Deborah Blum had written about cancer, bone marrow transplants, primate evolution, astronomy and even sex. But the story on toothbrushes was what people remembered.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author told about 70 Northwestern community members about her experience as a science journalist Monday at the latest event in the Medill School of Journalism’s Crain lecture series.
Blum gathered in the McCormick Tribune Center Forum with science writer Timothy Ferris and Nobel Laureate Leon Lederman, who won the prize for physics in 1988, to discuss whether science reporting is coming of age.
But as the group reached a consensus that science reporting and writing have been improving — Blum said there are more than 3,000 reporters in the National Association of Science Writers — the discussion veered toward science classes in U.S. schools.
“I think we do a terrible job of science education in America,” Blum said.
The others agreed, with Lederman blaming an inflexible and overly conservative education system for poor science literacy. Still, when asked whether the press should try to make up for what the school systems lack, the writers said it wasn’t their job to make up for schools’ shortcomings.
“Newspapers are not a good vehicle for teaching scientific facts,” said Ferris, who added that he is turned off when the media assume a teacher role. “The New York Times science section has something about it that bores me silly.”
Although the media might be poor forums for facts, Ferris said they can be useful for raising issues that will pique readers’ curiosity and lead them to do their own research.
Blum also said she tries to give readers more than simple facts in her stories — often the most important component of a science article is the human aspect.
That human aspect is what made Blum’s coworkers at the Sacramento Bee remember the toothbrush story over all the other issues she wrote about.
The story was about a study on bathrooms. A researcher put petri dishes to collect and grow bacteria all over the walls of a bathroom and found that when the toilet was flushed with the lid up, bacteria splashed as far as the ceiling. The toothbrush was a perfect breeding ground for the airborne germs.
“Everyone in the newsroom went home to change their toothbrushes,” Blum said. Science stories like these can grab readers’ attention and educate them before they realize it, Blum said.
“I’m not against being subversive,” she said. “If I can write a story that’s just a good story and I can come at it sideways and teach you something about science, that’s what works for me.”
