To commemorate the event, AAAS asked science journalists to contribute articles to a booklet that celebrates and honors the field of science writing. Natalie Angier of The New York Times provides the introduction, where she talks about her love of science writing. David Perlman of the San Francisco Chronicle and John Noble Wilford of The New York Times take a look at the history and the future of science journalism in their two articles. And Paula Apsell of NOVA and Nick Tate of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution address some special issues in science writing, including the challenge of communicating science to the public and communicating global science to a local audience.
Angier says one of the best things about science writing is that it's good news. "Science is about humanity getting it right, a fraction at a time. Science is about looking up at the black bowl of night and knowing what we're seeing. Science is about integrating results from paleontology, botany, and molecular archeology to sketch a portrait of the earth's first flower and to estimate when it lifted its revolutionary petals toward the sun."
The book concludes with a lively discussion piece between a science journalist (Curt Suplee, The Washington Post), a scientist (William Haseltine, chairman and chief executive officer of Human Genome Science, Inc.) and a science teacher (Jim Jarvis of Chantilly High School in Virginia). The booklet also pays tribute to the more than 300 winners of the awards over the last half century, with a complete list of their names.
The AAAS Science Journalism Awards represent the pinnacle of achievement for professional journalists in the science writing field. Independent screening and judging committees comprised of scientists and science journalists select the winning entries. The winning entries are published each year and used as teaching tools in science writing programs at universities and colleges throughout the country. The awards are funded by The Whitaker Foundation, which supports research and education in biomedical engineering.
The awards are given in five categories: large newspaper, small newspaper, magazine, television, and radio. A sixth category‹online science journalism‹has been added this year, in celebration of the 50th anniversary and in acknowledgement of the changing field of science journalism. The deadline for entries in the 2000 awards program is August 1. For an entry form, contact the AAAS News and Information Office at 202-326-6440.
AAAS, the world's largest federation of scientists, works to advance science for human well being through its projects, programs and publications. With more than 138,000 members and 275 affiliated societies, AAAS conducts many programs in the areas of science policy, science education and international scientific cooperation. AAAS publishes the prestigious peer-reviewed journal Science, as well as a number of electronic features on the World Wide Web.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Copies of A Measure of Excellence can be obtained by contacting Laura Humphrey at 202-326-6431 ( lhumphre@aaas.org ) or Tiffany Ayers at 202-326-6781 ( tayers@aaas.org ). The cost of the booklet is $7 for AAAS members and $10 for nonmembers; discount rates on multiple copies are available.