Recently I attended the National Association of Science Writers (NASW) 2013 meeting in Gainesville Florida. The NASW is the premier professional organization for writers who care about communicating science to the public. In the organization’s own words, “above all, NASW fights for the free flow of science news.”
The meeting provided “professional development workshops, briefings on the latest scientific research, extensive networking opportunities, and field trips to explore the region’s unique setting.” Topics of scientific briefings included:
- The tree of lice and the tree of life: Tales of evolution and symbiosis written in one parasite’s gut
- Tiny mammals, giant reptiles: fossil snapshots of biotic response to climate change
- A pathogen hunter flies into African dust plumes
- Rethinking the origins of dogs
One of the most important topics addressed at the meeting dealt with sexual harassment in the science writing community. The room was full of women and men, eager to hear how we could move forward together to change our community for the better. After a moving panel discussion moderated by Deborah Blum, a science writer extraordinaire and NASW stalwart, audience members lined up at the microphones to have their say. A video recording of this portion of the meeting can be watched here.
At a breakout meeting entitled “A View From the Future,” a panel of early career (all of whom happened to be young) science writers discussed the trends in science writing. One panelist noted that “readers are getting older.” Apparently the demographic reading science journalism is “mature.” Hurray for that! There’s room out there for “The Fourth Helix.”
As our first fan, Rosie Klingman, said, “We’re not going away.” Not yet, Rosie. Not yet.
