✍️Science Writing News Roundup #27 (January 19, 2021)
How to deal with negative reactions to stories + What do journalists say about covering science during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Sharon Begley, whose science journalism career spanned 43 years at Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and STAT, sadly passed away on Saturday, January 16th, due to complications from lung cancer. Here, colleagues share remembrances of their time working with her.
✏️ Tips
How to deal with negative reactions to stories: Katherine Wu shares some tips on how to weather negative reactions to stories. If you’ve ever experienced backlash when a story publishes — or if you dread the day that happens — this story is for you!
Writing to win: How to quickly capture readers and keep them engaged. “The reader is impatient,” says Glenn Kramon, editor at the New York Times. “Start with the most important conclusion and then explain how you got there.”
💎 Resources
Wonder Tools — Resources for writing. Here are some useful writing tools for whatever you’re working on this week.
Toolkit offers COVID-19 vaccine story ideas, survey findings on vaccine attitudes, B-roll and multimedia, webinars, recommended experts and tips on reaching specific audiences.
🕯️ Opportunities
Develop your science writing skills with a short online course. The Science Communication Unit at UWE Bristol is offering a 10-week online course that will give participants the confidence and know-how to write clear, engaging stories.
The Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT is accepting submissions for the 2021 Victor K. McElheny Award for local and regional science journalism. The award will recognize one outstanding work of science journalism — print, digital, or broadcast — with a $5,000 prize.
Science isn’t finished until it’s communicated: Why it’s more important than ever to get the word out. Martin Ince explains how you can enter the Association of British Science Writers’ Awards for a chance of money, glory and media training.
The Google News Initiative will give $3 million to news and fact-checking organizations in an effort to combat misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine.
🌱 Ideas
What do journalists say about covering science during the COVID-19 pandemic? Anita Makri asked Apoorva Mandavilli, Chloé Hecketsweiler, Rema Nagarajan, Sabine Righetti and Tamar Khan about their experiences. How did they keep up with the volume of information? What about balancing the need to inform the public quickly with reporting science accurately?
Coronavirus, statistical chaos and the news, one year on. An Nguyen, associate professor of journalism at Bournemouth University, reflects on the first year of data and science in the news, and the lessons to take into the future of journalism.
🧐 Videos
Covering the UK Coronavirus Variant: How Concerned Should We Be? (International Center for Journalists)
Coronavirus, Statistical Chaos and the News: Preliminary Reflections. Senior science, health and data journalists gather with leading statisticians, scientists and media scholars to discuss COVID-19 news reporting.
“All About Science Communication”, a workshop presented by Dr. Diane Dechief, a faculty lecturer at the McGill Writing Centre.
COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution: A Virtual Conversation with Gerald Posner (Science Writers in New York)
📖 Events
SciComm Lunch & Learn: A Year of Errors and Lies – Looking Back on a Year of COVID-19 Misinformation (January 19, 2021)
A Conversation with Dr. Katherine Wu, Science Journalist at the New York Times (January 21, 2021)
Understanding the Science of COVID-19 Vaccines: A Virtual Conversation with Dr. John Moore (Science Writers in New York, January 21, 2021)
The challenges facing science writing and how to tackle them: perspectives from two ABSW British Science Journalists of the Year (January 26, 2021)
How to Price Freelance Writing Projects (January 26, 2021)
Pitch Clinic with SoCal Science Writing and editor Rosie Mestel (January 28, 2021)
The Next Step: Career Panel and Mentoring For Aspiring Professional Writers & Journalists (January 30, 2021)
Freelancing Business Basics for Science Writers (Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains, February 4, 2021)
Addressing Climate Science Denial (February 4, 2021)
People and Microbes on the Move: an Evening with Science Journalist and Author Sonia Shah (February 5, 2021)
AAAS 2021 Annual Meeting (February 8-11, 2021)
🏡 Career opportunities
STEM Scriptwriter, Real Engineering and Real Science
Science Writer, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, New York, NY
Editorial Fellow, C&EN, Washington, DC
Full-time and Freelance Science Editors, Science Feedback, Paris, France/Remote
Associate Editor, The Planetary Society, US-based
Communications and Content Officer, Health Data Research UK
Science Communications Specialist, NatureServe, Remote
Science Writing Internship, The Princeton University, Remote
Mind and Body Writer, Inverse, Remote
More jobs 👉Science Writing News Roundup #26
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