New science reporting guide published for journalists in Bulgaria

(Press-News.org) A new guide aimed at helping aspiring science journalists in Bulgaria to cover scientific topics has been published.

‘First steps in science journalism – a practical experience guide’ (Първи стъпки в научната журналистика – практически насоки от опит) was written by three experienced science reporters from Bulgaria, who provide helpful insights from their own experiences and examples of stories they have reported over the years for online, TV, and radio outlets. 

The guide was published by the Balkan Network of Science Journalists and the European Federation for Science Journalism and is available on the BNSJ website.

Publication of the guide was made possible through the support of EurekAlert!, a science news release platform operated by the non-profit American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

The lead author of the guide, Maria Cherneva, said the lessons in there are important because “the work of a journalist who deals with science is very delicate, because it carries a great risk of fueling pseudoscience, fake news, conspiracy theories, myths and legends, or simply mistaken ideas about many processes and phenomena” if not done properly.

One of the other authors, Vanya Mileva, said: “Science journalism is especially necessary today, in a world suffocating from conspiracies, lack of public trust and resources, misunderstanding and underestimation of the importance of science itself. This applies with great force to Bulgaria.”

“The profession of a science journalist is not easy and one of the challenges is the lack of specialized training. Therefore, the presented guide is useful with guidelines taken from the experience of leading Bulgarian science journalists, and with a pinch of inspiration for the future young generation in science journalism.”

“For aspiring and working science journalists in Bulgaria, this guide will offer crucial principles and skills to ensure their daily work benefits the public and hold the scientific enterprise and other establishments accountable,” said Brian Lin, director of editorial content strategy at EurekAlert!. “EurekAlert! and AAAS are proud to play a small part in these efforts in this part of the world.”

The initiative has previously brought science journalism guides to life in Croatian, Slovenian, Hungarian, Romanian, Albanian, and Turkish. 

“It’s brilliant to see experienced science journalists share their tips on how best to approach scientific topics for Bulgarian media,” said Mićo Tatalović, a board member of the Balkan Network of Science Journalists, who has been coordinating the project. “There is a lot of great science reporting happening in Bulgaria, and the authors of this guide have managed to condense lessons from many years of work in the field to help students and other journalists who wish to specialize in science journalism.”

Author bios:

Maria Cherneva has been building most of her journalistic career at Bulgarian National Television. She says that journalism is a collection of principles that work better when warmed by an inner passion. That is why she makes incredible efforts to escape from routine and embarks without hesitation on all kinds of research projects – historical, archaeological, underwater. She also has four Antarctic expeditions behind her. She takes her job very seriously – to ignite the imagination and curiosity with stories from the depths of science. Not by chance. She graduated with a Biochemistry and Microbiology degree from Sofia University, so she has a certificate to show that she can think about life at the molecular level. She has one son, one published book and over 60 documentaries to her name.

Vasilena Mircheva is a journalist, translator and editor. She has worked for various cultural publications, including BTA’s “Lik” magazine, collaborates with various online cultural publications, the “Bulgarian Film Society” and the podcast platform “1002 Productions”. Her translations into Bulgarian have included novels by Rachel Kushner, stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, Alice Munro, Lucia Berlin, etc. She was the host of the radio program for the popularization of science and education “Labyrinths of Knowledge”, and is currently the author and host of “Time for Science” on the “Hristo Botev” program on Bulgarian National Radio.

Vanya Mileva is a happy science journalist, because her long-standing hobby of delving into various sciences and presenting what she has learned on the Internet in a beautiful way for everyone has become a profession. She started as a hydraulic engineer and over time became fascinated with programming, writing C++ programs for calculating and drawing hydraulic facilities. But one day she was captivated by fractals - the endless self-similar vortex that leads her from science to science, and Vanya shares what she has collected on her website. There, the head of a leading news media, Vlado Yonchev, found her and suggested that the then 58-year-old Vanya Mileva start and write for the website Nauka OFFNews. This happened 10 years ago, before about 15,000 articles, one nomination and one award from the Mtel Media Masters competition in the “Internet media – long forms” category. She has also published a “Little Book of Science” – a collection of her articles.

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