The science media ecosystem has never been as big, as good or as vibrant as it is today. Many young writers are joining the ranks of veterans each year – and they are good! Many of them have science backgrounds.
They all write really well. And they are digital natives, effortlessly navigating today’s online world and using all the tools available to them. But some of them are going beyond being well adapted to the new media ecosystem – they are actively creating it. They experiment with new forms and formats to tell stories online, and if the appropriate tool is missing – they build it themselves.
Not only can they write well, they can also code, design for the web, produce all types of multimedia, and do all of this with seemingly more fun than effort, seeing each other as collaborators rather than competitors. I’d like to see the best of them tell us what they do, how they do it, and what they envision for the media ecosystem they are currently building.
The discussion has already started on Twitter (follow also #sci4hels) and the session has also active website: #sci4hels – Science Journalism in Helsinki.
BIOGRAPHIES
Organizer: Bora Zivkovic
Bora Zivkovic was born in former Yugoslavia where he studied veterinary medicine and trained horses. He moved to the USA in 1991 and did his graduate research at North Carolina State University on circadian rhythms in birds.
He is currently Blogs Editor at the Scientific American, where he manages a network of almost 60 top-notch science bloggers. He is also a Co-Founder and Director of ScienceOnline.com and the series editor of the annual anthology ‘Best Science Writing Online’ (formerly known as “Open Laboratory”). In his spare time Bora teaches Introductory Biology to non-traditional students at N.C.Wesleyan College.
Moderator: Rose Eveleth
Rose Eveleth is a producer, designer, writer and animator based in Brooklyn. She switched from studying krill as a scientist to studying scientists who study krill as a journalist. Now she tries to explain sciencey stuff for media like The New York Times, Scientific American, Story Collider, TED-Ed, BBC Future, Smart Planet and OnEarth. She’s a regular blogger for Smithsonian Magazine’s newest online endeavour – Smart News, and a part time editor of all things animated at TED Education. In her spare time she makes weird collages, rides her bicycle, and daydreams about hanging out with a pack of foxes.
Panelists:
Lena Groeger is a journalist-designer-developer who builds data-driven interactive web applications and graphics at ProPublica, an investigative news organization in New York City. She has a master’s degree from New York University in science journalism, and is particularly interested in psychology and neuroscience.
Kathleen Raven is a freelance science and health writer based in Athens, Georgia. She recently wrapped up a science writing internship at Nature Medicine in New York City. In May 2013 she will graduate from the University of Georgia’s Health & Medical Journalism M.A. program. Last year she earned her M.S. degree there in conservation ecology.
Erin Podolak is a member of the narrative reporting team at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. At Dana-Farber she focuses on writing about basic science, clinical research and new technologies for several different types of cancer. Erin recently completed her Master’s degree in Journalism with a specialty concentration in science communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also studied science writing at Lehigh University where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in 2009. Erin has held a variety of internships in journalism and communications, including a year of writing science news for the website of the journal BioTechniques. In addition Erin writes and manages her own blog Science Decoded – one woman’s adventures navigating science and the media.
