The future of storytelling and science journalism

With news organizations firing science reporters or shutting down entirely, it’s hard to predict what direction science journalism will take. And it’s hard to integrate that anxiety with the idea that there are people out there who are hungry for updates about what’s going on in their fields and areas of interest. As we move towards the future, it is also a challenge to assess how these factors will impact publications such as ours.

Latest media news and messages from colleagues and colleagues at crossroads in their careers are filled with disturbing and upsetting details about the state of the industry. That’s why two recently launched media ventures, Sequencer and Proof News, caught my attention.

Both publications present interesting models for different reasons. Sequencer is a worker-owned, science-focused publication. A collective approach could free the company from the powerful growth and profit drivers that motivate publicly owned and venture capital-funded dealerships. Proof News aims to rethink storytelling in journalism, formulate a hypothesis, collect data to test it, and use statistics to analyze the results (sounds familiar?) . With a twist inspired by the scientific method, the site will describe the reporting process and analysis along with the articles it publishes, and also plans to require some form of peer review before publication.

The team at C&EN looks to these outfits for inspiration and guidance to help define what we can do to better serve our audience. While we look at the big questions that are relevant to planning our strategy for the coming years, we also work as a team of writers and editors to discuss topics that deserve to be featured on the editorial page, rather than assigning that role primarily to editors. I did. chief. Some of these editorials are written by individuals, but many are collaboratively written and reviewed.

I’m no expert on the future of science journalism. However, I am confident that people will continue to be drawn to information organized and presented in a way that satisfies the heart and, hopefully, the soul. In other words, people like stories. That’s been true for as long as campfires have existed. Just as ancient storytellers captivated friends and family, a well-crafted story that explains what happened and why it happened, even when the warm glow of a fire takes away from the bluish digital light. Even if it is replaced, it will continue to fascinate people.

I entered university with the intention of majoring in physics, but ended up majoring in geology. I also attended many English classes, but some of my best writing came from my geology class, when I encountered John McPhee’s excellent magazine articles and books. I never thought that developing a love of learning new subjects across different fields of science, combined with an interest in reading, would lead me step by step to a career in journalism, but it did. Every time we crossed a river, we ended up jumping to the next rock to keep our shoes dry.

Just as there is no certainty as to how successful Sequencer or Proof News will be, there is no certainty as to what form C&EN’s strategy will take. We will continue to bring our viewers the most important news about the chemical and related industries. As a team of writers and editors, web designers, artists, web and print production staff, and colleagues in the advertising industry, we are revisiting and rethinking our processes and goals.

Whatever the future holds for science journalism, we will seek to find our way forward, create a shared vision of where we are going, and identify the vehicles we will use to make that journey. We look forward to sharing these ideas and stories in new and familiar formats for you to enjoy from the comfort of your campfire or your favorite device.

The views expressed on this page do not necessarily represent the views of ACS.