Science journalist Cristine Russell talks about the, er, breakthrough moment when she learned to avoid a certain science writing cliché. Russell is an adjunct professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and former president of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing.
Science journalist Charles Choi shares the writing concept that is “God.” Choi is a longtime freelance science journalist who has reported for Scientific American, The New York Times, Science, Nature, and many others.
Robin Lloyd, online news editor at Scientific American, wasn’t always so confident. Here, she shares a career turning point.
After many years of freelancing for publications such as Science, Reader’s Digest, HHMI Bulletin, and others, longtime science journalist and author Dan Ferber talks about the detective skills needed to spin a good science yarn. Ferber is co-author of Changing Planet, Changing Health: How the Climate Crisis Threatens our Health and What We Can Do About It.
Science journalist and author Seth Mnookin shares a singular bit of advice about making time for creative work. Mnookin is codirector of the MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing and author of The Panic Virus: The True Story Behind the Vaccine-Autism Controversy.
Today we continue our series Single Best, where we ask top science writers and editors to give us their single best piece of advice, given or taken; or their single best idea, reporting trip or […]
Paul Raeburn shares the ideal he always has in mind for the perfect story. Raeburn is a journalist and blogger, and the author of Do Fathers Matter? The New Science of Fatherhood, to be published for Father’s Day, 2014 by Scientific American/FSG. He is also the chief media critic for the Knight Science Journalism Tracker at MIT.
Science journalist David Dobbs explains how he found an ending to his #1 Kindle-Single bestselling e-book, My Mother’s Lover, published by The Atavist. Dobbs is an author and journalist who writes about science and culture for The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Wired, National Geographic, and other magazines.
Maryn McKenna shares a lesson she learned while reporting on a tsunami. McKenna is a columnist for Scientific American, a blogger for Wired, and the author of Superbug: The Fatal Menace of MRSA and Beating Back the Devil: On the Front Lines with the Disease Detectives of the Epidemic Intelligence Service.
Laura Helmuth shares a bit of wisdom she learned from Molly Ivins. Helmuth is the science and health editor at Slate and a member of the National Association of Science Writers executive board.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Deborah Blum is the author of five books, most recently the best-selling The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York. Blum is a science blogger for Wired and is currently working on a book about poisonous food.
Seeking to Awe: An “Oops!” Story
Nailing the Nut Graf
Trading the Pipette for the Pen: Transitioning from Science to Science Writing
Nidhi Subbaraman Uncovers a Story of Medical Neglect—and of Useful Anger—on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation
Pitching Errors: How Not to Pitch
Is Anyone Out There? Sourcing News Stories
Ask TON: Who Should Trim Long Drafts?
Linda Nordling Probes the Transformation of South African Science
Lizzie Presser Reveals the Underground Work of Home-Abortion Providers
How to Ace a 300-Word Story: An Interview with Roy Peter Clark
Do You Need a Science Degree to Be a Science Reporter?
Asking for More: Negotiating Rates for Freelance Assignments
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