A new website called The Open Notebook just launched focusing on the craft of science journalism, and I think it’s well worth checking out. The website features interviews with science writers about recent stories they’ve published. It seems like a great way to get insights about how they tackled the story, including the nitty-gritty details:…
Author Archive | Sandeep Ravindran
The joy of a good interview
Interviews can sometimes be a chore. Sometimes you’re talking to someone who’s not particularly enthusiastic, or who just talks in a really boring way about something that should be inherently exciting. And you persevere as you try really hard to get some interesting information and quotes from them. And then you have the sources who’re…
Malcolm Gladwell’s take on social media makes sense
There’s an interesting debate going on right now about the power (or lack thereof) of social media as agents of social change, spurred by Malcolm Gladwell’s article in the New Yorker which I recommend reading. Of course this spurred an immediate response on the internet, but here’s an article that I think summarizes the debate…
Social media, journalism, and expressing opinions
Our class was visited by NPR’s Richard Harris today. What followed was a fascinating look at what makes radio different from print, and some inside looks at how NPR does such great science reporting for radio. But that’s the subject of a whole different post. Towards the end of his talk, I was struck by…
What’s a shy guy to do at the world’s largest cocktail party (i.e. Twitter)?
I’m naturally a bit shy. This can make social media a bit overwhelming: Am I really willing to share my thoughts and opinions with the entire Web? You might argue that if I’m not interested in sharing my thoughts, I really shouldn’t become a journalist. And that’s true to some extent. But everything I write…
From ‘science-robot’ to science writing cyborg
Whenever I have to write about science in detail, or explain a concept, I find that I default to ‘science-robot’ mode. I write in very dry, technical terms, just getting all the facts in there. And I end up with something that, while technically correct and factually accurate, no one could possibly read without his…
“Robot Laser Sharks in Space” and Writing for the Web
The perfect story to drive traffic to a website would be about “robot laser sharks in space,” according to Alexis Madrigal, senior editor and technology writer for TheAtlantic.com. We listened to Alexis talk via Skype, for our social media class. Most of the talk was about how we could use Twitter, but I was struck…