium (LIS) 2020 will examine the topic of “Truth and Evidence” at the intersection of STEM and the arts, humanities, and social sciences (October 30, 2020)
Is science writing the solution? A panel discussion hosted by Professor Alice Roberts, followed by the announcement of the winner of the 2020 Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize (November 3, 2020)
AAAS Mass Media Fellowship Panel. Join alumni of the AAAS Mass Media Fellowship for a panel on their experiences being a fellow as well as applying to the program. (November 5, 2020)
State of Science Writing 2020: Has our profession prospered in 2020, or has it done badly like the broader economy? (November 10, 2020)
Seminars for Underrepresented Science Writers👉Writing a Science Book (November 4, 2020), 👉The Science Journalism Panel (November 10, 2020), 👉The Science Writer Panel (November 17, 2020)
Signals from the future: Emerging technologies in science journalism (November 4-5, 2020)
Belgian SciComm Network Meeting: Sessions include “Perspectives on science journalism in Belgium”, and “Science in the press: Lessons from COVID” (November 17, 2020)
Science in the Newsroom Global Summit 2020 (November 23-24, 2020)
🚀 Career opportunities
Content Creator (Part-time), Paperpile
Science Communicator, The University of Colorado Boulder, CO
Scientific Writer, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN
Editorial Content Manager, Kew Gardens, London, UK
Communications Fellow, The MIT Governance Lab, Cambridge, MA
Science Journalist/Communicator, European Science Communication Institute (ESCI), Brussels, Belgium
Research Scientific Writer, UC San Diego, CA
Media Research Opportunity for Journalists in Southeast Asia, Climate Tracker
Opportunity to Report on Just Transition in Southeast Asia, Climate Tracker
Science writing with a focus on mathematics and computer science, IST Austria
More jobs 👉Science Writing News Roundup #12
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