What do you do if you can't get back to New York from ScienceWriters2012 because of Frankenstorm? If you're on the staff of Scientific American, you set up shop in Raleigh and broadcast The Science of Hurricane Sandy Liveblog from your temporary quarters: "We’re trapped in Raleigh, North Carolina, thanks to Sandy. We have founded Scientific American‘s first-ever Raleigh bureau and will be live-blogging on the storm and answering your storm science questions."
Miscellaneous
From a new CJR book, a chapter excerpt based on a 2002 lecture by New Yorker fact-checking director Peter Canby, with stories like this one about the author of A Bright Shining Lie: "One more thing I want to say about Neil Sheehan is that it was a particularly frustrating experience for us fact-checkers because Neil Sheehan never got anything wrong, and at the end of two months we would go, 'Neil, give us a break, you know? Give us one little thing we can change.'"
Kathleen Raven was writing about an Alzheimer's drug when she asked for comment from an analyst who foresaw its failure in late-stage trials. His response: "I’m sorry, I don’t talk to the media." He wasn't the only source who clammed up, Raven writes on Embargo Watch. Their excuses: "Some said they consulted for the drug company ... Another explained he simply didn't have time to give an interview. Yet another potential source gave no explanation and simply hung up."
In honor of Ada Lovelace Day, Ed Yong posts his picks for the top 15 women science writers, then adds 25 honorable mentions, and still others in the comments. The lists include many NASW members, and as Ed writes, "this is not a list of top female science writers; this is an all-female list of top science writers." More background on Ada and other notable women scientists, both from the Guardian.
In the latest of a Nieman Lab series, Dan Gillmor offers a plan to reposition undergraduate journalism teaching as "great liberal arts programs" with more emphasis on relevant skills such as scientific methodology, programming, and entrepreneurship: "All this suggests a considerably broader mission for journalism schools and programs than the one they’ve had in the past. It also suggests a huge opportunity for journalism schools," Gillmor writes.
Naturally our favorite is ScienceWriters2012, but if you're keen for more than one meeting, check this list compiled by blogger Michelle V. Rafter. The list includes conferences by the Society of Environmental Journalists, the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, the American Medical Writers Association, and the Association of Health Care Journalists, plus speciality conferences for freelancers, authors, and digital storytellers.
Ivan Oransky's blog turned two last week and the professor/physician/editor answered questions from The Scholarly Kitchen: "I find that a lot of what passes for science communication is too boosterish, leaving out limitations, for example. In health journalism, a look at Gary Schwitzer’s HealthNewsReview.org shows that journalism outlets are passing along much of that boosterism without any reporting or filters."
The prevailing wisdom might be "not much," but Kent Anderson begs to differ. In a post on the Scholarly Kitchen site, Anderson lists 60 functions of the academic press, such as editing: "A subject-matter expert needs to learn how to be a good editor. This comes naturally enough to some, but others struggle with it, and a few never quite get it ... Some editing is cursory and done by outsourced editors with little domain expertise who just apply style guides."
Because science could suffer without it, Matt Shipman writes in a Scientific American guest blog: "We could talk about the need to inspire the next generation of scientists or addressing the paltry state of science literacy, but if we’re going to ask people to take time away from other obligations we’re going to have to do better than that." He lists five major benefits for scientists who publicize their findings, from finding grad students to satisfying funders.
Christian Hunt has a good rant on the Carbon Brief blog. Why do so many climate-related stories fall back onto the same old themes for photos — the polar bear on a melting floe, the cracked soil in a drought-stricken land? "There are images which get used because they push people's buttons, but don't really help unpack a topic. Polar bears on ice, burning planets — they're cliches that you can't really rely on to inform and explain." He includes nine top offenders.