Nature Reports on State of Science Journalism

A news feature published in Nature and available online http://tiny.cc/GwO2V reports on a survey of 493 Science Journalists. The survey shows that jobs are being lost and the workloads of those who remain are on the rise. At the same time, researcher-run blogs and websites are growing in both number and readership. The article asks many influential science writers and bloggers, such as WCSJ2009 speakers Fiona Fox, Deborah Blum and Robert Lee Hotz what the future holds and whether blogs can replace more traditional ways of reporting science.



How blogs are changing the way science news develops, and is reported will be debated at the WCSJ2009 in a session 'Blogs, Big Physics and Breaking News'. During the session the commissioning of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN will be used as a case study, who will be the first with news of the fabled Higgs Boson, and how will we know if they're right?



A further session at the Conference will ask the question: Is science journalism in crisis? The session will reflect on the Nature survey and other surveys to establish the world wide picture and see what can be done by Science Journalists themselves and by bodies such as the ABSW to ensure a healthy future for science journalism.