Surprisingly newsworthy elements
The following research elements are newsworthy to reporters, apart from the actual research finding.
Science Writing: Guidelines And Guidance
Carl Zimmer is a popular science writer, blogger, columnist, and journalist who specializes in the topics of evolution, parasites, and heredity. On his website, he provides notes for a class he has taught at Yale called “Writing about Science, Medicine, and the Environment.”
The “Message Box”: A tool for crafting your message
Since 1999, COMPASS has supported over 10,000 scientists to communicate about their work. The “Message Box” is one of their most popular tools – a cornerstone of the whole program.
Getting Started in Science Journalism
This link contains a subset of those resources, with a focus on what’s most relevant to people who are getting started in science journalism.
New to science writing (resources)
ASW offers a wide array of resources to the science writing community, many of which do not require NASW membership. They have a special section dedicated to people new to the craft!
AAAS Communication Toolkit
A website called EurekAlert gives journalists access to the latest scientific studies – and to press releases that science writers have written on those studies – before publication.
EurekAlert! News Releases
A website called EurekAlert gives journalists access to the latest scientific studies – and to press releases that science writers have written on those studies – before publication.
How to (seriously) read a scientific paper
This article features recommendations from a dozen scientists at different career stages and in a broad range of fields regarding how they approach reading a scientific paper.