It wasn’t a review of the latest news in cosmology or a lesson on how underweight folks could put on pounds, but “Take a Lesson from the Universe: Expand” did provide a valuable session for science writers, editors and PIOs looking to broaden their communication outreach to non-scientists.
Nov. 4, 2013Featured news
The ScienceWriters2013 Awards Gala on Saturday night celebrated some of the finest science journalism of the past year. Winners represented the whole range of media, from book to blog to radio. Science in Society Journalism Awards were given in five categories: book, science reporting, longform science reporting, science reporting for a local or regional market, and commentary and opinion.
Nov. 4, 2013Let words collide. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Jesus wept. The queen, my lord, is dead. Collision is power and power rests in brevity. This was the message journalist and teacher Roy Peter Clark delivered to attendees over the course of a winding ride at a ScienceWriters2013 session on Nov 2.
Nov. 4, 2013In the film "Starship Troopers," humans battle a marauding race of aliens sometime in Earth's distant future. Along with a militaristic vision, the film portrays the aliens as super-sized insects — a particularly frustrating point for Emory emeritus physics professor Sidney Perkowitz.
Nov. 4, 2013You won’t find a website for most of these shadowy, mysterious groups with names like “VSG” and “the Posse.” They’ve been compared to terrorist cells, secret societies, and tribes; membership is highly selective and tightly controlled. Fortunately, these groups are comprised of science writers (and the occasional editor), not terrorists. At ScienceWriters2013, four science writers explained the benefits of forming these so-called “tribes.”
Nov. 4, 2013What’s Courtney Love have to do with science writing? Well, she’s the poster child for the perils of defamatory speech on social media. (She recently settled for $430,000 after a series of online slurs appeared in her Twitter feed.) At a Saturday afternoon session on social media and the law, the panel’s take-home message was simple: No matter how short the story, you’re not exempt from legal challenge.
Nov. 4, 2013Three science communicators from government agencies shared savvy strategies for communicating science research to the public and policy makers on Saturday afternoon at ScienceWriters2013 in Gainesville, FL. Although they were talking about their experiences promoting federally-funded research, their tips proved valuable to anyone — public information officers, scientists, or educators — involved in science outreach and communication.
Nov. 4, 2013NASW member Steve Nadis and Harvard mathematician Shing-Tung Yau report on the development of novel mathematical concepts at Harvard, and the contribution of Harvard researchers to the shaping of their field.
Thanks to the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, up to five science journalists will have the opportunity to attend the Kavli Prize in Olso, Norway, Sept. 8-11, 2014. Meet and exchange with the winners of the Kavli Prize awarded in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience. The scholarships cover the costs of transportation from your own country and your stay in Oslo.