Many science reporters get their start in other beats, including crime, business, fashion, or politics. But science touches every aspect of life, so it’s no wonder many of them say the skills they developed in those beats have made them better-equipped—and sometimes uniquely positioned—to report on science.
Sandeep Ravindran is a freelance science writer based in New York City. He has written about life sciences and technology for publications such as Smithsonian, National Geographic News, Nature, The Scientist, Wired, Popular Science, and Science News for Students. Before becoming a science writer he received a microbiology PhD from Stanford University and studied science communication at UC Santa Cruz.
Many freelancers question whether they can ask for more than what’s offered for assignments—and, if so, how and when they should ask. Seeking answers to these quandaries, we surveyed and interviewed freelancers and editors about this practice. Our results show that, on the whole, it rarely hurts to ask. In fact, doing so tends to pay off. The key is asking in the right way.
Earth has a memory problem. Few rocks have survived from the first billion years of the planet’s history. This amnesia has made it hard for researchers to answer big questions like How did we get here? and Are we alone? But it hasn’t stopped them from trying. In a recent story for Quanta, freelance journalist Rebecca Boyle reports on the latest efforts to settle these existential questions. Here, she shares how she tackled the oldest story in the world.
Profiles of scientists in the golden years of their careers take the measure of a life in science and reveal the motivations that have guided the scientists’ work. Conducting interviews for such career-spanning profiles can be tricky—but also deeply rewarding, because the interviewing is often so intimate. When done well, “legacy” profiles reveal something that’s usually hidden: how the swirl of a person’s inner world connects with the accomplishments they make in their outer world.
How to Use Reporting Skills from Any Beat for Science Journalism
How Rebecca Skloot Built The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Taking Good Notes: Tricks and Tools
Pitching Errors: How Not to Pitch
Asking for More: Negotiating Rates for Freelance Assignments
Storygram: Sarah Wild’s “Bones Specialists Try to Prise Secrets from the Veld Bodies”
The Science Byline Counting Project: Where Are the Women—and Where Are They Not?
Including Diverse Voices in Science Stories
How to Tell Science Stories with Maps
A Day in the Life of Sandeep Ravindran
Good Endings: How to Write a Kicker Your Editor—and Your Readers—Will Love
Tools: Planner Pad, the Funnel of Focus
Going Digital: Inside New Science Journalism Outlets
Trading the Pipette for the Pen: Transitioning from Science to Science Writing
Are You a Writer or an Editor? Part I: The Writers
Nailing the Nut Graf
How to Do a Close Read
On the Scene: Reporting from the Field
Activism and Science Journalism: Where Are Your Boundaries?
Read This! (Or Not): Writing Book Reviews
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