Science and Journalism

Should journalists be concerned with writing scientific articles? This question led the writer to enumerate ways on how to hook the attention of readers. To be in a fast changing, modern world, journalists are challenged to keep their readers focused on reading their articles. “Understanding the audience, determining the message, deciding on strategies, and measuring success” were tips given to keep easily-distracted readers engaged in a piece of writing.

Scientific researches are now viewed apathetically in the United States and are not given enough funds. People are less interested in science findings and the media is seen as one of the factors that cause it. Here is one obstacle faced by writers interested in writing scientific articles. How do you create a scientific article when sources (researches, case studies and experiments) are not well-funded and thus give substandard data? The article “Public Praises Science; Scientists Fault Public, Media” poses a challenge to media practitioners, specifically journalists. The media must verify sources and be cautious of substandard sources to reap an informative science article as a result.

"Independent science coverage is not just endangered, it's dying," Robert Lee Hotz’ words summarized the struggle of the media to write articles related to science. There has been decline in the number of journalists writing science articles. Blogging has helped solve this problem. Scientists find themselves relating science to laypeople in blogs.

Journalists and science writing are reaching out to a larger crowd through the help of blogging but are also plagued by problems. Science journalism has a future. The tips are for journalists to keep people hooked and interested, verify sources and do not be hesitant to use the internet and blogging to write about science.

Writing Tips

Silverblatt’s interview raised an important point that most interviewers fail to do: “mirror” their interviewee. To journalists, we are almost always focused on getting information that we neglect to know the story behind the interviewee. Silverblatt also mentions the role of reading. From the article, I gleaned an idea that conducting an interview is like reading. To know how a story ends, we must be engrossed in it.

“Clear thinking becomes clear writing”. This statement summarizes the idea of Zinsser. I like how he used examples of a “cluttered” writing to emphasize the necessity to make a concise writing. Through his examples, he magnified writing as a hard task that must be given much thought. How a writer picks the right words and the way he glues them into sentences may or may not interest the reader.

The blog post A Farewell to Science has tackled the importance of blogging. Some media practitioners do not consider the world of blogging as a media form. In this blog post, it is stated that “scientists and journalists share some common ethical principles: transparency, authenticity and truth-telling”. Most people regard blogging as merely a way of ranting but it is related to the media in the way it disseminates information, whether scientific or not.

By looking through these articles, a journalist who writes about a scientific topic must be a good interviewee, read about the topic he wants to cover, be transparent with facts and be concise. It takes a whole lot of discipline to write a scientific article. The problem starts with how to gather information and how to verify them and ends with finding out how to create an interesting article using this information.

Yes, Scientific Stuff Can Be Interesting

I find Realities in RP Science to be informative. It was a lengthy read but is kept interesting by not using technical and scientific terms that can confuse a reader. I like the way the article was straightforward, a noticeable fact seen through the reasons (brain drain, excessive red tape) that were given right after a brief introduction of the topic. The ending paragraph summarized his key points.

The second article was more technical. It employed a simple, straightforward writing style like the first article but was more difficult to understand. The word genome may not be readily understood by all readers and so leads to difficult comprehension of ideas presented. If I were to rewrite the article, I would try to omit not-so-useful sentences and would stick to using simple words to prevent unclear ideas.

The third article, From Museum Basement, a `New’ Dinosaur, was both interesting and informative. It was shorter than the other two articles but it conveyed concise ideas that gave it clarity. It was successful in delivering scientific news through use of simple terms and language.

The article about the vocal range of animals was light but was full of fresh information. It did not only enumerate the facts about animals and their vocal ranges but was able to support this info with research.

Here are the articles' links. :)

Realities in RP Science

Human genetic variation — Science’s ‘Breakthrough of the Year’

From Museum Basement, a `New’ Dinosaur

For Male Finches, Range Comes With Muscle

Article Review: Techie to Sporty Articles

One encompassing description that would fit all five articles would be their ability to tackle a techie or technology-related information and turn it into a light article to be read and enjoyed. In the first article about the Motorola Android, the mood employed in writing was light and filled with humor. One thing I can change if I were to do an article on the same topic would be use of more familiar techie terms to avoid confusion.

The Wired.com article about Twitter and theater was interesting because it presented its main topic or lead as a question, but I think the tweets included in the essay could have been lessened. Time.com’s article provided vivid descriptions on one man’s experience in Riding the Rails of Malaysia, In Singapore. If I would rewrite the article, I would retain the amount of descriptions used but will use a more catchy introductory sentence.

The Kentucky Derby was a bit different because it used slang words that are usually avoided in feature articles. The use of slang words was effective, though. It raised a sense of reality in the article and provided indirect descriptions of the characters present.

The last article employed descriptions of sports prowess almost all throughout the article. It was a bit lengthy and can bore someone who is not a tennis fanatic like me. The first sentence can interest the reader at once. Descriptions used were effective, though. These descriptions made me feel like I was infront of the game of Michael Joyce. If I could write about a tennis match, I will make my article shorter, then start with a good introductory sentence and end it with what Joyce has that made him a famous tennis player.

Limelight On: The Networker

The article is generally light to read but is also laden with facts about Mohseni. The article made Mohseni come to life; vivid descriptions and careful selection of words enabled me, a reader to picture him, without the need to see him. The adjectives (gregarious, trim) were carefully chosen to create the impression that Mohseni is an exuberant media personality. Descriptions made range from subtle to very vivid ones, even used to create in the mind of the reader the image of Mohseni.

I am in awe of how the writer captured the way of life in Afghanistan through Mohseni, a clear instrument of an Afghan steering away from traditional ways.

If I were to alter some ways on how the topic was written, I would start it by describing the current state of Afghanistan and then begin to describe Saad Mohseni with the same amount of clarity used in the article. I would end the article by picturing Mohseni both as a media personality and a mirror of modernism amidst the traditional way of life in Afghanistan.

Limelight On: The Web Shatters Focus, Rewires Brains

The writer made a clear illustration of points that were woven to show the article’s focus. He started the article in an interesting way; he first used a research and its results and was able to build up a continuous chain of thoughts after it. The build-up of ideas was gradual. The writer first used researches and would follow them with points that surfaced from the researches done.

One flaw in the way the article was written is the slight use of technical terms (i.e. magnetic resonance imager) that may confuse readers. While some technical terms were explained briefly, most terms were left to be understood by the readers.

Taking note of the flaws of the article and the interesting ways the article was written, I can inject my own creativity to make an essay of the same topic. I can start the essay with sentences that can tickle the interest of readers. The body of the essay can be written using more vivid words and descriptions so the readers can actually picture the main points I convey. I can use technical terms but will include brief explanations about them.

I can also use a gradual flow of ideas, similar to the technique the essay employed, but maybe I can use examples from everyday life to give the article a more personal view rather than remain purely grounded on facts and research results.

Limelight On: Oprah Talks to Ellen DeGeneres

This interview feature’s title is almost enough to be considered interesting and a must-read; after reading it, I still agree that it is an article worth reading. I like how the article started to give pieces of information about Ellen and how the idea of Oprah conducting an interview with Ellen surfaced. The flow of the interview was smooth. Oprah started the interview by first making Ellen comfortable then gradually began to build a rapport enough to make a smooth-sailing question and answer conversation.

I could alter a few things on the interview, though. I would follow the way Oprah built instantaneous rapport with DeGeneres but add a few non-personal questions that include asking Ellen about the things she is busy with at the time the interview was conducted.

I would also think gestures, mannerisms and facial expressions should have been mentioned more and given some emphasis, for these can paint a clearer picture of how DeGeneres responds nonverbally to Oprah’s questions.

Limelight On: The Biggest Little Man in the World

This article about Filipino pride Manny Pacquiao was made interesting by the way the writer used a sense of narration to give a clear picture of how being with Pacquiao for an interview felt. Through use of descriptions, Manny Pacquiao was transformed from a sports legend seen on tv and magazine covers to an actual person who has a normal life behind his success.

The soft downpour of information about Manny was interesting as well. Bits of information about Pacquiao (his being the only boxer to have seven titles in different weight divisions) were not given in one blow, but rather, inserted between narrations of the writer. Adjectives used in the article were clear and effective.

I would employ most of the writing techniques used in the article with just one exception. The article was interesting but a bit lengthy and so the reader’s anticipation to know the gist of the article can be held for quite a longer time and can result to the reader being uninterested even before finishing the article. I can try to write a shorter article about the same topic to maintain the interest of the reader.