J226 Science Reporting

This course offers an accessible introduction to science reporting. Students in the course will learn what constitutes the science beat, and
learn, on or off that beat, how to find the drama and compelling narratives in the process of scientific inquiry and discovery.

The class will include lecturers from leading researchers in the field, critical readings of science-based stories, writing exercises to hone your eye on the story-lines hiding in the science, and the trap-doors to watch out for as the natural and social sciences become contested territory. Science is our window into the world, of the human and non-human variety: By the end of this course, you will have a robust toolkit of science reporters’ resources to tell stories derived from science and use scientific findings to back up your stories.

Because this is a graduate-level course, we will also go beyond reporting basics to think critically about science reporting. We’ll explore how politics, economics, sociocultural norms, and technology shape science news stories and how such coverage reflects and shapes public attitudes and values with respect to science. We’ll also consider the role of the media as a social and political institution and critique media coverage of science with a focus on issues of representation, identity, and equity. In brief, this course will strengthen students’ abilities to: identify various types of science story ideas; conduct deep background research for science stories; identify where the story-lines are in the process of scientific inquiry and discovery; and think critically about the production of science news.