"This book is for broadcasters of all flavours, colours and tastes. Whether you are reporting politics, business, sports, fashion or any other beat, which appear far removed from science, you will benefit from having a basic awareness of science. Science is not all about faraway galaxies or subatomic particles. It is about explanations about natural phenomena, including our society. So, politics, religion or our thought processes or imagination are not beyond the scope of scientific investigation. For example, if you are reporting a local conflict, there are enough scientific studies on aggression and violence that may throw light on the situation. You can give a new spin on sports if you have enough understanding about sports science and the pharmacology of performance enhancing drugs. Business cycles are specific examples of quasi-periodic phenomena and your reporting would bear a fresh perspective if you could dig deep into non-linear dynamics. How can you report on a crime without understanding the basics of forensic science?" (Introduction)
PART 1: SCIENCE FOR BROADCASTERS
1 What is science? 3
2 How do scientists work? 7
3 Structure of science, 10
4 From journals to textbooks, 12
5 Reading a scientific paper, 16
6 Science magazines, 19
7 Myths about science, 22
8 Politics, sociology and economics of science, 25
9 Applied and basic sciences, 28
10 Health and medicine, 30
11 Agriculture, 35
12 Environment, 40
13 Technology, 44
PART 2: SCIENCE IN BROADCASTING
14 Science in broadcast media, 49
15 Why is science easy to report? 50
16 Why is science difficult to report? 52
17 Searching and researching for science stories, 55
18 Evaluating Web Pages, 60
19 Searching the deep web, 62
20 Covering conferences, 66
21 Dealing with statistics, 68
22 Dealing with scientists, 71
23 Radio, 74
24 Mainstreaming science, 75
25 Formats you could use, 77
26 Investigative reporting in science, 80
27 Pitching science stories, 83
28 Problems that you could avoid, 85
29 Language, 86
39 Useful links, 92