long , long ago for an event far , far away , newsweek magazine sent its lowliest  stringer ,  a by - the - day freelancer , to cover the mariner 10 satellite 's  fly - by  of venus .
fortunately , the press conference was not on venus but at the jet propulsion laboratory ( jpl ) in pasadena ( kremer , 2014 ) . like all stringers and nearly all staff reporters at the time , the freelancer had no special science background and knew little about venus beyond its position , second from the sun .
the jpl team though , headed by bruce murray , were ready for an auditorium of  general assignment  reporters , some of whom were a little shaky even on the  second from the sun  part .
murray 's team poured on the background  the surface temperature of venus was more than 800f/450c under a thick , opaque cloud layer of sulfuric acid .
after unveiling mariner 10 s first - ever uv pictures , which revealed the planet 's swirling atmosphere in detail , the jpl panel took questions .
a television reporter popped up in his best blazer , microphone flag , and booming baritone to ask , 
so , doc , when will man walk on venus ?  the jpl panel was speechless for a long moment .
then murray gallantly fielded the question , quickly walking the reporter back through the killing temperatures and sulfuric acid clouds to a chuckling conclusion that a venus walk was some ways off .
before the 1960s , science news was largely technical writing for  trade  or specialized journals .
the  mass  media often relied on uncritical reports of medical  miracles ,  technological  wizardry ,  and uniform scientific  progress .  yet things were changing . because of the  race to the moon ,  there was a corps of  space  reporters scattered about the jpl auditorium ( whose questions , the stringer quickly realized , were the important ones ) . by the 1970s , big newspapers and the television networks were assigning a few generalist reporters to a permanent science 
beat  that covered everything from asteroids to zygotes . the trades such as science magazine hired journalists in the mid-1960s to write science news for nonscientists . in the mid-1970s
, science editor allen hammond made a daring decision to hire science phds to write a research news section ( from an interview with richard a. kerr , science magazine staff writer , interviewed march 27 , 2014 , by j.f . ) .
the new science media began tackling complicated science stories such as pollution , smoking , organ transplants , and recombinant dna . thus began the golden age of science writing , which was not all gilt and not all that long .
in the 1980s and 1990s ,  serious  newspapers and the television networks added science and health correspondents .
degreed scientists and even physicians were on camera and on staff to provide perspective on the news .
then , in the late 1990s , the internet spread its wings and advertising flew away from print and broadcast television . thus began the free fall age of science writing .
in 2005 , there were 34 , and in 2012 , 19 ( morrison , 2013 ) . the page counts in monthly science magazines fell like autumn leaves .
, americans are as likely to get science and technology news from the internet as from television ( national science foundation , 2012 ) .
the internet , which took away so many professional outlets ( and jobs ) for journalists , opened a far wider landscape for online science writers ,  content curators ,  and scientists themselves to chronicle the wonders and worries of modern science .
they populate a brave new ecosystem of websites , blogs , e - pubs , and even  bijou  print issues about science .
we talk about science writing , but digital science communication now involves creating videos , podcasts , animations , slide shows , and  whiteboard  lectures , while stoking the powerful social media engines that drive it all at the moment .
this brave new world of digital science writing recalls the description by psychologist william james of a newborn 's perception of the world as  one great blooming , buzzing confusion  ( hawks , 2010 ) . finding a career path through all
it has never been harder to find a well - paid , stable position where a science writer has the resources , including time , to explore complex modern science stories .
the digital age has blurred ( or , some say wiped out ) the line between independent journalism , public information , public relations , and private interest .
some say good riddance . some say beware . here to give some perspective on science writing in the digital age , we offer two views  old school ( j.f . ) and new school ( c.s . ) .
we 'll explain who we are , how we got started , the paths we followed , the paths we think others might consider , and where we think science writing is going .
i earned my phd in cell biology and molecular physiology in 2013 at the university of pittsburgh , where i researched endocytic and exocytic traffic . toward the end of grad school ,
a career - planning course helped me realize that i would not be fulfilled following the traditional path to a postdoc .
i had been blogging for years and enjoyed writing in the lab more than doing my experiments .
however , i knew i needed to be doing more outside the lab if i was going to have a shot at leaving academia .
i quickly enrolled in a graduate - level , nonfiction writing course in the english department .
it was a night class that met just once a week , so i could squeeze it into my schedule without disrupting my time in the lab . at first
i was the outsider intruding on a tight - knit group of master 's of fine arts students , plus i did n't know the jargon .
on the first day , when the professor said to look at the  third graph ,  i was puzzled for a moment , as the handout had no figures , before i realized he meant  paragraph .
 it was a steep learning curve , but my classmates and professor were patient with my ignorance .
the following semester , i took a formal journalism course with the same professor , who 'd become a mentor and who helped me learn the journalism ropes .
i also participated in the mentorship program organized by the national association of science writers ( nasw ) at the american association for the advancement of science ( aaas ) meeting .
six months before my planned dissertation defense , i started applying for science writing jobs and internships .
i was lucky that the ascb , of which i was a member , was looking for a phd cell biologist to write for them .
although i interviewed for other opportunities , the position at ascb seemed like a perfect fit , and i 'm glad i took the position .
i have quite a bit of freedom in deciding what i want to write about , and i enjoy having other job duties , like managing social media and supporting the student and postdoc committee , to break up my day .
i learned about hari shroff 's new dispim technology while visiting the marine biology laboratory ( mbl ) in woods hole . with his national institutes of health lab a few blocks away from the ascb office in bethesda
seeing his lab and interviewing him there gave me details i would n't have discovered over the phone .
as shroff explained how his sprawling experimental arrays of lenses and mirrors might someday be built commercially as a compact microscope unit that could put new advanced imaging technologies in labs around the world .
back at the keyboard , the challenge is always to translate complex subjects , like dispim microscopy , into clear descriptions and accurate explanations .
it took place in the small ohio city where i had my first job as a very general assignment newspaper reporter . for the daily , i covered school boards , train wrecks , the  cop shop ,  basketball , obituaries , hog prices , and anything else that crossed the city editor 's desk .
when the electric power to the entire downtown went out 10 min before press time , he dispatched me to find out why . at the central distribution yard ,
i found a very unhappy engineer surrounded by linemen in bright yellow vests awaiting orders .
gradually , i learned that the way you fix a blackout is to disconnect all quadrants of the local grid and hook them back in , one by one , waiting for one to blow .
then you disconnect that one , take down all its subcircuits , and put them back on , one by one . and so on .
, my writing career took me this way and that , from newspapers to magazines , briefly ( very ) into public radio , and then back to magazines .
along the way , i worked for a psychology magazine , learning to read paper abstracts and to interview behavioral researchers , asking them to disconnect the central finding and plug it back in , premise by premise . over time and for other magazines , i found myself writing about forest ecology , ichthyology , astronomy ( mariner 10 ! ) , mass extinctions , geology , seti , urban zoology , printing technology , glaciology , classical greek archaeology , and aviation history ( i.e. , old airplanes ) .
i shied away from straight bioscience stories until i was accepted for a science writing program ( now called the logan science journalism fellowship ) at the mbl in woods hole .
it was a hands - on lab course , staffed by enough graduate students to keep me and my fellow journalists from harm at the bench .
my bench partner and i produced the world 's most twisted electrophoresis gel ( it drew a crowd of grad students from other labs who 'd never seen anything like it ) .
i met my first ascb members , rex chisholm and bob palazzo , who ran the course .
ten days in a lab is not five years in grad school , but the mbl program opened my eyes to the cellular world .
idiot 's license ,  something all journalists carry , allowing me to ask idiot questions about cell biology , such as , what is a microtubule ?
after woods hole , i wrote magazine stories about the framingham heart study , the jax lab mice from the jackson laboratory , and a historic case in brain science that modern neuroscientists ca n't leave alone : the fate of phineas gage , the railroad construction foreman who in 1848 had a 13-pound tamping iron shot through his frontal cortex and lived another 11 years . his skull and tamping iron ended up at the harvard medical school ( hms ) where , interestingly
, i ended up as well , although i was in better shape . at hms ,
i was finally given the title of  science writer ,  while i filled in for a regular staffer on a six - month medical leave .
writing hardcore molecular and cell biology stories for the hms fortnightly newspaper was a crash fellowship in cell science .
armed with my idiot 's license and access for the first time to pubmed , the hms experience set me up to become the ascb science writer in 2001 .
it was a good time to escape traditional science journalism , as the accelerating impact of the internet was killing off one outlet after another .
the ascb also put me on the other end of the equation : with fewer science journalists writing about basic research , how do we tell the stories the wider world should hear about discoveries , about disease mechanisms , and about cell biologists themselves ? that answer is still evolving , but for those on the research side , the technologies seem to be running our way .
there are so many more ways to tell science stories today , and cell biologists can tell their own .
it 's hard to imagine such a rigid system keeping up with the speed of science today or the sophistication of a public who have instant access to scientific literature and often to the scientists themselves . and , best of all
as the communications staff at ascb , we are in a permanent beta phase for new platforms that can tell stories about basic cell research , both for insiders , ascb cell biologists , and for outsiders , the public . our latest effort is the ascb post ( ascb.org/ascbpost ) , which carries science news , commentary , and career advice .
integral to the post and the other ascb website pages are our social media efforts , which push traffic toward ascb pages but also point outward , so our followers also look to us for leads to interesting stuff elsewhere . to feed this effort , we keep abreast of what 's going on in science labs and in science policy . we look for stories worth telling , research their background , and interview the experts . especially in reporting on research news
, we try to write for people who are n't scientists or at least are n't scientists in our field ( i.e. , explaining mitochondria to physicists , explaining mitochondria to people with mitochondrial disease , and so on ) .
a great feature of online writing is that we can post url links to the original paper or our sources .
the ascb post story does n't have to be all things to all people , only accurate and accessible .
ascb also works to interest science journalists and bloggers in new basic research , new fields , new concepts , new mechanisms , and new connections to human health . to that end
, we produce a  peer - selected   novel & newsworthy  press book of research to be presented at the annual meeting .
we also write traditional  press releases  for science news  posting sites such as eurekalert ! and create support materials for ascb public outreach and science education efforts .
for those looking to get into science writing , here are some things you should be doing to prepare : 
 read the major science news outlets like the new york 
 times science section , scientific american , and the front news parts of nature and science , plus new digital  print hybrids like nautilus and pacific standard or pure digital like mosaic and medium .
notice what the writers are doing in their articles , how they bring you in , the metaphors they choose , and how the story is organized.if you 're at a university , the english or communications departments may have courses in journalism or what 's now called  creative nonfiction .  you can also find classes online to hone your skills .
look for a journalism class where you can learn  and practice  basic newswriting .
we recently had a recruiter come calling , looking for an editor to head up a major research society 's journal .
his difficulty , he said , was finding phd scientists who had newswriting experience.write every day , for yourself or on a blog .
you 'll become a better writer and discover , along the way , whether you enjoy writing enough to make a career of it.get on twitter .
it 's a great way to find the best science writing , to connect with other science writers , and eventually to promote your own published stories.publish edited work .
edited work is going to be more polished and more appropriate to send out for job applications than blog posts . start small  newsletters and blogs ( such as the ascb post ) are usually eager for more content.network with other science writers at meetings organized for science communicators by nasw , aaas , or scienceonline .
nasw also has many local chapters like the dc science writers association in washington , dc , that meet several times a year.look for a communications internship such as the aaas mass media fellowship .
be aware that these are highly competitive programs and generally require you to have  clips ,  published science writing ( besides your science manuscripts).go back to school . the fast track to writing for major news outlets is through science writing / communication master 's programs like those at university of california  santa cruz , new york university , johns hopkins , or boston university .
however , master 's degree programs with a vocational theme tend to be expensive and , unlike in the biosciences , fellowships are rare . read the major science news outlets like the new york 
 times science section , scientific american , and the front news parts of nature and science , plus new digital  print hybrids like nautilus and pacific standard or pure digital like mosaic and medium .
notice what the writers are doing in their articles , how they bring you in , the metaphors they choose , and how the story is organized .
if you 're at a university , the english or communications departments may have courses in journalism or what 's now called  creative nonfiction .
look for a journalism class where you can learn  and practice  basic newswriting .
we recently had a recruiter come calling , looking for an editor to head up a major research society 's journal .
. you 'll become a better writer and discover , along the way , whether you enjoy writing enough to make a career of it . get on twitter .
it 's a great way to find the best science writing , to connect with other science writers , and eventually to promote your own published stories .
edited work is going to be more polished and more appropriate to send out for job applications than blog posts . start small  newsletters and blogs ( such as the ascb post ) are usually eager for more content .
network with other science writers at meetings organized for science communicators by nasw , aaas , or scienceonline .
nasw also has many local chapters like the dc science writers association in washington , dc , that meet several times a year .
be aware that these are highly competitive programs and generally require you to have  clips ,  published science writing ( besides your science manuscripts ) .
the fast track to writing for major news outlets is through science writing / communication master 's programs like those at university of california  santa cruz , new york university , johns hopkins , or boston university .
however , master 's degree programs with a vocational theme tend to be expensive and , unlike in the biosciences , fellowships are rare .
we 're both members ( old school and new ) of nasw , and we 're struck by how many new and diverse science writing positions turn up on the nasw job board each week .
there used to be a stark ( if sometimes ignored ) division in nasw between  real  science writers , that is , science journalists working for traditional news media outlets , and science writers in public information or public relations .
most news organizations  online or on air rely on freelance writers who are often poorly paid , but the insatiable appetite of the 24/7 news cycle also creates new opportunities for beginners and occasional contributors . and yet , this new kind of science writing is creating opportunities for scientists who can use their bench training to interpret research and their writing skills to make the lab world accessible .
when staff science journalist positions do appear at a science news outlet like nature or at a university research magazine , a writer with a relevant science phd and a stack of well - written clips has a clear advantage . but science journalism is not the only show in town for science writing jobs .
many positions are in media relations  organizations looking for writers to take on the communications effort , writing press releases , interacting with journalists , building visibility ( and buzz ) on social media , and running websites .
government agencies , universities , and research institutes have staff writers with advanced science degrees to produce compelling material to promote their efforts .
there is also a new zone emerging between journalism and public information , one in which scientist - writers and writer - scientists will find their own ways to tell stories without worrying about labels .
you explain the significance of things on a molecular scale to a world audience . in your daily quest for the novel and
the newsworthy , you jump from field to field , subject to subject , and it never gets old .
the ones you would have been embarrassed to ask during seminars . as a scientist fresh from the lab , you probably have skills that will help you in a science writing career .
you already know how to identify great science , critically analyze papers , and ask good questions .
you have an in - depth understanding of your field and know where to get help for something outside your field . you know how to work hard and meet deadlines . in whatever context
you find yourself working , the basic task of a science writer is the same  translate  science  into vernacular language . that makes science writing no longer a skill reserved for professional journalists but part of the job description for all scientists .
 the internet destroyed the ecology of traditional science journalism , drying up ad revenues and pushing  old school  mass media toward extinction . 
 but the new technology opened a wider landscape for digital science writers , online  
 content curators ,  and scientists to chronicle the wonders and worries of modern science . for those thinking of a career in science writing , here is a flash history , a quick overview , some advice , and a few cautions . 
A FLASH HISTORY OF SCIENCE WRITING
SCIENCE WRITING TODAY
NEW SCHOOLCHRISTINA SZALINSKI: HOW I GOT STARTED
OLD SCHOOLJOHN FLEISCHMAN: HOW I GOT STARTED
OLD SCHOOL AND NEW SCHOOL TOGETHER: WHAT WE DO AND WHO WE WRITE FOR
GETTING INTO SCIENCE WRITING
SCIENCE WRITING JOBS
OLD SCHOOL AND NEW SCHOOL AGREE