The longtime radio journalist took KSJ fellows behind the scenes of his book on the 19th century eclipse that drew a swarm of scientists to America’s western frontier. David Baron’s first total solar eclipse sighting changed his life. “I was just seeing a sky I had never seen before,” he said of the February 1998 […]
The Knight Science Journalism Program Celebrates 35 Years
On a crisp autumn evening punctuated by a postcard-worthy sunset, MIT’s Knight Science Journalism Program honored its founder, launched a new science journalism award, and celebrated 35 years as one of journalism’s preeminent fellowship programs. Some one hundred attendees — including current and former fellows, current director Deborah Blum, and three of the program’s previous […]
Master of Ig Nobel Prize Ceremonies Talks Humor in Science
September 13th marked the 28th annual Ig Nobel Prizes, a ceremony that honors scientists for research into such delightfully unexpected questions as, “Can a cat be both a liquid and a solid?” and “Why do old men have big ears?” The prizes are awarded for “achievements that first make people laugh, then make them think.” […]
Checking in on Fact Checking in Science Journalism
The Knight Science Journalism program at MIT took a close look at one of the profession’s most underappreciated practices — and uncovered a few surprises. At some science news publications, a fact checker could get fired for reading a quote verbatim to a source. At others, it’s standard practice. Still other publications have no formal […]
2017-18 Ends on a High Note
The Class of 2017-18. Front row: Director Deborah Blum, Teresa Carr, Jane Qiu, Sujata Gupta, Caty Enders. Back row: Mićo Tatalović, Rowan Jacobsen, Ehsan Masood, Kolawole Talabi, Program Administrator Bettina Urcuioli, Joshua Hatch. The 2017-18 KSJ fellows saved their best for last. Their farewell month in Cambridge ended on May 25 with a graduation […]
Ashley Smart Is Named as KSJ’s Associate Director
The Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT is delighted to announce that Ashley Smart, senior editor at Physics Today and former KSJ fellow, will be joining the team in August as associate director. As associate director, Smart will play a central role in helping to manage KSJ — an elite mid-career fellowship program that brings […]