Look out, Interwebs. The SciCom slugs are coming to a social network near you. By the end of the quarter, we have to commit an act of journalism using social media. My limited attempts to build an online community were not too successful, so I’m dubious about this project. Will our creations spread through our…
Not Enough Time
Working at a daily newspaper is quite a roller coaster of emotions. Panic, excitement, panic, wonder, panic, the satisfaction of completing a story…Learning to function and think while on this ride is no easy task. And sometimes it’s frustrating not to be able to do justice to a topic when you know there are so…
Bacteria: the real stars of the show
For those interested (from textbookofbacteriology.net) MAJOR NUTRITIONAL TYPES OF PROKARYOTES Nutritional Type Energy Source Carbon Source Examples Photoautotrophs Light CO2 Cyanobacteria, some Purple and Green Bacteria Photoheterotrophs Light Organic compounds Some Purple and Green Bacteria Chemoautotrophs or Lithotrophs (Lithoautotrophs) Inorganic compounds, e.g. H2, NH3, NO2, H2S CO2 A few Bacteria and many Archaea Chemoheterotrophs…
Once bitten, twice shy
Many of our sources are going to be once bitten, twice shy concerning the media.
Concision
I thought I wrote concisely, but Zinsser is a master. Chapter 3 of “On Writing Well” is about trimming words that aren’t doing any work. Zinsser says: “If you might add, add it. If it should be pointed out, point it out. If it is interesting to note, make it interesting…” Words to live by,…
Thoughts on newspaper work, from H. L. Mencken
“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…
Déjà vu all over again
I wonder if it’s the same for any profession – that as you prepare to enter it, the standing guard feels compelled to warn you that things are not as good as they used to be. So far, I’m two for two, so I’m thinking it’s a universal truth. Thirteen years ago, I sloshed into…
On media and money
A quick Twitter break on Wednesday uncovered an issue I’m still thinking about today. Earlier this week, Ira Flatow, host of NPR’s Science Friday, issued a statement that the program is having funding trouble. The news spread through a Huffington Post blog. Ira responded the next day reassuring listeners that the program is not “on…
Twitter Trip-up
Our first assignment for our Social Media class was to sign up for a Twitter account and to follow people relevant to our early careers as science writers. Although I already had a Twitter account, I hadn’t used it much beyond a couple complaints and self-promoting links, largely because my complaining and self-promoting needs were…