Science and technology are shaping mankind as never before and it is increasingly necessary for society to have a say on what scientists should and should not do. A dialogue between scientists and the lay public is possible only if the knowledge gap between them is narrowed through science reporting. This is a vital function of science journalism in modern society.
Science is too vast and specialization in one field does not make the reporter a specialist in every field of science. But specialization does help in the sense that it exposes a would-be science reporter to the methods of science, the techniques used by scientists, and above all to the atmosphere and the conditions under which research is done.
It is essential that the reporter has a background in science and a temperament that encourages constant improvement in one’s knowledge about science. In science new knowledge is being generated every day. So a science reporter must be willing to be a student of science throughout his career so as to be able to keep abreast of developments in different fields. This is the fundamental difference between science and general reporting. And the most important quality of a science reporter is his ability to spot a development that is newsworthy. This is possible only if the reporter is reasonably aware of the major areas of research going on in different disciplines of society.
The growing importance of science in everyday life is quite obvious. In spite of that, the interest in the subject and the space provided to this fascinating field by newspapers and magazines is not commensurate with its significance. By its very nature, science is a serious subject, which requires considerable attention and specialized background. It is perceived to be not meant for everybody.
Science writing for television and radio is entirely different from articles published in specialized journals. The editor needs to make the subject comprehensible even to a layman. One difficulty that the scientists face is that they fail to make the subject as lucid and interesting as possible.
The simple rule of the thumb, for a science reporter is that just as you are not able to comprehend much of what is compiled by a specialist of another profession, a person who is not trained in your branch of specialization may be lost if you write in the standard language of your subject. For instance, an agricultural scientist may be able to communicate freely with another agricultural scientist, but he cannot make himself clear to a space scientist, and vice versa. If this is the block that develops even among highly educated persons, things are all the more difficult when the matter has to be explained to a person who has no or little grounding in that subject. So one has to go out of one’s way to explain everyday phenomenon in layman’s language It may sound difficult but it is not so.
In this context, a senior journalist says: A journalist writing on a scientific subject must understand the characteristics of his target readership properly. This understanding towards the reader is mandatory not only in science writing but in every type of writing. The first lesson that every journalist is taught is: Give the reader the subject in everyday language and he will become a friend for life.
A word of caution is in order, here. You do not have to talk down to your audience. That will be an insult to his intelligence. While not writing what will go above his head, the journalist should be careful when it comes to oversimplifying things. Give him the basics, without letting him feel that he does not know. No reader wants to be underestimated. “I am sure you know all this but to save your time and energy, I am only repeating what you already know”: That is the safest stance for a editor to adopt.
In the context of science reporting, therefore, one practical suggestion is to talk about the everyday use of the subject in the very beginning. The history of the subject and other details can wait. The common reader is not bothered about technical specifications. He is interested in putting the information that you give him to daily use.
Illustrations and pictures are absolutely essential to this branch of writing. These not only explain the subject better but are also pleasing to the eye. Only talk and narrative is not pleasing to the ear. Necessary breaks in form of graphics and tabulations are not wastage of space but essential tools in holding the attention of your audience.
Reporting Science and Technology
Since the end of World War II news houses have increasingly recognized the interest that many of its audience have in reports about science, medicine, and technology. Several channels have one or more science writers, as have the wire services. They also have a general assignment reporter who specializes in science writers, but devotes about one half of his time to news in that field.
Most science reporters are self-taught, but several have studied one or more sciences to the extent that they know the vocabulary and the basic principles of the sciences and technologies.
Science writers obtain their material at scientific meetings, from scientific journals, from news releases by universities and research laboratories, and from personal contacts with individual scientists. At scientific meetings the participants supply advance copies of the papers they are to present. The science editor selects some of these to report and often interviews the authors, either before or after the paper is read, for the purpose of getting a clearer explanation of certain parts of the paper. The science writer who is near university has a sort of “beat”: he visits scientists to learn about their current research. He also finds out in which journal the research will be published and the approximate time of publication. He then arranges with the scientist to procure a copy of the report when it is submitted to the journal and he writes a news story at that time. The story is not released, however, until it has appeared in the journal. The reporter also does this when the research appears in a book. Some science writers also read certain journals for newsworthy research reports of which they do not have advance information.
Relations with Scientists
For some years scientists regarded reporters with suspicion because of the sensational and inaccurate treatment of their research findings in the Sunday newspaper supplements. Now, however, many science writers have developed a trusting relationship with individual scientists that are based on the science writers’ satisfactory previous reporting of the scientists’ research. In many instances the writer submits his news story to the scientist before publication to insure thorough accuracy; in other instances, the writer reads a part of his news story to the scientist on the telephone.
Vocabulary: Because of the rapid advance of science in some fields the science editor is having to learn the definitions of new terms. Several recently published up-to-date reference are available to him. Some of these are: Short Glossary of Space Terms published by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration: John Foster, Jr., Science Writer’s Guide, which contains 204 pages of science terms and six pages of medical terms; and James F. Holmes’ communications dictionary: A compilation of Terms Used in the Fields of Electronic Communications and Data Processing.
