Science journalist
A science journalist is a journalist who specializes in writing about science topics, and thus exercises science journalism. Due to this combination, a science journalist needs to be proficient in two areas: as a journalist, he must write well enough for magazines and newspapers, and as an amateur scientist, or at least as a dedicated learner capable of following complex science and explaining it in simple terms.
Many science journalists, after years of experience, are experts enough on a subject to publish entire books about a topic, e.g. astronomy, oceanography, geology. These books are often major channels for public education - often a common scientist's writing is too terse to be enjoyable, while a book written by a good science journalist can interest the generic reader and convey a great amount of information.
Notable science journalists
- Deborah Byrd, of the Earth & Sky radio series
- Christopher Bird
- David Bradley (science news, science blog)
- Albrecht Fölsing
- Gina Kolata
- Robert Kunzig
- Matt Ridley (website)
- Carl Zimmer (website, blog)
