Investigative reporting in Science

An interview with an investigative science journalist

Doing unbiased science is somewhat of a given in the world of research, but how do you ensure that reporting of this science is unbiased, free of sensationalism and yet interesting and understandable to the general public? In this podcast, I spoke to Jop de Vrieze (1), a freelance investigative science journalist, and asked him how he ensures what he reports is unwaveringly true to fact.

Jop gives a thorough picture of his incredibly interesting job, where he reads literature, talks to scientists, and then writes a story about the topic, which sometimes does not make everyone happy. I also asked him about how he chooses headlines, and writes stories that don’t result in your grandmother wear tin foil hats (2). I also discussed with him one of the biggest issues in science communication, that is, the uncertainty of science and the shades of grey that exist in research. And possibly most important of all, how does one know what is real and what is #FakeNews?

References

1. Jop de Vrieze
2. The Science news cycle by PhD comics
3. It’s a beautiful child, why did he die?

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