Science Journalism: The Speed and Scale including Roadblocks in Communications

Even as newsrooms have stayed largely indifferent to the challenges of science journalism, relying on volume rather than quality metrics, choosing deliberate obfuscation in the form of click baits over solid well researched content, a small but growing group of institutions and individuals have started trying in their own ways, to fill the gap. One such initiative is helmed by the National Centre for Biological Sciences that has been holding annual science journalism workshops for over a decade now. The workshop which takes a small number of journalists every year, teaches the basics of communicating science effectively to a lay population, using both scientists and experienced science writers as trainers. In 2021 in the aftermath of the pandemic, a group of science journalists came together to form the Science Journalists Association of India (SJAI), whose goals include bettering the quality and reach of science journalists in India. SJAI too has held some science journalism workshops, bringing together scientists and communicators.At the other end of the spectrum, scientists too are waking up to the importance of being able to communicate their work to lay people. Many science faculties across the country and the Indian Council of Medical Research have started organising similar workshops for their faculty members and students.