A critical reflection on media coverage of SARS-CoV-2’s origin
"Media coverage of SARS-CoV-2’s origins serves as a fascinating case study that has relevance for other scientific controversies. At the ScienceWriters2022 conference in Memphis, Tenn. in October 2022, CASW convened a panel to discuss how journalists have addressed the special challenges of this highly politicized story. Participants included three journalists who have covered the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic and a scholar who studies the interplay of biomedical science, politics, law, and public reason. Co-organized by Beijing-based independent science writer Jane Qiu and Jon Cohen, senior correspondent for Science, the panel included Katherine Eban, contributing editor for Vanity Fair, and Benjamin Hurlbut of Arizona State University. Deborah Blum, director of the Knight Science Journalism program at MIT, moderated the discussion. Recording of the session was possible through the generous support of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute."