Dean repeats a lot of the advice you’ve probably heard before: use the active voice, avoid the the verb to be, etc. The entire book is an example for how to write. It’s not that the criteria are all that surprising, but the way Dean frames and presents them makes you realize why they make sense. Even if you still think there should be more science coverage on the news, this list tells you why there isn’t. If you want to see a sample, I recommend one of her articles that she also cites in the book, Rousing Science Out of the Lab and Into the Limelight.Įvery scientist (or technically-minded person, for that matter) should read her list of criteria that make for a good story (Chapter 3). Dean’s writing is also eloquent, engaging, and simply a joy to read. That may not sound terribly interesting, but Dean covers a wide range of topics, including why journalists often feel the need to give equal weight to both sides of debates, even when there really is none, and the effect recent changes to media consumption and newsroom sizes have had on science coverage (hint: not a good one). The first few chapters of the book give a rationale for why scientists should talk to the public, and discuss what works and what doesn’t in today’s science coverage in the news. You really get the feeling that she understands both sides equally well, which gives a lot of weight to her advice (i.e., she’s not just a writer chiding scientists for being such bad communicators).
From this perspective, she shows incredible understanding why scientists are often wary of talking to journalists, what they think about them (and vice versa), etc. Her extensive anecdotes and insights demonstrate how much experience she has working with both scientists and science writers. Cornelia Dean’s book Am I Making Myself Clear? offers fascinating insights into both journalism and science, and provides concrete ideas for how to do better.ĭean is the former science editor for the New York Times. Scientists do an equally terrible job at communication, and for many of the same reasons. He doesn’t tell him anything that’s of interest and then dodges the question Who is Don Draper? by claiming that he was taught as a child not to talk about himself. The first episode of season 4 of Mad Men opens with Don Draper being interviewed by a journalist.
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