To commemorate the event, AAAS asked science journalists to contribute articles to a booklet that celebrates and honors the field of science writing. Natalie Angier of The New York Times provides the introduction, where she talks about her love of science writing. David Perlman of the San Francisco Chronicle and John Noble Wilford of The New York Times take a look at the history and the future of science journalism in their two articles. And Paula Apsell of NOVA and Nick Tate of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution address some special issues in science writing, including the challenge of communicating science to the public and communicating global science to a local audience. Angier says one of the best things about science writing is that it's good news.
Science is about humanity getting it right, a fraction at a time.
Science is about looking up at the black bowl of night and knowing what we're seeing. Science is about integrating results from paleontology, botany, and molecular archeology to sketch a portrait of the earth's first flower and to estimate when it lifted its revolutionary petals toward the sun. The booklet also pays tribute to the more than 300 winners of the awards over the last half century, with a complete list of their names. The AAAS Science Journalism Awards represent the pinnacle of achievement for professional journalists in the science writing field. Independent screening and judging committees comprised of scientists and science journalists select the winning entries.