Jane Qiu, an independent science writer based in Beijing, won a 2022 AAAS Kavli Award for this profile of virologist Shi Zhengli, a central figure in the global debate about how the COVID-19 pandemic began. The story was also featured during a plenary session at ScienceWriters2022 discussing the coronavirus’ origins.
View from Meet the scientist at the center of the covid lab leak controversy
“In October 2022, Indigenous affairs journalist B. “Toastie” Oaster wrote a High Country News feature about the fate of Pacific lamprey. This lushly written story explores how Indigenous peoples in the Pacific Northwest are working to conserve a culturally important species in the face of dam construction, mismanagement, and climate change. Oaster combined research into
View from Storygram: B. “Toastie” Oaster’s “Pacific lamprey’s ancient agreement with tribes is the future of conservation”
“In a world of growing geopolitical tensions, science remains one common language for developing coordinated international action. When trust in science is compromised, the capacity for cohesive global policy action is further diminished. The question is how can the multilateral policy interface engage effectively with science, in ways trusted by populations? This working paper addresses
View from The Contextualization Deficit: Reframing trust in science for multilateral policy
“Research can be an insulating endeavor, but bringing my work out of the lab and sharing it with the wider world of politics helped deepen my appreciation for science and the people that fund that science,” writes Ph.D. student Jameson Blount. In this blog post, Blount describes his experience pairing research with science writing.
View from How Science Writing Fuels My Ph.D.
“A recent study finds that sample size is the only factor having a robust influence on 181 science journalists’ ratings of the trustworthiness and newsworthiness of a study. But [the authors] note that, overall, these journalists are doing a ‘very decent job’ vetting research. Here’s how they do it.”
View from How do science journalists decide whether a psychology study is worth covering?
Maryn McKenna, senior writer at WIRED and a widely published author, won CASW’s Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting in 2023 for her coverage of infectious diseases and global health. This story from her extensive freelance portfolio was featured in a “Story Behind the Story” session at ScienceWriters2023.
View from The Plague Years: How the rise of right-wing nationalism is jeopardizing the world’s health
Ashley Smart, senior editor at Undark, associate director of the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT, and CASW’s treasurer, won a 2023 NASW Science and Society award for this story. His “tour de force,” as the judges described it, weaves a narrative from a devastating mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, to the history of
View from A field at a crossroads: Genetics and racial mythmaking
“What are the essentials of a strong proposal for a journalism fellowship? Fellowships can boost your career in many ways. They provide a supportive environment that can yield more impactful stories. They supplement commissions from journalism outlets (and often provide financial assistance for travel). And the prestige of a big fellowship doesn’t hurt a person’s
View from Ask TON: Crafting a winning fellowship proposal
“Grants and fellowships have long been important funding sources, providing writers time and money to dig deeper into a story or subject area than they otherwise could. These sources of outside support range from small travel grants of a few hundred dollars to in-residence fellowships that last as long as a year and provide stipends
View from Paying for it: Getting grants and fellowships
“You as journalists can have life-changing impacts on those reading, watching or listening. To help, the IOP has produced a guide and a handy checklist to help ensure that your coverage of physics steers clear of entrenched stereotypes and instead presents an accurate representation of our subject and who does it. Our guide is packed
View from How to report on physics and physicists in an accurate and accessible way
Sahana Ghosh, associate editor at Nature India, describes lessons and takeaways from a workshop that she led to help Indian newsrooms address climate misinformation. “I came away with a strong conclusion: there is a clear need for climate literacy in newsrooms,” Ghosh writes. “Without it, journalists cannot counter climate misinformation and disinformation, or provide good
View from To help journalists cover rising temperatures, newsrooms need to start with climate literacy
In this story, freelance science writer Jane Qiu explores how fossil finds in China — dating back to the Peking Man, found in 1929 — have challenged established ideas about human evolution. Her story won an AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award in 2016.
View from The Forgotten Continent
Tony Bartelme’s series about how climate change has impacted the South Carolina Lowcountry won an award from the American Geophysical Union in 2017. Showcase hosts one of these stories. Bartelme, a three-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, is a special projects reporter for The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina.
View from Lowcountry on the Edge
“If a scientist’s goal is to deliver content and expertise to the people who need it, then other stakeholder groups—the media, the government, industry—need to be considered as partners to collaborate with in order to solve problems. Written by established scientist Christopher Reddy, who has been on the front lines of several environmental crisis events,
View from Science Communication in a Crisis: An Insider’s Guide
Mike Hixenbaugh’s story on efforts by a Houston hospital to restore patients with severe brain injuries won an AAAS Kavli award in 2018. The story weaves personal narrative with scientific exploration, discussing how scientists are working to revive patients and the ethical quandaries that they face. Hixenbaugh is an investigative reporter focused on exposing fraud
View from Alive Inside
“The absence of trees is not just an aesthetic discrepancy — it can impact human health and well-being, a growing body of research shows.” This tip sheet from The Journalist’s Resource describes findings from several studies on this topic, including key results, quotes from the studies, and authors who may be useful sources for reporters.
View from Tree equity and trees’ impact on surface temperatures, human health: A research roundup
“In Ideas into Words, Elise Hancock, a professional writer and editor with thirty years of experience, provides both novice and seasoned science writers with the practical advice and canny insights they need to take their craft to the next level. Rich with real-life examples and anecdotes, this book covers the essentials of science writing: finding
View from Ideas into Words: Mastering the Craft of Science Writing
This feature is the central story of Black Snow, a series by ProPublica and The Palm Beach Post investigating the health impacts – and government failures – of burning sugar cane among poor communities in Florida. Lulu Ramadan (formerly at The Palm Beach Post, now an investigative reporter at The Seattle Times) and ProPublica journalists
View from The Smoke Comes Every Year. Sugar Companies Say the Air Is Safe.
As fall approaches and the FDA and CDC evaluate updated vaccines for COVID-19, “it’s crucial [that reporters] work to dispel any confusion about the boosters and provide their audience with contextual information about how booster shot recommendations are made.” In this article from the Association of Health Care Journalists, journalist Tara Haelle gives background on
View from Curbing the confusion: Strategies for covering the latest COVID booster shot approvals
“In this late stage of the pandemic, it may feel challenging to keep COVID-19 stories fresh for a fatigued public. But COVID-19 is here to stay, so it may help to think of COVID-19 stories much as you would your annual flu stories: Even if it feels as though you’ve written it before, your audience
View from How to report on the COVID-19 uptick when the public says ‘meh’
This interview between journalist Dan Falk and ocean chemist Christopher Reddy discusses what reporters and researchers can do to better work together on covering natural disasters and other scientific events with major impacts. “I’ll tell [colleagues] that journalists and scientists have a lot more in common — we both like to chase, we both like
View from How scientists can help reporters cover disasters
Journalist Barbara Mantel hosted a webinar on breaking into narrative journalism with panelists Jane C. Hu, a freelance writer based in Seattle; Brady Huggett, the enterprise editor at Spectrum; and Pamela Weintraub, the senior editor for science and psychology at Aeon and the co-editor in chief of OpenMind magazine. This article rounds up the some
View from Top tips for breaking into narrative journalism
Matthew Miller’s story about scientists’ efforts to slow the spread of the emerald ash borer won an AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award in 2015. The story focuses on research and conservation efforts in Lansing, Michigan, where the Lansing State Journal is based.
View from Battle of the Ash Borer
Ron Cowen’s story about the entanglement of fundamental particles won an award from the American Institute of Physics in 2016. The story profiles researchers whose discoveries helped to connect quantum mechanics and the study of gravity. Cowen is a freelance science writer who specializes in physics and astronomy.
View from The Quantum Source of Space-Time
This story by Ann Gibbons covers research into human sacrifice, spanning different locations and research teams. Gibbons, who was a contributing correspondent for Science magazine at the time, won a National Academies Keck Future Initiative Communication award in 2013 for the story.
View from The Ultimate Sacrifice