The Connection is the newsletter of the Science and Medical Journalism Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Hussman School of Journalism and Media.

New "Environmental Heroes" documentary airs on N.C. Public TV

A television documentary profiling North Carolina environmental heroes will air Thursday, Feb. 24 at 9:30 p.m. on North Carolina Public Television (UNC-TV).

The program is a co-production between UNC-TV and students and faculty from the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The documentary follows the first "Environmental Heroes" show that aired last year on UNC-TV.

"People around the state are working hard to protect our natural environment. We hope our documentary inspires viewers to become environmental heroes themselves in their local communities," said Dr. Tom Linden, executive producer and director of the Science and Medical Journalism Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The environmental heroes profiled include:

• Will Blozan, an arborist from Black Mountain, N.C., who's trying to help control the Wooly Adelgid, a tiny imported insect that's killing hemlock trees in the Appalachian chain from Canada to Georgia.
• Alex and Betsy Hitt, owners of Peregrine Farm in Alamance County, N.C., and longtime practitioners of sustainable agriculture.  The Hitts have been selling vegetables and flowers to local farmers' markets and Triangle restaurants for more than 20 years.
• Diana Tetens, executive director of the Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association in Durham. Tetens and her volunteer board are helping restore the health of Ellerbe Creek, a polluted urban stream that flows from Durham to Falls Lake, which supplies drinking water for nearly a half million people.

Associate producer of the new program was Jim Sander, documentary film producer from Chapel Hill, N.C. Andrew VanDerVeer, a medical student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was the assistant producer.

Director of videography and video editor for the program was UNC-TV's Mike Oniffrey.  Peter Bell, Alan Brown and Mike O'Connell provided additional videography.

Music was by Carrboro resident Chris Frank of the Red Clay Ramblers.

UNC students from the Hussman School of Journalism and Media and the Gillings School of Global Public Health produced and wrote the three profiles. They included segment producers Emily Brostek, Facundo Diego del Villar and VanDerVeer.  Segment associate producers were Anna Gieselman, Hertta Heinonen and Lauren Poor.

Scriptwriters included Courtney Harrington, Niveditha Ravi and Jeff Yeo.

Broadcast design was by Resa Toeller of UNC-TV.

After the program airs on Feb. 24, it will stream on the UNC science and medical journalism website.

Meet our new board members

Anton Zuiker and Bora Zivkovic are science blogging rock stars.  Just ask the hundreds of people who travel from around the world to Research Triangle Park to participate in their ScienceOnline blogging conference each January. Here, they answer some questions about writing, science and life online.
 

A conversation with...
Anton Zuiker

Anton Zuiker is a 2004 master's graduate of the science and medical journalism program at UNC. He currently serves as director of communications in the Department of Medicine at Duke University Medical Center.

Q: As a graduate of the science and medical journalism program, what was your most useful or helpful class at UNC?

A: Three classes stand out: "Making and Living in Online Communities," taught by Paul Jones, helped me crystallize my approach to blogging, and my report for that class, gave me the name for the initiative under which we've planned our many blogging conferences and activities. "Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases" introduced me to Koch's Postulates and a host of fascinating microbes, and helped inspire me to partner with public health students to organize the Narratives of HIV series of events. "Medical Reporting for the Electronic Media" challenged me to learn new skills, and I continue to use the video reporting and production lessons I learned in that class.

Q: What is your advice to writers and journalists who face a difficult job market?

A: Three pieces of advice: Be inspired and entrepreneurial, be comfortable asking for assistance, and be open to collaborations. The Web has made so many cool projects and tools and companies possible, and I encourage others to feel empowered to take an idea and run with it. On the opening page of all my pocket notebooks, I write the phrase "For the asking" to remind me to reach out for help, ideas, support and finances -- this is a lesson my parents taught me, and I'm always glad to be as generous with my time and energy and resources. Often those exchanges have led to some great collaborations that have given me new friends, new perspectives and new skills.

Q: How has blogging changed your life as a writer/journalist?

A: I started blogging because I wanted to continue my grandfathers' traditions of writing travel chronicles and daily journals, and writing online was a natural extension of those traditions. Blogging also gave me a way to extend my Peace Corps service by building community both online and in person. Hence the BlogTogether moniker and our dedication to teaching others -- journalists and non-journalists alike -- how to use Web-based tools to express themselves, share their knowledge and improve their communities. I wrote more about how blogging has changed my life in this post commemorating my decade as a blogger.

Q: Who are your favorite science writers?

A: Through ScienceOnline I've been fortunate to meet Rebecca Skloot, who wrote the splendid book about HeLa cells, "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks." Another of my favorites is British travel journalist Alex Frater, who I met during my time in Vanuatu; his book about India, "Chasing the Monsoon," is a fascinating sojourn through the rainy season. And The New Yorker is simply indispensable -- I even paid the premium international price to receive it during my Peace Corps service, and I literally read every single word in each issue as I waited out the heat of the midday in my hammock. I also read the Control of Communicable Diseases Manual. That's why my master's thesis project for the medical journalism program was a New Yorker-style narrative feature about acute HIV infection.
 

A conversation with...
Bora Zivkovic

Bora Zivkovic is a veteran science blogger and online presence who has many specialties, among them writing about circadian rhythms and chronobiology. Bora teaches introductory biology to adults at North Carolina Wesleyan College.

Q: What role does today's science blogger have?  In other words, why should we read science bloggers?

A: Articles about science in mainstream media are limited by form, word-limit, and reading level (about 6th grade for newspapers, about 9th grade for popular science magazines). Bloggers do not operate under these constraints - they can write long posts infused with personality and humor if they want. Thus they have the freedom to explain in great detail what magazine articles are forced to miss. Also, as experts in the fields they write about, bloggers are much more likely to notice and highlight weaknesses in published papers that journalists cannot. Finally, they show that scientists are humans, thus help dispelling popular stereotypes about the profession.

Q: Where do you get ideas for posts?

A: I very rarely blog about brand new papers. Usually a conversation on blogs and social networks (like Twitter) reminds me of misconceptions some people have, or reminds me of an old paper (or a series of papers) which I then use as my sources for writing a post that explains a broader concept. Even if I blog about a very new study, I usually use that as an excuse to explain basic concepts in order to provide historical, philosophical or methodological context for the new study.

Q: What can traditional journalists (who are not scientists) add to science writing?

A: Links! Seriously, an article without links raises all sorts of trust-betraying red flags: "Why is the writer making it difficult for me to fact-check?" The article usually serves as a "hook," but is too short to explain science to readers' satisfaction. Thus the article which hooked the reader should send a reader, via links, to places where they can find more (and more detailed and expert) information, usually blog posts written by scientists. Linking to scientific papers is a must (even if not immediately available online or not Open Access) as the few readers with access will inform the others in the comments [section] if the journalist has accurately portrayed the study. Also, each technical term should link to a dictionary definition or Wikipedia page to help the lay audience with less [scientific] background.

Q: Who are your favorite writers?

A: Ah, if I could narrow it down to a few, I wouldn't be spending so much time reading hundreds of bloggers! Each brings something new and fresh to me every day. Also, as I am about to launch the Scientific American science blogging network, I do not want to list any names as everyone is trying to guess which bloggers have been invited - presumably all the people whose writing I like the best ;-)