Science

Small Fry — How to Tell Compelling Stories About Obscure Species

Getting people excited about large, charismatic wildlife is easy, but tiny, little-known or less-than-lovable species can be a tough sell. Journalists Bethany Brookshire and Douglas Main on why it’s important to include oddball organisms in your reporting and how to get audiences engaged. Pro tip: Building curiosity and caring for minor-league creatures often means being a bit self-centered.

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Prize Winner Spurs Policy Change on Illinois PFAS Contamination

When Illinois downplayed the results of long-delayed PFAS testing in the state’s public water supply, Chicago Tribune reporter Michael Hawthorne revisited a story he had first covered two decades before. His investigation uncovered dangerous practices threatening public health, won him accolades and moved the needle on state policy. How he went about it, in the new Inside Story Q&A.

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"What Trump Winning The Election Could Mean For The CDC"

"State and local health departments would no longer be able to track opioid overdoses, provide cancer screenings and help people quit smoking, according to health officials, if Republicans carry out their plans to dramatically shrink the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under a second Donald Trump presidency."

Source: Washington Post, 11/01/2024

"Disaster Misinformation Is Part of the US Political Landscape Now"

"In September 2018, I was in North Carolina riding out Hurricane Florence and reporting on its impacts. For a few days, I embedded with a FEMA rescue team stationed at Hope Mills Recreation Center near Fayetteville, accompanying emergency responders as they evacuated a senior center in the middle of the night and touring flooded neighborhoods by day."

Source: Bloomberg, 10/31/2024

RFK Jr. Said Trump Promised Him Control of Public Health Agencies

"Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told supporters on an online organizing call this week that former President Donald J. Trump had “promised” him “control” of the nation’s public health agencies, should Mr. Trump win the election next week. The Trump campaign, however, would confirm no such commitments."

Source: NYTimes, 10/31/2024
November 15, 2024

DEADLINE: Good Science Project–Johns Hopkins MA in Science Writing's Reporting Grants

This annual program aims to improve science journalism and science itself by providing four $5,000 reporting grants for feature-length magazine articles on the funding and practice of science in the US. Deadline: Nov 15, 2024.

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New Reports Ahead of COP29 Show World Spinning Its Wheels on Climate Action

"A trio of reports released ahead of next month’s COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan all show that the existing national policies to cut greenhouse gas emissions under the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement will heat the planet by close to 3 degrees Celsius by 2100, as warming has accelerated in the past few years."

Source: Inside Climate News, 10/29/2024
October 31, 2024

SciLine Experts on Camera: Environmental Contamination After Hurricanes With Dr. Weihsueh Chiu

Dr. Weihsueh Chiu of Texas A&M will be available from 10 a.m-noon ET for 15-minute 1-on-1 Zoom interviews. He can discuss types of hurrican-damage pollution; how preparations for hurricanes and damage to infrastructure lead to pollution; environmental remediation; and how hurricane-related pollution impacts human health.

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World On Pace For Much More Warming Without Immediate Action, Report Warns

"The world is on a path to get 1.8 degrees Celsius (3.2 Fahrenheit) warmer than it is now, but could trim half a degree of that projected future heating if countries do everything they promise to fight climate change, a United Nations report said Thursday."

Source: AP, 10/25/2024

New-Look Landslide Risk Database Captures Potential Human Costs

Susceptibility to landslides is more on the minds of environmental reporters, especially in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which caused hundreds of them. To get a better read on local landslide risk for local stories, Reporter’s Toolbox recommends an enhanced resource from the U.S. Geological Survey, which layers the risk data into easily readable map form.

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