The privilege and responsibility of being a science journalist

(An edited version of this was delivered as a speech at the 2016 Rose Scott Women Writers’ Festival) So I’m a huge nerd, both in the writing sense and the science sense. In highschool, I used to write essays … for fun. I used to read books about science, purely for the delight I took in learning Continue reading The privilege and responsibility of being a science journalist

The demise of science journalism and rise of science communication?

Am I a science journalist or a science communicator? It might seem like a pointless question to ask, but as someone whose day-to-day living kinda of revolves around this issue, it’s actually quite important. Contemplating this led me to realise that I actually don’t really know what the point of difference is between a science Continue reading The demise of science journalism and rise of science communication?

Do you need a science background to write about science?

I wrote my first astronomy story recently. It was one of those stories where the journal/research organisation press release sounds amazing and you think, ‘wow, this story is going to write itself’. Then you look at the actual paper and you can’t even understand what the title means. Reading the abstract makes your brain leak Continue reading Do you need a science background to write about science?