Writers love words. We love to use words to bring people into a scene, to describe, and to illuminate. Many of us would like to think our words speak for themselves. Any header art […]
Depending on how you define these things, science blogging began in earnest in the early 2000s. That makes science blogging into something of a teenager: still unsure of what it will become as it […]
No matter how big or small the headline, most science news stories gain attention because of a press release. It’s the job of a science public information officer (PIO) to get the word out about new scientific research and the scientists that conduct it. With the rise of the Internet and the advent of social media, press releases have become accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. The repercussions of such unfettered public access to his work is one aspect of the job that PIO Matt Shipman thinks a lot about.
It might seem like anyone can make a video. But communicating tough science concepts requires more than just the words coming out of a talking head. It means script writing, editing, images, animation, and more. YouTube master Joe Hanson, host of the PBS Digital Studios series It’s Okay to Be Smart, shares what it’s like to convey science in online video.
Period. Aunt Flo. Monthly Visitor. Shark week. On the rag. That time of the month. Talking about menstruation makes people giggle, blush, and sometimes squirm. In her new podcast PERIOD, biological anthropologist Kate Clancy drags menstruation to the center of our awareness by interviewing scientists, activists, parents, and children about that time of the month. Here, Clancy shares her experiences transitioning from blogging to podcasting, and why Aunt Flo needed her own audio series.
It can be hard enough to get a science story noticed when it’s featureed at a specialty magazine. But when it’s just a random blog post in a far-off corner of the Internet, how do you get people to read, and then come back and read again? Authors of Science Blogging: The Essential Guide discuss.
Reddit is “the front page of the Internet” and the lucky writer to get the right upvotes can receive an avalanche of hits. But there are pros and cons to the popular site. Today, we ask the authors of Science Blogging: The Essential Guide if, and how, they use Reddit.
Media coverage may emphasize the negative outcomes of social-media overexposure. But there are many advantages to be had. Today, we ask chapter authors of Science Blogging: The Essential Guide how they use Twitter and Facebook in their professional lives.
The book Science Blogging: The Essential Guide drew chapter authors from academia, science journalism, and beyond to contribute their expertise. Now, we ask some of those authors why they started blogging in the first place, and what they get out of keeping up their own little corner of the Internet.
Including diverse voices in science stories ensures more accurate and complete stories that more fully reflect and inform readers, and is the equitable thing to do. On this page, we compile detailed and specific resources and strategies for making that goal a reality.
The articles in this collection from The Open Notebook—on topics such as covering preprint manuscripts, interviewing people who have experienced trauma, spotting shady statistics, avoiding spreading misinformation, and more—are especially relevant for anyone covering the coronavirus pandemic.
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