Science writing news

Science writers may think they're above politics, but issues like climate change and Ebola prove them wrong. Four leading science writers discussed the problem at ScienceWriters2014 and David Levine recaps: "The basic message the panelists had for the writers was that when a story goes political, they had to get out of their comfort zone of writing "nice" articles about scientific research and breakthroughs and be part of the bigger picture."

Multiple accusations of plagiarism by Fareed Zakaria haven't derailed his career, and David Uberti says that's because journalists aren't serious about the problem: "A review of examples from the past quarter-century shows that journalists have continuously grappled not only with the definition of plagiarism, but also how to respond to it. Punishment has been consistently inconsistent. And opinions vary on whether such sinners should be allowed back in the church."

Michelle Nijhuis recalls what the 1962 children's science fiction novel meant to her growing up, and now as a parent: "Madeleine L’Engle and her characters encouraged my appreciation for science and scientists … A Wrinkle in Time has always had its detractors, young readers who find it boring, or unbelievable, or annoying. But many more boys and girls dive in deep, as I did, and remember it as adults with a kind of desperate fondness."

The comet lander is asleep now, perhaps to awaken later if sunlight strikes its solar panels. Meanwhile, scientists will be busy analyzing the huge amount of data Philae sent back before its demise, Tabitha M. Powledge writes. Also, some thoughts on #shirtstorm: "I don’t want us to forget that this is not a problem just for women in science. It is a problem for women (and, worse, for girls.)" Plus updates on the virus research moratorium and the infamous Jonah Lehrer.

Pulizer-winning New York Times photographer Tyler Hicks.talks about working with reporters, dealing with public criticism, and how the news has changed now that everybody has a camera: "It’s not just about how people communicate in regard to pictures, but it’s also about the amount of photographs that are out there … There’s a lot more competition, but then you have to ask yourself, what is that competition? How do we determine, how do we decide what is valid news?"

Brooke Borel writes about the backstory to the "Making Passion Projects Happen" session at ScienceWriters2014. Each of her session's panelists had to find a way to pay the bills while working toward the big prize: "Many of us also fumbled a bit as we figured out how to make our projects work — just because the end result is a success doesn’t mean it was easy or straightforward, and it takes a lot of trial and error to figure out what works."

Have you ever planned a 15-minute presentation that you wound up delivering in five? That's a sure sign you're speaking too fast, Denise Graveline writes. She offers some advice on slowing things down: "I've shared practical tips on how to hit the brakes when you're speaking too fast. But you'll do even better at pacing yourself if you take the time to analyze your speaking speed, understand why it is so fast, and plan your speech or presentation so you set the pace."

William McPherson won a Pulitzer for the Washington Post but now, in retirement, he lives in what he calls poverty, getting by on Social Security and a Post pension. The story of how he got to that point is a cautionary tale for anyone in the middle class: "I look through my checkbooks from twenty-five and thirty years ago and I think, Wow! What happened? It was a long, slowly accelerating slide but the answer is simple. I was foolish, careless, and sometimes stupid."