Science Writing: Reporting from Science Journals

Science writers should be selective. First, we need to know about various types of journals and what kind of papers they publish. Many science writers generally focus on reporting from the “Big-four” peer-reviewed journals: Science, Nature, the New England Journal of Medicine, and the Journal of the American Medical Association. Science and Nature are major sources of science news and they publish the most important research for the broadest interest to the scientific community.

Many paper drafts are available about a week before publication which gives reporters time to work on the story without fearing someone else will report it first. Science reporters should acquire background knowledge about the research while preparation. Paper reading is very important. It is advisable to go through the abstract first and then study various graphs and figures used in the paper. Jolt down the points coming to your mind which can be put into a story. Also include an outside comment in your story to give readers both sides of the research.

It is important to check the facts. Don’t trust the blurbs on the tip sheets or news releases. Check trivial facts before assumption. Be aware that the peer-review system is also not error-prone. Ask the paper’s authors about previous news coverage of their work and potential conflicts of interest.

The last important task is to build a story, start with the gist and then continue with the flow. decide the significance of each bit and decide what should be better for readers.