For any journalist, regardless of nationality or beat, protecting sources is part of the job. With growing antiscience sentiment, climate change denialism, and politicization of science at the highest levels of U.S. government, science journalists, too, are facing challenges more commonly associated with those investigating corruption or national security.
I often turn in first drafts of articles that are over the assigned word count by around 20 to 30 percent. I do so knowing that the story will need to be trimmed but wanting the editor's feedback on what should take priority, and I specifically ask for that feedback about where to cut back. Often, though, the editor sends edits without making any significant trims and asks me to cut things on round two. Am I wrong to expect that editors will help with this aspect of shaping a story?
Maryn McKenna is a freelancer focused on public and global health and food policy, the author of three books, and a senior fellow of the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University. She is a columnist for Wired and has written for The New York Times Magazine, Mother Jones, National Geographic, and many others. Her stories have been anthologized in numerous collections. She appeared in the 2014 documentary Resistance, and her 2015 TED Talk has been viewed 1.6 million times.
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