Back to top

"If I learnt anything from my placement at the Guardian over the summer, it has to be that if I have the choice between two words, I should go always with the short one. Clear writing is probably the hardest thing to do. And as a scientist, one only realises this once our jargon, like crutches, is taken away. At the Guardian science desk, I very much enjoyed finding myself unexpectedly involved in almost all aspects of news production. That included podcasting, blogging, annotating figures for the website, as well as writing the traditional newspaper column and field reporting. That summer, a protest was organised at Heathrow airport to demonstrate against the construction of a third runway. I was given a handheld recorder and a mic, and sent out into the field to investigate. I returned with voxpop interviews of protesters, policemen and officials, not to mention two stop-and-search police warrants in my back pocket."

Tristan Farrow Semiconductor Physicist University of Cambridge

Back to top

"I would recommend the BA Media Fellowships scheme to anyone who is looking for a real challenge and wants to understand more about how scientists and the media can work together. I had a fantastic experience in Dublin at The Irish Times and covering the BA Festival of Science in York. My host taught me a great deal about how to explain and summarise a wide range of topics whilst allowing the quotes to tell the story. The scheme is not just sitting on the sidelines and seeing how the media works, it really does allow you to get right in there and develop skills that journalists use. Seeing your name in print next to stories on things that you didn’t think you knew anything about is a real achievement, especially if you get positive feedback from the scientists who you interviewed. There is nothing quite like it and it is well worth giving it a go."

Kirstin Goldring Neuroscientist Imperial College London

Back to top

"My BA Media Fellowship at Nature gave me a unique and exciting insight into life on the other side of the much-publicised divide between scientists and the media. Far from being treated as an outsider, I was welcomed into the news team and given a chance to find stories, write articles and work alongside the regular journalists. I learnt an enormous amount about why some scientific discoveries make the headlines and hundreds of others never come to public attention. I was impressed by the rigour and integrity of the editors and journalists, and felt first-hand how tricky it can be to get the science right whilst keeping the story engaging and accessible. After getting over the initial nerves of phoning up prominent scientists on the other side of the world to talk about their work it was exhilarating to hear the enthusiasm researchers have, but I realised how easily they slip into impenetrable jargon or excessive detail. The Fellowship helped me to realise that although the worlds of science research and journalism are separated by different priorities and aims, there are ways to bridge the gap."

Mary Muers Molecular Haematologist University of Oxford

Back to top

"This scheme was unique, one of the most exciting things that I have done in my professional career. Few scientists get the chance to become a journalist overnight and I’ve been privileged to have had this opportunity. Having stories published in a national newspaper under my name was certainly one of the highlights."

Leonora Weil Medical Student The Royal Free and University College London Medical School

Back to top

"The BA Media Fellowship gives a fantastic immersion into the media that would be impossible to obtain otherwise. I spent six weeks with BBC TV’s Countryfile and what with flooding, foot and mouth, and bluetongue disease the summer of 2007 proved to be an extremely eventful time for the countryside. I experienced how the non-news media has to react rapidly to such events and to some extent predict what might happen. The first-hand experience you get researching stories is a real eye-opener to the differences between the way scientists and the media approach and communicate issues. The BA Media Fellowship has given me invaluable knowledge of how my colleagues and I can better work with the media, as well as a very different and enjoyable summer."

Claire Witham Atmospheric Dispersion Scientist Met Office

Back to top