Tag Archives: science journalism
The strange NYT article on taming minks
I’m probably waking up late to this but the New York Times has published yet another article in which it creates a false balance by first focusing on the problematic side of a story for an inordinately long time, without any of … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Scicomm
Tagged animal ethics, Joseph Carter, minks, saviour complex, science journalism, The New York Times
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Yes, scientific journals should publish political rebuttals
If they can. Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Scicomm, Science
Tagged Anthony Fauci, Björn Brembs, false balance, glamour journals, journal prestige, peer review, pro-democracy, Science journal, science journalism, science news, scientific journals, Tucker Carlson
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What makes ‘good science journalism’?
From ‘Your Doppelgänger Is Out There and You Probably Share DNA With Them’, The New York Times, August 23, 2022: Dr. Esteller also suggested that there could be links between facial features and behavioral patterns, and that the study’s findings … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Scicomm
Tagged ESL, eugenics, science journalism, The Atlantic, The New York Times
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The Higgs boson and I
My first byline as a professional journalist (a.k.a. my first byline ever) was oddly for a tech story – about the advent of IPv6 internet addresses. I started writing it after 7 pm, had to wrap it up by 9 … Continue reading
Posted in Life notes
Tagged blogging, Higgs boson, particle physics, science journalism
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Press releases and public duty
From ‘Science vs Marketing’, published on In The Dark, on May 20, 2022: … there is an increasing tendency for university press offices to see themselves entirely as marketing agencies instead of informing and/or educating the public. Press releases about scientific research … Continue reading
Posted in Scicomm
Tagged BBC, Indian Express, Pallab Ghosh, Peter Coles, science journalism, university press releases
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Sci-Hub isn’t just for scientists
Quite a few reporters from other countries have reached out to me, directly or indirectly, to ask about scientists to whom they can speak about how important Sci-Hub is to their work. This attention to Sci-Hub is commendable, against the … Continue reading
Posted in Scicomm
Tagged Alexandra Elbakyan, Delhi high court, Sci-Hub, science journalism
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Anonymity in journalism and a conflict of ethics
I wrote the following essay at the invitation of a journal in December 2020. (This was the first draft. There were additional drafts that incorporated feedback from a few editors.) It couldn’t be published because I had to back out … Continue reading
Posted in Scicomm
Tagged ABVP, anonymity, Bharatiya Janata Party, CCS Rules 1964, Hindutva, Jawaharlal Nehru University, pseudonymity, Rolling Stone, science journalism, The Wire Science
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News coverage in India of open access papers
In a study published in November 2021, Teresa Schultz, of the University of Nevada, Reno, reported that gold, green and hybrid open-access (OA) modes of publishing of scientific papers were correlated with more mentions in the news. Gold OA refers … Continue reading
Posted in Scicomm
Tagged gold OA, green OA, hybrid OA, Open Access, Sci-Hub, science journalism, subscription journals
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A false union in science journalism
At what point does a journalist become a stenographer? Most people would say it’s when the journalist stops questioning claims and reprints them uncritically, as if they were simply a machine. So at what point does a science journalist become … Continue reading
Posted in Scicomm, Science
Tagged Holden Thorpe, New York Times, science communication, science journalism, self-correcting
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The problem with rooting for science
The idea that trusting in science involves a lot of faith, instead of reason, is lost on most people. More often than not, as a science journalist, I encounter faith through extreme examples – such as the Bloch sphere (used … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Scicomm
Tagged arrow paradox, biopolitics, Bloch sphere, common English, emergent properties, expertise, faith, mathematical physics, pseudoscience, quantum superposition, reason, science communication, science journalism, Social Psychology, statistical significance, trust, uncertainty, wave function
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