Science in Society Journalism Awards
Encyclopedia
The National Association of Science Writers
(NASW) created the Science in Society Journalism Awards to honor and encourage "outstanding investigative and interpretive reporting about the sciences and their impact for good and ill." Each year the NASW recognizes work in these categories: books, periodicals (newspaper and magazine), and electronic media (radio, television, and the Internet). Each winner receives $2,500. The first award was given in 1972. The Awards recognize not only reporting about science, but also thoughtful work that probes the ethical problems and social effects of science. The awards are considered especially prestigious because they are judged by accomplished peers. Starting in 2009 the award categories are being changed. The book category will remain unchanged, while the other categories will morph into "Commentary and Opinion," "Science Reporting," and "Local Science Reporting." Except for the Book category, the awards will be platform independent, which means that they may be magazine, radio, TV, or web-based.
Book: Liza Mundy for her book "Everything Conceivable: How Assisted Reproduction Is Changing Men and Women and the World" (Knopf)
Magazine: Beth Whitehouse for her Newsday series "The Match"
Broadcast: Stephen Lyons and Llewellyn M. Smith for their docudrama "Forgotten Genius," which appeared on PBS's NOVA television series.
2007
Book: Nicholas Wade for Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors (Penguin)
Broadcast: David Sington for his documentary "Dimming the Sun," which appeared on PBS's NOVA television series.
Newspaper: Kenneth Weiss and Usha Lee McFarling for their Los Angeles Times series "Altered Oceans"
2005
Book: Robin Marantz Henig for Pandora's Baby: How the First Test-Tube Babies Sparked the Reproductive Revolution
Broadcast: Craig Duff and Andrew C. Revkin for Arctic Rush (a New York Times/ Discover Channel/CBC Documentary)
Magazine: Laurie Garrett for "The Next Pandemic" Foreign Affairs July/August 2005
Newspaper: Jim Erickson "A Change in the Air" Rocky Mountain News\ December 13, 2005
Web: Daniel Grossman Fantastic Forests: The Balance Between Nature and People of Madagascar www.wbur.org
2004
Book: Stephen S. Hall Merchants of Immortality: Chasing the Dream of Human Life Extension
Magazine: Robin Marantz Henig “The Quest to Forget” The New York Times Magazine
Newspaper: Alexandra Witze and Tom Siegfried "Science’s Big Unknown" series The Dallas Morning News
Broadcast: Noel Schwerin Bloodlines: Technology Hits Home Backbone Media
2003
Book: Steve Olson Mapping Human History
Magazine: Kyla Dunn “Cloning Trevor” The Atlantic Monthly
Newspaper: Dan Fagin “Tattered Hopes” series Newsday
Radio: Joe Palca
“Stem Cells” series National Public Radio (NPR)
Television: John Rubin “Clone” MSNBC-National Geographic Explorer
Web: Margaret A. Woodbury “A Doctor’s Right to Choose” Salon.com
2002
Book: Jon Cohen Shots in the Dark: The Wayward Search for an AIDS Vaccine
Magazine: Shannon Brownlee “The Big Fat Question” Self magazine
Magazine: Charels W. Schmidt “e-Junk Explosion” Environmental Health Perspectives
Newspaper: Rick Weiss “Building a New Child: Embryo Screening Creates a Tool Against Disease — and Ethical Questions” The Washington Post
Radio: William S. Hammack Engineering and Life WILL-AM580 and Illinois Public Radio
Television: Richard Hutton Evolution NOVA/WGBH-TV
Web: Alan Boyle “Genetic Genealogy” MSNBC
2001
Book: David Dobbs The Great Gulf
Magazine: Gary Taubes
“The Soft Science of Dietary Fat” Science
Newspaper: Sabin Russell, Reynolds Holding, Elizabeth Fernandez “Breakdowns mar flu shot program” “Waiting for shots” San Francisco Chronicle
Television: Betsey Arledge, Julia Cort, Robert Krulwich, NOVA “Cracking the Code of Life” NOVA/WGBH-TV
Web: David Tenenbaum “Energy Crisis III?” The Why Files
National Association of Science Writers
The National Association of Science Writers was created in 1934 by a dozen science journalists and reporters in New York City. The aim of the organization was to improve the craft of science journalism and to promote good science reportage....
(NASW) created the Science in Society Journalism Awards to honor and encourage "outstanding investigative and interpretive reporting about the sciences and their impact for good and ill." Each year the NASW recognizes work in these categories: books, periodicals (newspaper and magazine), and electronic media (radio, television, and the Internet). Each winner receives $2,500. The first award was given in 1972. The Awards recognize not only reporting about science, but also thoughtful work that probes the ethical problems and social effects of science. The awards are considered especially prestigious because they are judged by accomplished peers. Starting in 2009 the award categories are being changed. The book category will remain unchanged, while the other categories will morph into "Commentary and Opinion," "Science Reporting," and "Local Science Reporting." Except for the Book category, the awards will be platform independent, which means that they may be magazine, radio, TV, or web-based.
Past recipients
2008Book: Liza Mundy for her book "Everything Conceivable: How Assisted Reproduction Is Changing Men and Women and the World" (Knopf)
Magazine: Beth Whitehouse for her Newsday series "The Match"
Broadcast: Stephen Lyons and Llewellyn M. Smith for their docudrama "Forgotten Genius," which appeared on PBS's NOVA television series.
2007
Book: Nicholas Wade for Before the Dawn: Recovering the Lost History of Our Ancestors (Penguin)
Broadcast: David Sington for his documentary "Dimming the Sun," which appeared on PBS's NOVA television series.
Newspaper: Kenneth Weiss and Usha Lee McFarling for their Los Angeles Times series "Altered Oceans"
2005
Book: Robin Marantz Henig for Pandora's Baby: How the First Test-Tube Babies Sparked the Reproductive Revolution
Broadcast: Craig Duff and Andrew C. Revkin for Arctic Rush (a New York Times/ Discover Channel/CBC Documentary)
Magazine: Laurie Garrett for "The Next Pandemic" Foreign Affairs July/August 2005
Newspaper: Jim Erickson "A Change in the Air" Rocky Mountain News\ December 13, 2005
Web: Daniel Grossman Fantastic Forests: The Balance Between Nature and People of Madagascar www.wbur.org
2004
Book: Stephen S. Hall Merchants of Immortality: Chasing the Dream of Human Life Extension
Magazine: Robin Marantz Henig “The Quest to Forget” The New York Times Magazine
Newspaper: Alexandra Witze and Tom Siegfried "Science’s Big Unknown" series The Dallas Morning News
Broadcast: Noel Schwerin Bloodlines: Technology Hits Home Backbone Media
2003
Book: Steve Olson Mapping Human History
Magazine: Kyla Dunn “Cloning Trevor” The Atlantic Monthly
Newspaper: Dan Fagin “Tattered Hopes” series Newsday
Radio: Joe Palca
Joe Palca
Joe Palca is an American correspondent for National Public Radio. He specializes in science, and is the backup host for Talk of the Nation Science Friday. Palca was also the president of the National Association of Science Writers from 1999 to 2000...
“Stem Cells” series National Public Radio (NPR)
Television: John Rubin “Clone” MSNBC-National Geographic Explorer
Web: Margaret A. Woodbury “A Doctor’s Right to Choose” Salon.com
2002
Book: Jon Cohen Shots in the Dark: The Wayward Search for an AIDS Vaccine
Magazine: Shannon Brownlee “The Big Fat Question” Self magazine
Magazine: Charels W. Schmidt “e-Junk Explosion” Environmental Health Perspectives
Newspaper: Rick Weiss “Building a New Child: Embryo Screening Creates a Tool Against Disease — and Ethical Questions” The Washington Post
Radio: William S. Hammack Engineering and Life WILL-AM580 and Illinois Public Radio
Television: Richard Hutton Evolution NOVA/WGBH-TV
Web: Alan Boyle “Genetic Genealogy” MSNBC
2001
Book: David Dobbs The Great Gulf
Magazine: Gary Taubes
Gary Taubes
Gary Taubes is an American science writer.He is the author of Nobel Dreams , Bad Science: The Short Life and Weird Times of Cold Fusion , and Good Calories, Bad Calories , titled The Diet Delusion in the UK and Australia. His book Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It was released in December...
“The Soft Science of Dietary Fat” Science
Newspaper: Sabin Russell, Reynolds Holding, Elizabeth Fernandez “Breakdowns mar flu shot program” “Waiting for shots” San Francisco Chronicle
Television: Betsey Arledge, Julia Cort, Robert Krulwich, NOVA “Cracking the Code of Life” NOVA/WGBH-TV
Web: David Tenenbaum “Energy Crisis III?” The Why Files