last year's feature about ancient #Australia is now in the #OpenArchives:
https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2024/06/ancient-australia.html #science #CurrentBiology #ScienceJournalism #ScienceWriter #ancientDNA #anthropology #humans #migration
On our radar: Beware pre-shredded lettuce
“Perhaps ironically, the bags of shredded lettuce that promise to be pre-washed and ready to eat are riskier than whole heads of romaine.”
Nicholas Florko, @TheAtlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2025/05/bagged-romaine-lettuce-food-safety/682734/
A nice shoutout from the Association of Health Care Journalists in their recent tip sheet, “Covering the ongoing bird flu story as it unfolds.” Thanks for including us!
Explore more:
Read the tip sheet:
https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2025/05/covering-the-ongoing-bird-flu-story-as-it-unfolds/ Check out our explainer:
https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/health-disease/2025/scientific-facts-about-h5n1-bird-flu
What does it feel like to be a science journalist — or any kind of journalist — in the USA right now? Talia Lavin talked to Deborah Blum, director of the Knight Science Journalism Center at MIT, a specialist in toxicology, and the woman who literally wrote the book on the history of U.S. food regulations. "As a country, we tend to suffer from what I think of as regulatory memory failure. We don't have a sense of what things were like before regulations went into play. Most Americans don't really have a sense of what the environmental landscape of the United States looked like before the EPA, for instance," says Blum. "Instead, we demonize regulation, when often we're really talking about consumer protection. And when we're talking consumer protection, we're talking about protection for every American citizen. But until you have those kinds of universal standards in place, the people who suffer the most are going to be the people who can't afford the good stuff."
Short but sweet bit of #ScienceJournalism.
Magical thinking: it's either all-in or... Poof! The magic vanishes. This is why #MagicalThinking can turn violent, I suppose. All -must- believe lest cognitive dissonance becomes painful.
"In a 2013 paper, Fulcheri suggested some saints, interred in many-layered arrangements (a coffin inside a sarcophagus inside a cold stone tomb), might have been “confined in a particular microclimate” hostile to putrefying microbes."
https://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/incorrect-relics-why-some-corpses-dont-decompose/
my features published in #CurrentBiology this year, issue 8: #Amphibians feel the heat of the #ClimateCatastrophe
https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2025/04/amphibians-feel-heat.html #science #scienceJournalism #ecology #environment #frogs
Interested in pursuing #SciComm as a profession? Then this new Master's program in Germany might be for you: tuition-free (also for international students), entirely taught in English, covering everything from #ScienceCommunication to #ScienceJournalism, #SciArt, public engagement and more.
https://www.hs-ansbach.de/en/master/science-communication/
Application period starts on May 1st.
oh. #RIP #TimRadford, #ScienceWriter extraordinaire. He actually gave me a brief introduction to the job many years ago. I remember I couldn't get a word in edgewise. and he commissioned/edited a few stories I wrote for the grauniad. Back in the days of the ever-changing pullout sections dedicated to science / #technology.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/feb/13/tim-radford-obituary #science #PublicUnderstanding #scienceJournalism
My latest for Forbes Science is about a new development from Northwestern Uni - a reusable sponge that can remove a range of pollutants from stormwater and recover the valuable bits, like zinc and phosphate 
#science #scicomm #sciencejournalism #water #stormwater
Pétition pour le maintien d'un journalisme scientifique de qualité à la SSR - essentiel pour une démocratie éclairée
https://www.openpetition.eu/ch/petition/online/des-faits-plutot-que-de-fausses-informations-pour-un-journalisme-scientifique-fort
#sciencejournalism
The European Federation for Science Journalism is looking for new board members for the coming term (3 years).
The federation is looking for:
Are asked to show their interest, either those within the current board or not currently on the board.
There are certain basic requirements which board members must meet:
Apart from the requirements, being part of the board is also a broadening experience with your international colleagues! The EFSJ organises a variety of activities, from informal activities to internationally recognised awards.Most activities are overseen by the board, from organising get-togethers with your international colleagues to organising the European Science Journalist of the Year Award together with Sally. But don’t forget the online activities: online meetings and lectures, as well as the website and a few socials.
In short: we do lots of interesting things for all European science journalists or science journalists living in Europe and you can be part of it!
Meetings:
Our meetings generally take place online, however we aim to meet in person once a year.
We can imagine you have some questions! So, if you are interested, send an email to:
secretary@efsj.eu
https://efsj.eu/2025/02/01/efsj-is-looking-for-new-board-members/
This is a guest article by Mićo Tatalović, an EFSJ board member
Science journalism is still not as diverse and inclusive as it could be.
As a result, many publications overlook topics and themes that would be better represented if they had a more diverse team.
For example, research news from eastern Europe is grossly underreported in Western media – but does become a topic of interest when there is someone on staff who cares about and understands the region.
A case study based on my experience as Europe news editor at Nature shows that a single staffer with an eye on an underrepresented topic, or region in this case, can make a huge difference in coverage.
For example, looking at a two-month period during which I was actively commissioning and publishing stories, January to early March 2019, and comparing that to the same period before and after reveals a striking difference.
Nature’s news section ran 9 stories about Eastern Europe in that period, compared with just 2 such stories in the same period in 2018 and 2020 when I wasn’t working there.
The dearth of coverage of the region continues if one looks at other years, too, with just 3 such stories in the same 2-month period in 2017 (one of them was mine, pitched and written as a freelancer), and none in the main news section in 2024.
In fact, in the five years since I left Nature news, there have been no dedicated news stories about issues in a whole range of countries we reported on when I was there, including Albania, Kosovo, Moldova, North Macedonia, and Serbia. It’s as if they did not exist. This is despite Nature’s aim to be an international journal aimed at readers “throughout the world” and its commitment to diversity, including geography.
The data on the number of stories is also reflected in my experience of commissioning stories there. It felt like an extra effort was needed to convince editors to cover the region. It’s as if a lack of interest combined with a distrust of information from the region conspire against coverage.
Two examples stand out. When we published a story about an extraordinary situation in Serbia, where researchers were left in limbo with no grant funding competitions and no pay rises for a decade, the news editor told me in a somewhat bemused manner that it was their first ever Serbia story. They had been working at Nature for about 5 years.
There have also been no dedicated news stories about Serbia’s issues since then, which suggests that a major regional power that was involved in the first wars on European soil since World War 2, and is a key geopolitical player between the West and Russia (and China to an extent) would have had precisely zero coverage on Nature’s news pages for well over a decade if it wasn’t for one story that I commissioned.
The second example that stands out is Ukraine. I spent months working up coverage to mark the five-year anniversary of Russia’s initial invasion in 2014. Nature didn’t cover Ukraine much in that five-year period after the initial stories in the immediate aftermath of the invasion, so there was a lot to say and catch up on.
The five-year anniversary of the invasion wasn’t seen as a strong news peg, but I was tentatively allowed to look into it and see if there was anything worth reporting.
Different potential angles emerged, such as Ukraine’s continued poor performance in winning EU research grants, despite Europe’s promises of better engagement. There were also colourful details, such as the country’s science academy being led by a centenarian.
But when I pitched not one but two stories based on that research, they were met with resistance from editors. They just did not think Ukraine and any issues there would warrant more than one story.
There was reluctance to cover eastern Europe, and central Asia – another overlooked region, at other publications I’ve worked at, too, including SciDev.Net and Research Professional News. And at New Scientist, it sometimes felt as if a story had to work extra-hard to make the cut if it was from that region, the location itself seemingly detracting from the story’s intrinsic interest in the minds of editors.
There are similar editorial attitudes in many western publications towards other parts of the world, and other issues, too.
But I’ve also seen quick transformations when a reporter or editor who cares is empowered to report on them.
The key thing is having a diverse workforce in science journalism, and keeping an open mind towards issues the publication may not have reported on as much. And perhaps questioning one’s assumptions and attitudes and why they exist, as well as any conscious or unconscious biases.
I've just published my first Forbes science story of 2025. It's all about textile waste, and it features a fascinating new study that looks at the scale of the problem in cities. I'd love if you would read it! #science #scicomm #sciencejournalism #textiles #waste #recycling https://www.forbes.com/sites/lauriewinkless/2025/01/24/wealthy-cities-are-generating-and-exporting-mountains-of-textile-waste/
The (slow) thread collecting all my features published in #CurrentBiology in 2025 starts here. #ProseAndPassion #Science #ScienceWriter #ScienceJournalism #biology #ecology The old thread for 2024 is here:
You’re being lied to about “ultra-processed” foods.
“Vegan fake meats linked to heart disease, early death,” the New York Post declared.
There was just one problem: The narrative was totally fake.
Plant-based meats were virtually absent from the study: Just 0.2 percent of calories across the sample came from meat alternatives. People were eating cookies and cake.
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/391795/ultra-processed-foods-science-vegan-meat-rfk-maha
My latest article for Forbes is a deep-dive into the potential impact of tyre wear particles on the environment and human health (yes, it hurt my soul to write 'tire') #science #sciencejournalism #scicomm https://www.forbes.com/sites/lauriewinkless/2024/12/18/tires-shed-millions-of-tonnes-of-microplastics-into-the-environment/
Reposting my #introduction, since I'm seeing a lot of fresh faces recently. I'm an associate professor at UMass Amherst, where I teach about #journalism and #MediaIndustries. My research focuses on media distribution and, occasionally, dysfunction in the adtech industry.
I also co-edit a book series on the civic impacts of media distribution for The MIT Press. Feel free to hit me up if you're working on a relevant project!
A full list of recognized work can be found here: https://www.eddie-ozzie.com/
Congratulations to all the honorees!
#EddieOzzieAwards
#KnowableMagazine
#ScienceJournalism
#ScienceCommunication
#SciComm
my features published in #CurrentBiology this year, issue 14: #Indonesia's new capital in the rainforest of #Borneo highlights the #conservation and #environmental challenges the country faces. https://proseandpassion.blogspot.com/2024/07/a-capital-in-jungle.html #science #ClimateCatastrophe #CurrentBiology #ScienceJournalism
