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Saturday, April 18 • 10:15am - 11:15am
Science Writing and Covering Controversy: Vaccines, Ebola and Neuroscience

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A recent survey found that more than 80% of Americans support mandatory labeling on “foods containing DNA.” With public understanding and acceptance of scientific consensus at such a low point, it’s more important than ever to avoid the trap of “presenting both sides” when there’s no scientific debate. (Think vaccines, “health scares” like Ebola and climate change.) This panel will discuss basic aspects of science reporting, from covering embargoed papers to vetting experts for comment, and offer tips on covering controversial issues.
Moderators
avatar for Liza Gross

Liza Gross

Author, The Science Writer's Handbook
Liza Gross writes frequently about ecology, conservation and health for publications including the New York Times, Discover, Washington Post, and Slate, and is a regular contributor to KQED. She won a 2014 SPJ NorCal excellence in journalism award for a Discover story on medical innovations... Read More →

Speakers
avatar for Lisa Aliferis

Lisa Aliferis

Editor, State of Health blog, KQED
Lisa Aliferis is Editor of State of Health, the health blog at KQED News, San Francisco’s NPR affiliate. She focuses on health policy, public health and health disparities. Aliferis has twenty years’ experience producing health reports for television news, including Dateline NBC... Read More →
avatar for Erika Check Hayden

Erika Check Hayden

Reporter, Nature
Erika Check Hayden is an award-winning science journalist based in San Francisco. In 2014, with support from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Erika traveled to Sierra Leone to cover the Ebola epidemic. She has worked on staff with the journal Nature since 2001. Follow her... Read More →
avatar for Amina Khan

Amina Khan

Science writer, Los Angeles Times
Amina Khan is a science writer at the Los Angeles Times who covers a range of topics, from astrophysics to animal behavior. A Northern California native, Amina attended UC Berkeley where she occasionally went to class but mostly spent her time at the campus paper, The Daily Californian... Read More →
avatar for Greg Miller

Greg Miller

Senior Writer, Wired magazine
Greg Miller is a freelance science journalist who writes about biological, behavioral, and social science. He was a senior writer at WIRED and a staff writer at Science. In 2013, Greg was part of a team of writers who received a communication award from the National Academies for... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2015 10:15am - 11:15am PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Ballroom)
  Science and Technology

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