Comments on Readings Set #6: On Science Writers
I have learned a lot during our first few meetings in J 109. Aside from teaching me tips on how to improve my writing in general, it has also confirmed many of my suspicions about the topics related to the course. For one, it confirmed that science writing is one tough job. It requires analytical skills, patience in research, and creativity to get your message across to people who are casual readers of science.
It also confirmed that science writing has not been as fashionable to journalists and writers as it once was decades ago, which explains why none of the country’s broadsheets have a section devoted to Science articles. Now, the job of writing about the latest discoveries and innovations in science are delegated to science bloggers. They are essentially scientists who want to share their or their colleagues’ latest discoveries in their field to the rest of the world. Whether or not they are able to accomplish their mission is for the readers to judge.
This now raises the question of whether science journalists should get their job back, or science bloggers should continue to do their thing. For me, science writing is a job that was and should be delegated to journalists. They basically possess two out of the three qualities required of a professional science writer: patience in research (especially for in-depth news writers) and creativity. What one needs now is the ability to analyze scientific discoveries which are novel to him, let alone to his readers. There qualities were shown quite superbly in the Airships article. Even though the author has forewarned his readers that the technology behind the modern-day airships is very complex, he was still able to at least give them an idea on how it works. Also, the writer of the Gamma-Ray Bursts article, despite the numerous scientific jargons the subject matter has, he was still able to define them in a simple and straightforward fashion. These are the type of skills that I hope I’ll be able to pick up as the J 109 course goes along.
Although science writing is not really included in the career paths I am considering for the future, I still see myself contributing a few science articles, especially on topics that may pique my interest. That is, if there is any local publication that would publish them, seeing as if there are no science publications here in the Philippines at the moment. But who can tell what's in store in the future, right?
It also confirmed that science writing has not been as fashionable to journalists and writers as it once was decades ago, which explains why none of the country’s broadsheets have a section devoted to Science articles. Now, the job of writing about the latest discoveries and innovations in science are delegated to science bloggers. They are essentially scientists who want to share their or their colleagues’ latest discoveries in their field to the rest of the world. Whether or not they are able to accomplish their mission is for the readers to judge.
This now raises the question of whether science journalists should get their job back, or science bloggers should continue to do their thing. For me, science writing is a job that was and should be delegated to journalists. They basically possess two out of the three qualities required of a professional science writer: patience in research (especially for in-depth news writers) and creativity. What one needs now is the ability to analyze scientific discoveries which are novel to him, let alone to his readers. There qualities were shown quite superbly in the Airships article. Even though the author has forewarned his readers that the technology behind the modern-day airships is very complex, he was still able to at least give them an idea on how it works. Also, the writer of the Gamma-Ray Bursts article, despite the numerous scientific jargons the subject matter has, he was still able to define them in a simple and straightforward fashion. These are the type of skills that I hope I’ll be able to pick up as the J 109 course goes along.
Although science writing is not really included in the career paths I am considering for the future, I still see myself contributing a few science articles, especially on topics that may pique my interest. That is, if there is any local publication that would publish them, seeing as if there are no science publications here in the Philippines at the moment. But who can tell what's in store in the future, right?