Shannon Palus is a journalist based in Brooklyn. She is a senior staff writer at Wirecutter, where she primarily covers health tech and personal care. Her freelance work has appeared in Scientific American, Slate, Popular Science, New Scientist, The Atlantic, Discover, and elsewhere.
A science media landscape that lacks diversity is missing opportunities to engage communities of readers who could shape tomorrow’s science and science policy. By calling attention to some of the problems, giving visibility to minority journalists’ work, and undertaking nuanced examinations of issues that minority journalists often encounter, we hope to strengthen the profession of science journalism. We hope you’ll join us.
A common saying in the autism community goes: “If you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person.” That is, we autistic people all vary in our traits. Some of these are problematic, but others can be beneficial. Because we observe and process the world differently, our writing can present unique perspectives. Autistic writers who learn to capitalize on the favorable traits and manage the more challenging ones can thrive in this profession.
Anna Kuchment is a staff science writer at The Dallas Morning News, a contributing editor at Scientific American, and a former reporter and writer at Newsweek magazine. She is a coauthor, with Boston College historian Conevery Bolton Valencius, of the forthcoming book Shaky Ground: The Untold Story of the Largest Earthquake Surge in Modern History, which tells the story of the dramatic rise in earthquakes linked to oil and gas production.
Pulling off seamless transitions can elude even the most seasoned writers and editors. Transitions can easily come across as formulaic, forced, obvious, or patronizing. And if they’re not done with finesse, they can give away the punchline and make stories feel repetitive. When transitions are ineffective—or are lacking altogether—readers may lose the thread of the story, or they may feel jarred from one paragraph or section to the next, or they may just get bored and go away.
Kat McGowan is a journalist and editor focused on medicine and science. As an editor, she currently works with Grist and Neo Life; her most recent bylines were for Popular Science, Mother Jones, Scientific American, and STAT. She was formerly a consulting editor at the autism science publication Spectrum, a special projects editor at Discover, and senior editor at Psychology Today. She also volunteers at a wildlife hospital and is an active member of the crow team.
Writing When on the Autism Spectrum
Pitching Errors: How Not to Pitch
Are You a Writer or an Editor? Part I: The Writers
Marshall Allen Unearths Waste in Health Care
The Science Byline Counting Project: Where Are the Women—and Where Are They Not?
Asking for More: Negotiating Rates for Freelance Assignments
Tackling the Physical Sciences
Including Diverse Voices in Science Stories
Rachel Aviv Examines the Science of Sex Abuse
Good Endings: How to Write a Kicker Your Editor—and Your Readers—Will Love
Ask TON: Breaking Into Science Writing
Storygram: Nicola Twilley’s “The Billion-Year Wave”
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