Science Journalism in Europe

The EUSJA board presents the EUSJA anniversary book: Vesa Niinikangas, host of the event and treasurer, Finland; Istvan Palugyai, president, Hungary; Barbara Drillsma, secretary, United Kingdom; Kaianders Sempler, communication consultant, Sweden; Hajo Neubert, vice president, Germany

„The Barriers Are Down, EUSJA Advances Across Europe” is a unique book on science journalism in Europe. It takes a critical look at its roots after World War I, describes individual developments in West and East Europe as well, assesses its current state of the art, achievements, deficits, challenges and attempts an outlook for the 21st century.

The book (ISBN 951-9036-65-2) was compiled by Barbara Drillsma with design and artwork by Vesa Niinikangas for the European Union of Science Journalists' Associations (EUSJA) coral anniversary 1971 – 2006. It was published by Enostone Ltd, Maariankatu 4 A 18, 20100 Turku, Finland. This online version highlights some major developments, orders for the entire publication be placed with Vesa Niinikangas: vesanias@enostone.fi

How did it all begin

Barbara Drillsma, EUSJA Honorary Secretary, takes a look at the EUSJA history: Journalists from across Europe were gathering for the launch of Apollo 11 at Cape Canaveral in Florida. In July 1969, it carried the first men to the moon. During this historic moment, one of the European journalists said „let's join forces“. In the aftermath of this event the Italian Giancarlo Masini played a prominent role in cementing links. On March 8, 1971 the presidents of the science journalists' organizations of Austria, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom founded the European umbrella. The main purpose was that the members organized study tours to research organizations in their countries and invited the colleagues. In 35 years membership has trippled, today science journalists' organizations of 23 countries belong to EUSJA.

European Union of Science Journalists' Associations

Science journalism in Germany

Wolfgang C. Goede, representative of the German TELI, describes the almost 80 year old history of this organization which is the oldest of its kind in the entire world. It could provide ethical standards for the future.

Journalistenvereinigung für technisch-wissenschaftliche Publizistik

Siegfried Hartmann, TELI's founder in 1929, wanted to educate the masses by principally presenting and explaining facts. The constitution of the organisation explicitly dedicated itself to raising the quality of technical reports. Moreover, he was an early advocate to strictly separate the editorial from the advertisment section in the print media.

In 2005 the Max Planck Gesellschaft (MPG) published the results of an investigation of historians who had looked into the question of how scienists had cooperated with the 3rd Reich.The findings are disastrous and match with the ones other commissions had come up with when they had dug through archives of industrial enterprises and banks: nobody had been forced, everybody went along voluntarily. More than 50 percent of the biologists employed by the imperial research institutions (Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institute) joined the Nazi party.

Actually, Nazi Germany was a paradise for many scientists and they certainly knew how to use the ideology. Dr. Susanne Heim, head of the MPG commission, conluded that scientists are highly vulnerable to intellectual and moral corruption. „Opportunities will be used if they promise more influence and success.“

More than any other country Germany has confronted its history. This teaches science journalists a basic lesson. Science's truth seeking mission is embedded all over the world in ideologies, ambitions, big money and religious beliefs. So we would be well advised to keep our distance and to question motives, methods, results of scientists. Henry Pierce, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, has put this difficult relationship into some memorable phrases:

„Science journalists are a bunch of patsies prone to uncritical acceptance of anything we are told by authorities – our authorities being doctors and scientists?“. He observed that other journalists maintained a more healthy scepticism toward news sources and continued: „But we, bless us, go in with our bright baby-blue pencils poised, faithfully recording anything our scientists – gods – tell us. Never does it occur to us that these guys too may have motives that are less than noble.“

Here is the full version of the chapter.

">PDF: EUSJA book TELI2.pdf

Science journalism in the UK

Ted Nield, head of the British ABSW, about science writing in the UK which is considered as one of the mothers of this craft. Nield quit his job as a geologist in the oil business in the early 1980s, enlisted the moral support of Pearce Wright, well-known science correspondent of the London Times, and became a self-made science writer.

Association of British Science Writers

„So science writing did exist – for a few, at least...Those were the same „old days” when it was said (mostly by scientists addicted to the „deficit model” of public understanding) that there were „more science journalists on the New York Times than in the whole Fleet Street” (London’s media district). Having more science journalists on British Daily newspapers, the reasoning went, would be A Good Thing. And like most facts boldly asserted by scientists who stray beyond their field of competence, it was probably rubbish.

Some of the young ABSW recruits, coming through science communication masters courses of one kind or another, may aspire to being journalists; but by no means all do. Meanwhile, they blog, podcast and even perform their science writing. Some write science full-time for scienebased commercial companies. Some do it as their contribution to these companies’ public relations. Even some far-sighted UK university offices now employ science writers to push their sci/tech stories. None of this was true in the 80s. There has never been more science writing happening, and never in such a huge number of ways, than today.

And what of those scientists, who 20 years ago, saw boosting science journalism as the putative answer to the supposed problem of public understanding? Are they delighted with the result, now that their remedy has come to pass? Of course not. Instead they have discovered that what greater public interest and more media coverage mean for them is more impertinent questions from cheeky hacks who don’t think of scientists as infallible gods. And that really is „A Good Thing”.

Quentin Cooper, one of UK’s leading broadcasters and commentators on science and a familiar face at European Sience Festivals, about information jungles and how to hack paths through them. At ESOF 2006 in Munich Cooper was facilitating „Science in in the Beergarden”, and open talk on conference highlights of the day which many conference participants considered one of the most successful events of the conference.

Quentin Cooper Link

Science journalists separate the wood from the trees and then find a short but scenic path through it. Even amid the densest data thickets there are key findings and bits of news that stick out like a giant redwood in a bonsai plantation. Others you reach only after an expert in the field leads you through the tangled undergrowth, pulls back the leafy covering, and carefully exposes some mouthwatering chanterelle of a story you’d never have spotted by yourself.

But this canopy of verbiage and information can also hide things which even the scientists themselves haven’t grasped the full significance of. And one of the great challenges and joys of writing and broadcasting about science is plunging into these forests of details, gathering disparate snippets and strands that seem to belong together, and weaving them into something that will amaze, amuse or otherwise interest the wider world.

Truffling may be involved and chainsaws. But whether this requires taking a machete to an interview or a fine toothcomb to a scientific paper, and whether the resulting item is something that would come a a complete (but hopefully pleasant) surprise to the original researchers or is largely their conclusions, science journalists regularly hack clear paths through otherwise impenetrable science enabling anyone to get into and through it.

Having almost exhausted my Natural England sponsored arboreal metaphor; I’d say that in some other areas of science journalism, facts and figures are so few and far between there may only be one or two ways to tell an given story. But within science coverage there is often scope for enormous variations in style and content because all those details scientists are so addicted to open up the possibilities of finding lots of different but interesting ways through the data.

While there is always one shortest way through the the woods, there’s never one best way, and my time at international science festivals keeps signposting new ways to meander, march and zig-zag-ways that might just encourage more of the public to come along with me.

Science journalism in France

Robert Clarke on the history of the French AJSPI and the necessity to band together.

Association des journalistes scientifiques de la presse d'information

Everything started in the back-room of a small bar in Paris, March 1955. On that day, sixteen representatives of this new species of journalists gathered. They had decided to create an Association to promote and defend the existence of this hitherto unknown specialisation – scientific and medical information.

Ten years had passed since Hiroshima had thrust science onto the newspaper front pages. And many exciting and innovative things were happening in the 50’s: the double helix of DNA was discoverd, Jacques Piccard went down to 11 000 meters deep in the Pacific, the first nuclear plant was built, the H bomb exploded; the polio vaccine was developed, the first Sputnik was launched.

And yet, science journalists had to fight to keep jobs, even within their own editorial offices. The editors and owners of newspapers still lived in the spirits which prevailed in the pre-war period which stated that only scientists could write about science.

The second battle had to be carried out against the scientific and medical authorities, which were not very keen to see journalists dealing with things that in their opinion were not their business. It was said that science and medicine were too important subjects to be left to non-specialists. There was no co-operation then between scientists and journalists. Young scientific researched were forbidden to meet those „tramps” ... who were out to distort their thoughts. Moreover, speaking to the press of their work resulted in some researchers being shunned by their colleagues.

On a young carpenter, Marius Renard, was attempted the first kidney transplant in the world. The agony of his condition and the treatment moved public opinion, and journalists, as well as photographers attempted in every way to cover the news , by bribing nurses or trying to „break into” the hospital through windows. The doctors were scandalised, issued law suits against journalists, and blocked even more medical information.

We were fortunately supported by doctors like professors Milliez and Pequignot. The had the intelligence to tell their fellows that science and medicine should not be different from justice or politics, and it was not up to the magistrates to do the proceedings of lawsuits trials, nor to the police to do those of crimes.

In 1969, the Conference of Nice was held. Jacques Monod (Nobel prize for medicine in 1965) declared: „It is up to the scientist to inform, but it is to the journalist to transfer this information towards the public”, adding „it is their responsibility, it important, and we must respect it, because it is part of democracy by associating the citizens to the decision-makings”.

Nicolas Vichney and Nicolas Skrotzky were sued at the end of the 60’s, because they had made public the first underground explosion of the French atomic bomb. The affair was comical, because all the nuclear experts around the world were aware of this explosion ... but for the government it was a military secret of the highest importance.

The response of the Association was to decide that the ministers concerned no longer existed. Their names were no longer quoted in any media where a member of the AJSPI worked. Afer three weeks, Charles Gombault, director of France Soir, the daily where Skrotzky and I worked, asked us for lunch with Gaston Palsewsky, Minister for Research. He asked us how to change the situation. Nothing was more simple to us we just raised the sanctions.

We even wrote to the President of the Republic to show him the short comings of scientific, medical and technical information, in particular in the television and in the provincial press. At our request, Jean-Pierre Chevenement, Minister for Research, organised a meeting in Paris of the owners of all regional daily newspapers to ask them to hire specialised journalists.

Science journalism in Denmark

Jeppe Matzen on the Danish Science Journalists Association and its meaning in a small country.

Danske Videnskabsjournalister

Being a country which traditionally has had few natural resources a saying has developed that the Danes have to make their income by using their brainpower, and thus invest and focus on science and research. Whether there is something wrong with the Danish brainpower shall be unsaid, but it is a fact th number of students within the field of natural science has been declined in recent years. The rise in science journalism, and even more explicit, the rise in the level of communication professionals employed at universities and science institutes go hand in hand with the attempt to reverse this development.

Under the title „Bridging the Gap” the conference, held in collaboration with colleagues from Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Baltic states, was held in Copenhagen in May 2005. It was concluded that the main gap exists between science journalists and scientists on one side and everyone else on the other side. To bridge this gap the public must be encouraged to understand science better. This should be done by a more diverse and better science communication. Furthermore science stories often experience strong competition from other stories in the media. Science journalists should make it trendy to understand and enjoy the complexity of science.

Science Journalism in Hungary

Istvan Palugyai, current EUSJA president and president of the Organisation of Hungarian Science Journalists TUK, on problems and challenges of East European science writers after the end of the Soviet Union.

Tudom*nyos òjs*gârök Klubja

In the previous political system we were functioning as a section of the MUOSZ (the Association of Hungarian Journalists), which was typical of all countries of the Soviet Block. These sections were in constant interaction and collaboration with each other, Science popularisation was an important part of the media at that time, supported by official ideology, so numerous daily newspapers carried science sections as well as the state television and radio.

Several weekly papers and periodicals existed catering both for adults and for the youth. A great generation of science journalists was working at that time. They started their profession in the 50`s when – following the Soviet model – popularising science (mostly technological and natural sciences) among the public became an official state programme.

The change in the political system was particularly hard on science journalism in Hungary. Popular science sections, magazines and communities were disappearing one after another. Under the circumstances of developing democracy and a collapsing economy this kind of activity was not among the priorities of the media. Many colleagues who were working as science journalists were forced to work in other areas of the press, and those who remained had to continue their work under very hard conditions.

There was a strange atmosphere in which pseudo-sciences and quackery were discussed as natural medicine flooded the Hungarian media. These topics were banned earlier by censorship, and there was a period when speaking out against them, even on the main forums of the national science community was deemed defending the old system by the public.

In the 90’s we re-established the 3 day summer meetings at Lake Balaton. At these meetings we attended lectures on current scientific questions and the internal affairs of the trade as well as invited leaders of the Hungarian science community.

Meanwhile the supply of new science journalists became an increasing larger problems since few people are interested in a profession with so little money and unattractive career benefits. This is why together with the journalist school of the MUOSZ we started the country’s science journalist training course in 1996, in which we included the discipline of environmental protection.

In 1999 TUK organised the second World Conference of Science Journalists in Budapest (which kicked off the foundation of the World Federation of Science Journalists in the year 2002.

Science journalism in Russia

Viola Egikova reports on the Russian Association of Science Writers and Journalists Intellect, founded 1990 in the former Soviet Union. It was the first example of an independent, non-government organisation of professionals in soviet time.

violamih@atom.ru

Since 1992 Intellect has been a member of EUSJA. It was a very imporant step as Russian journalists who were isolated for decades could now participate in international acitivities with their European colleagues; take part in study trips and visit foreign science centres.

In September 2003 Russia itself organized a study trip hosting 27 journalists from 17 countries. They visited the Moscow State University and other science centres in Moscow including the Joint Research Center for Nuclear Physics in Dubna over the Volga an a space centre in Zvezdny.

Among the important goals for Intellect was to help those Russian science journalists who experienced difficulties especially in the early 1990’s after the country’s economical collapse. Since pages were closed, we lost science popular programmes on TV and radio and there were many of us who left science. In that period Intellect was the first Russian science agency Informnauka decided to organise a competition in science journalism and now this has become a tradition: we announce the competition every year and it’s a really successful event. In 2005, journalists and scientists from 70 Russian regions sent their articles and photos.

After 2004 we introduced a new activity in Russia – the Science Cafe...Our new project is a Science Festival to be held in Moscow which will be run in collaboration with Moscow State University.

Science journalism in Europe

Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for Science and Research, offers word of encouragement and support.

Janez Potocnik Link

Communicating research and engaging with the public is more than a priority, it is an imperative. It is an economic imperative, if we want to ensure that Europe holds its own in an increasingly competitive global knowledge economy. This is the heart of our objective to boost Europe’s growth and jobs.

Communicating research is also a social and political imperative. Research constitutes one of society’s driving forces to achieve progress. It has a daily impact on all Eureopeans as a result of the choices we make and the policies we design. Research provides a unique opportunity to strengthen the bond between Europe and its citizens.

In this process of re-connecting science and society, and reconnecting the people with Europe through science, there is a key role for science communicators, and in particular for science journalists. For as long as EUSJA has existed, science journalists in Europe have acted as mediators between scientists and their readers.

There is strength in unity. This is the whole raison d’etre of the European Union. More than ever, an organisation like EUSJA has a crucial role to play in helping to motivate and inspire journalists and attracting a new generation of gifted communicators to the profession.

President’s Address

EUSJA president Istvan Palugyai opened the anniversary on December 8, 2006 in Helsinki with the remark that science writers are the only journalists who form a Europe-wide umbrella group. Thus, an organisation like EUSJA is unique on the continent. Its purpose is to form a vital network in which members support and help each other. A major tool to achieve this are regular study tours to research organizations of the member organisations. „To be a science journalist is the most thrilling job in journalism, but at the same time the most demanding as far as meeting the high quality standards”, concluded Palugyai.

Palugyai@Nepszabadsag.Hu

Perspectives

„We are at a great stage of our development”, states EUSJA president Istvan Palugyai in the closing chapter of the book „The Barriers Are Down”. „EUSJA is in the perfect age...to nurture the next gene make to carry ration of science journalists” – however: „We have further links and relationships to make to carry us forth into our old age.”

How do we need to proceed? Here are some suggestions derived among others from points made by EUSJA members in the anniversary book:

-> implement more study tours and beef up networking activities
-> develop new projects which will enhance science cafes and science festivals and aim at higher levels of communication and enlightenment
-> define the ethics of science journalists and their mission, alert them to dependencies as constituted by ideological, religious or business ties
-> help to further integrate East and West, for example by peer to peer coaching programs as already implemented by the World Federation of Science Journalists
-> offer seminars for further qualification such as narrative and investigative science writing, how to pitch stories to editors, generally, how to advance the art of science journalism and how to bring highly complex materials to the people
-> last not least how to improve and intensify the collaboration with relevant science and technology departments of the European Union

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