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…
The Story By William Blake-Drake Story! Story! yet to write In the newsrooms of the night, What nocturnal journalist Could frame thy lede and nutgraf/gist? In what distant source or two Burn the quotes I need for you? On what site dare facts reside? What the Google, at my side? And what structure, and what…
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…
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…
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…
Many of our sources are going to be once bitten, twice shy concerning the media.
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,…
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…
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…
