Top Five Things I've Leanred About Science Reporting

I have learned numerous important issues when it comes to science reporting. The top five I will discuss are that you cannot be sure that the information a scientist is telling you is true, don’t make mistakes and always check your facts, the most important thing is to always be prepared and have your sources lined up, nature reporting is more about what you observe as opposed to environmental reporting which is based on facts and finally, provide your lead with facts and quotes.

You can never be sure when you are a science reporter whether or not your sources are telling you honest facts. This is a huge issue for science reporters because if they do not go back and double check their facts and their source have provided them with false information, heir reputation will be damaged. Sources will make up information to tell you either because they really would like their product to be public or because they are heavily influenced by the company they are working for. You can never know if they are following the money aspect or if they have a hidden agenda. As a result, they are more likely to tell you all the good information about the product and leave out the negative. If the story becomes published and it turns out that the source provided false information, then there is nothing you can do to undo the damage that has already been done.

This leads up to the next most important thing I’ve learned about science reporting. DON’T MAKE MISTAKES!!! Always check your facts. This is really important because if you do not go back and double-check your information and there is a mistake, chances are you will damage your reputation in some way. A science reporter has only one reputation and you want that reputation to be the best. If it’s not, chances are people are not going to want you writing for them. I cannot stress how important it is to clarify information and go back and make sure everything is correct.

Third, another really important thing to consider when science reporting, is to be prepared and already have your sources lined up. This is especially important when natural disasters occur for example, a volcano erupts or a tsunami wipes out an island. This way when a natural disaster occurs, you already know whom your expert sources are and already have your questions so you can be the first to publish the story. Another example of when it would be important to have your sources lined up is when a tragedy like a plane crashes. That way you can have your sources who knows why a plane crashes or what could have caused the plan to crash.

When a science reporter is reporting about nature, they tend to use more descriptive language and write about their own experiences in nature. Environmental reporting, however, is not the same. When you are reporting about the environment you should include statistics, charts, graphs and even how is affects global, social and economical issues. For example, when a science reporting is doing a story on global warming, they might discuss how is it going to effect us in the future as opposed to what is going on right now. Environmental reporting tends to more about what needs to be done and nature reporting is about what is going on right now, for example, the extinction of polar bears.

The fifth most important thing I’ve learned about science reporting is to provide you lead with facts and quotes. Without these two items the lead probably won’t appear as interesting as it could be. It also shows that you are getting information from a knowledgeable. It also gives more background information about what you will be discussing later on in the story. The story is also more credible if the lead is followed by facts and quotes.