No, this doesn't have Flash or a camera either. Nice text resolution, though...This post is long overdue. It has now been over two weeks since ScienceOnline'10 and the withdrawal symptoms (along with the SciPlague and jet-lag) have now subsided. I've already talked about how much I enjoyed attending the conference, catching up with old new friends, and moderating a panel on rebooting science journalism with three excellent gents - Carl Zimmer, John Timmer and David Dobbs. The session video still isn't up, but many of the key points have been ably captured through Twitter by Janet Stemwedel and others. In true online fashion, the panel didn't end when our hour was up, and much discussion spilled over into other blogs. This is a retrospective piece looking at some of the issues raised during the session and beyond.
Journaggers vs bloggalists
I started the session by laying down a simple rule - we weren't going to descend into a debate about journalists versus bloggers. That debate is sterile and unhelpful. If you are still having it, you are stuck somewhere in 2006 and I'd recommend you catch up with us in 2010. In a few months time, there will be something called an iPhone that you should check out.
Many of the ideas that I laid out during the session followed on from more thorough explorations developed on this blog. In brief, we are going through a Cambrian explosion of science journalism where more and more people are practicing the craft and taking up its values, outside of mainstream media venues. Science journalism will be increasingly defined by its values (accuracy, truth, independence, scrutiny, and so on) rather than by things as trivial as job titles or place of employment. Carl Zimmer crafted a similar metaphor of a "journalistic ecosystem of large and small organizations interacting with each other". He said that we love to put labels on things - journalism, blogging, etc. - but we shouldn't get hung up on definitions. It's good science writing, or it's not.
