✍️Science Writing News Roundup #18 (November 21, 2020)
Writing about science for kids + How to cover a science study: a comprehensive guide for first-timers + Tips for trust-building science communication + Top 10 tips for investigating health care
Interested in writing for kids? Check out my list with articles on how to start writing about science for kids, how to write a children's book, how to interview scientists, where to find writing courses, magazines for children, interviews with science writers, books, podcasts, and more. (Image by AAAS Subaru Prize)
🔭 Ideas
The Journalism Salute Podcast with Siri Carpenter: On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by Dr. Siri Carpenter, the co-founder of The Open Notebook, a science journalism organization that helps writers with every aspect of their work — from pitching articles to understanding terminology and data and much more.
Cross-pollination: what happens when science journalists pursue the creative arts. This week at TON, freelance science writer Sarah DeWeerdt interviews 12 science journalists who find that their art — from crocheting to making music — makes them better journalists.
How environmental journalism is surviving — and thriving — in an unstable world. KSJ alumna Meera Subramanian, President of the Society of Environmental Journalists, discusses the group’s efforts to support reporters during a time of turmoil and bring more diverse voices into the fold.
It's going to be all write is a podcast from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) Writing Centre. In this episode, Comparing Science Writing, Niklas Mintorovitch and Clayton Gouin compare how scientific research writing differs from scientific journalism.
🪂 Opportunities
bioGraphic is a multimedia magazine featuring stories from around the globe about the wonder of the natural world, the most pressing threats to biodiversity, and the most promising sustainability solutions. If you have ideas for articles, opinion pieces, photo essays, videos, and infographics, here are the submission guidelines.
The Sustainability Action Network, a new solutions-focused platform focused on the future of our planet, is looking for stories about scientific innovations, sustainable economics, green policies, human ecology, and more.
💎 Tips
Tips for trust-building science communication. Conventional science-communication tips — such as “tell a story” — might work when the aim is to change people’s beliefs or behaviors. But to maintain trust, it’s better for experts to inform and not persuade, according to an interdisciplinary group at the University of Cambridge.
#3 rule of pitching: Flyspeck your copy. Story pitches are often an editor's first impression of your work. Even small mistakes can undermine their confidence in your professionalism.
Ariana Remmel is a science journalist and current Editorial Fellow at Chemical & Engineering News. In an interview for The Job Talk Blog, Ariana talks about their decision to pursue a career in science writing, their typical day, and trends we should be aware of within the field of science journalism and its job market.
2019 marked the first Canadian science communication conference from the ComSciCon umbrella of workshops, known as ComSciConCAN. One of the off-shoot conferences, ComSciCon-GTA, took place this year and was Toronto’s first-ever ComSciCon branded conference. In this blog post, Francesco Zangari discusses his experience with the Write-A-Thon and how it helped him develop his science writing skills.
🧰 Resources
How to cover a science study: a comprehensive guide for first-timers. Alexandra Sifferlin, Deputy Editor of Elemental, put together an incredible resource for writers: “Here are important things to keep in mind when you’re writing about a science study, whether you’re including it as evidence in a broader story or if you’re writing about the study itself.”
SciLine asked scientists: If two vaccines are authorized for emergency use by the end of the year, what does that mean for curbing the US spread of COVID-19 in 2021? What do we know about the similarities and differences between the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines? Their answers are available for use in news stories.
Top 10 tips for investigating health care, from the experts. There is a lot of noise at the moment in the world of medical research, and it can be difficult for a journalist who doesn’t specialize in this field to make sense of it.
Wonder Tools — Google's New Journalist Studio. Google recently launched Journalist Studio, a toolkit with free reporting and data visualization resources. The tools are easy to use, well-designed and immediately applicable to big reporting projects and small research inquiries.
NASW-NWU partnership resolves another nonpayment grievance case. When a publication folds and writers get ghosted on payment for their work, NASW’s Grievance Partnership with the National Writers Union (NWU) can help.
🌍 News
Africa Science Media Centre to bridge the gap between scientists and journalists. “The aim of the Center is to improve accuracy and effectiveness in science reporting by ensuring that journalists have access to expert opinion on emerging scientific issues and that scientists have access to science journalists to help them tell the story,” said Daniel Otunge, deputy executive director for Science Africa and AfriSMC director.
AAAS and Subaru announce the finalists for the 2021 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books in the Children’s Science Picture Book category, the Hands-On Science Book category, the Middle Grades Science Book category, and the Young Adult Science Book category.
👀 Videos
Serving Diverse Audiences with Science Writing (DC Science Writers Association)
Because Facts Matter: Fact-Checking in Science Writing (Northwest Science Writers Association)
Reporting On and Living With COVID-19: The View of Three European Journalists (Science Writers in New York)
Decolonizing Science Communication: Exploring Indigenous Views on Science and Journalism (Northwest Science Writers Association)
Decolonizing Science Communication II: Indigenizing Science Journalism and Uplifting Native Stories (Northwest Science Writers Association)
The MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing hosted an information webinar that tackles what you need to know about applying for their program. Watch the video on YouTube.
Looking for Life as We Don't Know It (Kavli Conversations on Science Communication)
Careers in Science Communications Panel Discussion (American Astronomical Society)
🎟️ Events
Science in the Newsroom Global Summit 2020 (November 23-24, 2020)
Covering Coronavirus: The Big Vaccine Roll-Out (November 24, 2020)
The UNSW Press Bragg Prize for Science Writing recognizes the best short non-fiction piece on science written for a general audience in Australia (November 25, 2020)
Science Journalism Forum: Latam Edition (November 25-27, 2020)
Big Pharma & COVID-19 Vaccines: A Virtual Conversation with Investigative Journalist Gerald Posner (December 1, 2020)
🔎 Career opportunities
Content Producer/Writer, KiwiCo, Mountain View, CA
Science and Technology Writer, The Computing Sciences (CS) Area at Berkeley Lab, CA
Digital Writer/Editor, Environmental Defense Fund, Remote, San Francisco, CA
Science Writer, NASA’s Earth Science News team, Greenbelt, MD, and Washington, DC
Science Writer, NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO), Greenbelt, MD
Science writer/communicator, Scite – Science Crunchers, Remote
Healthcare Managing Editors, Contently, Remote
Science and Energy Freelancers, Contently, European Union
Postdoctoral fellowship: Communicating preprint research, ScholCommLab, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Science & Tech Editor, The Fulcrum, University of Ottawa, Canada
Science Writer & Community Advocate, Universe Sandbox, Remote
Science Writer, Science Buzz, Remote, United States
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