Convening in a chilly air-conditioned ballroom, a panel of four journalists described their experiences writing about the sordid side of science. Organized and moderated by Brooke Borel, a freelance journalist and author, the "Investigative reporting: Uncovering the seedy side of science" session touched on misconduct, harassment, and corruption in science.
Event coverage
Coverage begins in 2006 for the ScienceWriters meeting and 2009 for the AAAS meeting. To see programs for past ScienceWriters meetings, go to the ScienceWriters meeting site.
Starry-eyed and determined, only the slightest tinge of desperation in their eyes betrayed mentees to the self-assured and confident mentors at the One Minute Mentor Special Lunch. At three tables of 10, the conversation bubbled and rose into the clangor of a trade floor, mentees excavating mentors’ minds for their experience, advice and encouragement.
ScienceWriters2016 attendees filled both tables in the sunroom of the Omni La Mansión del Rio dining room that were designated for the lunch discussion on NASW Idea Grants.
The highly anticipated, and potentially contentious, business meeting at ScienceWriters2016 is over, and members of the NASW — all 2,534 of them — are breathing a collective sigh of relief following a respectful and informative discussion.
Awards night for the National Association of Science Writers and Council for the Advancement of Science Writing highlighted not only great science writing but the benefits of putting feet to the pavement to find the untold stories.
Basic research looks for universal truths, which are usually expressed in the form of physical laws and general theorems. In contrast, scientists and audiences have heterogeneous backgrounds and deal with constantly evolving issues. Therefore, journalists and PIOs should recognize cultural diversity as a key factor of their storytelling strategies.
Pitch slam for ScienceWriters2016 began in a bustling room of science writers of all ages with various levels of experience, many of whom came prepared with story ideas. A panel of seven editors from the Atlantic, the Washington Post, National Geographic, Motherboard, Nature, COSMOS, and Aeon were eager to listen to these pitches.
How do successful feature writers come up with the "lightbulb" ideas that become compelling articles? Journalists Florence Williams and Amanda Little (who also teaches journalism at Vanderbilt University) and Wired deputy editor Adam Rogers presented a variety of ways of sparking the process.
“What makes a journalist in 2015?” asked moderator Robin Marantz Henig, freelance journalist and president of NASW, to open the ScienceWriters 2015 panel discussion, Ethics in today’s science writing landscape: A community conversation.
Recognizing a red flag and following your gut when ethics is in question leaves a lot of science writers questioning what is or is not actually acceptable. Debates and anecdotes were encouraged during the session “Ethics in Today’s science writing landscape: A community conversation.” This plenary session kicked off the first of 17 sessions for the day, and more than 600 attendees showed up to watch two long-time freelance journalists square off.