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Writing from the Maelstrom - Reporting
in a Variety of Settings
(October 7, 2004) -
Talking about AIDS in South Africa, editing a popular science
magazine for anti-GMO and pro-soft-medicine readers, or writing
about the cattle crisis in Alberta — that’s what the
three panelists at yesterday morning’s Writing from the
Maelstrom workshop do.
"The situation in South Africa is difficult
for journalists," Tamar Khan of the South African daily
Business Day, began by explaining. A reporter who specializes
in health, she has written a great deal about the AIDS epidemic.
She no longer keeps track of the number of articles that dealt
with controversial statements by politicians questioning the extent
of the epidemic, the real causes of the illness, or forms of treatment:
"In my country, people pay more attention to statements
by ministers than to real events," she said.
Finding experts to interview is also a problem:
"University professors and civil servants are afraid to
talk to us. The only people willing to share their views are spokespersons
for interest groups or the opposition parties. This makes it hard
to write a balanced story." She recommends more dialogue
among science journalists in developing countries to find ways
to swim against the tide: "All too often we’re isolated."
For Mathieu Villiers, editor-in-chief of the popular
science magazine Science & Vie, "There’s
no question that you have to swim against the tide, even if it
means making enemies. Right now in France many people sympathize
with those destroying experimental fields of genetically modified
organisms, soft medicine is on the rise, and researchers have
a hard time getting permission to do stem-cell research. The dominant
trend is therefore not what Science & Vie has been
defending since its founding in 1913."
The magazine often uses humour to get the message
across. "We commissioned astrological profiles of famous
murderers. All the astrologists claimed these people were highly
sensitive and would lead fabulous lives!" The magazine
also ran a photo of one of its reporters seated at a table in
front of three kilos of homeopathic granules. The caption read:
"Stop it, Pierre! You’re eating too much sugar!"
Although Science & Vie "doesn’t
settle ethical debates," its editor launched a new regular
feature on discussions among researches. "Before becoming
a social debate," said Villiers, "an issue is
often thrashed out inside the scientific community. The history
of science is a history of controversy."
Barbara Duckworth, a reporter with the Western
Producer, a farm weekly in Western Canada, underscored the
extent to which reporters know nothing about farming practices
and how the food industry operates. "The major media now
have reporters who specialize in food, but not in agriculture.
The bovine spongiform encephalopathy crisis in Alberta was played
up as a food safety issue, whereas in my view, it’s really
a serious economic crisis."
Raphaëlle Derome
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