There is a good deal of academic research that focuses on risk communication, social construction of risk, and how certain theories apply to communicating with specific populations about specific issues. We saw several papers over the last few months that really help provide some context about the world views of our audiences. From the Fall 2011 ScienceWriters.
Science writing news
Nothing is more central to the journalism craft than the interview, and getting good ones separates the pros from the poseurs.
There are 51 entries (50 essays and one poem) in the Open Laboratory 2012, a compilation of great science blogging. Roughly a third of them are NASW members (it's hard to be exact because there are some pseudonyms). You can read the list at the Scientific American blog network and read comments about the selections on the Knight Science Journalism Tracker and from Ed Yong (a winner) who lists some runners-up.
Having trouble finding the perfect gift for the journalist on your list? MediaBistro has come to your rescue with 30 suggested presents, some of them actually useful, and others ... well: "Surprise the journalist in your life with a stuffed animal made in their image!" "Need a pair of gloves that will also let you use your touchscreen devices with ease? Check out Agloves – they’re warm, fuzzy, and stretchy with conductive silver weaved throughout the entire glove."
Derek Boogaard scored three goals in six National Hockey League seasons but was paid $1.6 million per year. How did he do it? By becoming the league's most notorious brawler, a distinction that may have cost him his life. John Branch of the New York Times tells Boogaard's story in a three-part series with accompanying video. There's also commentary from MinnPost.com and Nieman Storyboard.
Hacks/Hackers, a network of journalists aiming to meld computing with reporting, produced this Excel tipsheet for the Poynter Institute web site. It includes an introduction to simple formulas, techniques for splitting columns of data, and tips for sorting, filtering, and using pivot tables, — what statisticians call cross-tabs. "Excel (and other spreadsheet programs) are powerful tools and a valuable part of a reporter’s digital arsenal," Joshua Hatch writes.
Hurray, NASA has found Earth's twin orbiting a sun-like star! Or is it? Should we be searching only for life-as-we-know-it? Pardon Alan Turing. Open Lab 2012 winners. Once more, are bloggers journalists? Big news about the Higgs boson next week?
Environmental journalism narratives often gravitate to what Michelle Nijhuis calls the "Lorax narrative," the focus on tragedy as a story's primary theme. In this post on the Last Word On Nothing blog, Nijhuis offers some alternatives, linked to examples of each: "Overcoming the Monster," "Rags to Riches," and "Voyage and Return" among them. She calls them "archetypal frameworks that still fit the facts, but startle the reader out of his or her mournful stupor."
When a study is retracted, “it can be hard to make its effects go away,” says Sheldon Tobe, a kidney-disease specialist at the University of Toronto. And that’s more important today than ever because retractions of scientific studies are surging. From the Fall 2011 ScienceWriters.