Author Archive

Articles by Katherine Bagley | Email the Author

 

1. The Observatory

   Earth 2100 Sizzles

   June 5, 2009 12:22 PM

   On Tuesday night, ABC News aired a two-hour special called Earth 2100, describing the potentially apocalyptic scene that could await us at the end of the century. The network abandoned cautious storytelling, opting instead to portray “the worst-case scenario for... Continue reading

2. The Observatory

   Trek Tech

   May 14, 2009 05:13 PM

   I am not a Trekkie, despite my older brothers’ countless attempts to make me one. But the first time I saw a Bluetooth receiver, I just couldn’t help but think of Lieutenant Uhura and her iconic earpiece communicator.... Continue reading

3. The Observatory

   The Flu Formerly Known As Swine

   May 6, 2009 11:30 AM

   Over the past week, media reports cycled through various names for the 2009 A(H1N1) influenza—swine flu, Mexico flu, North American flu, novel flu—as international health agencies struggled to better understand the global... Continue reading

4. The Observatory

   Learning from Perlman and Maddox

   April 28, 2009 02:08 PM

   Many of us in science journalism today know (or should know) that our careers are vastly different because of two men who helped to revolutionize the field: Sir John Maddox and David Perlman. Mentors to many of the best... Continue reading

5. The Observatory

   Green Issues Fade

   April 22, 2009 07:21 PM

   Another year, another Earth Day, another wave of “Green Issues” on newsstands… or not. After three years, the springtime fad seems to have run its course, with a number of magazines cancelling and cutting back their special editions on the... Continue reading

6. Behind the News

   Kate White’s 5 Things

   April 17, 2009 09:15 AM

   “If Jay Leno isn’t mocking something about Cosmo at least once a month, I’m not doing my job,” said Kate White, the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan, during a talk at the Columbia Journalism School last night. White unabashedly discussed topics from... Continue reading

7. The Observatory

   The Man with the Van

   April 13, 2009 08:45 AM

   In early March, in a mountainous, quake-prone patch of central Italy, the readings on Gioacchino Giuliani’s patented radon detector suddenly spiked. He concluded the jump could only mean one thing: impending seismic activity. Giuliani immediately dispatched a fleet of vans... Continue reading

8. The Observatory

   Looking Past Red Flags

   April 7, 2009 02:04 PM

   In late January, clinical immunologist Richard Burt and his Northwestern University colleagues published the results of a study which found that stem cell transplantation could possibly halt disease progression and “reverse” neurological deficits in patients with multiple sclerosis.... Continue reading

9. The Observatory

   For the Birds?

   March 31, 2009 11:18 AM

   Earlier this month, the United States Department of the Interior released the results of a large-scale, collaborative report on the status of bird populations across the country. The study, which announced that approximately one-third of the nation’s 800... Continue reading

10. The Observatory

    Ménage à Green Blogs

    March 11, 2009 05:14 PM

    News outlets across the country are cutting staff, sections, and print editions, but science and environment blogs continue to multiply, even among “old media.” Three that have sprung up in recent months are, in... Continue reading

11. The Observatory

    Mass Transit and the Stimulus

    March 3, 2009 08:00 AM

    As journalists and members of Congress continued to sift through the nearly 1000-page stimulus package last Tuesday night, President Obama addressed the nation on the topics of employment, credit, housing, and energy. He promised that his recovery plan... Continue reading

12. The Observatory

    Salmonella Detective Story Leaves Stone Unturned

    February 19, 2009 03:46 PM

    Sifting through the hundreds of news reports on the current salmonella outbreak is like flipping the pages of a Sherlock Holmes story. From a mysterious onslaught of sickness and crack investigators following the contamination trail to pinpointing the... Continue reading

13. The Observatory

    Slate V Puts Weekly Science Roundup On Hold

    February 11, 2009 02:21 PM

    Last November, Slate V started hosting a snappy, weekly screencast that served as a “science news roundup for the rest of us.” The three-minute show, Grand Unified Weekly, felt like a science-geek version of VH1’s Pop... Continue reading

14. The Observatory

    CJR Debate: Crude Journalism

    June 5, 2008 10:14 AM

    Despite this week's news that the price of oil dropped below $126 a barrel, summer vacationers are undoubtedly still worried that they’ll be paying $4 for a gallon of gas before the season is over—if they aren’t already. Even if... Continue reading

15. The Observatory

    CJR Debate: Crude Journalism

    June 4, 2008 09:44 AM

    Despite this week's news that the price of oil dropped below $126 a barrel, summer vacationers are undoubtedly still worried that they’ll be paying $4 for a gallon of gas before the season is over—if they aren’t already. Even if... Continue reading

16. The Observatory

    CJR Debate: Crude Journalism

    June 3, 2008 10:40 AM

    Despite this week's news that the price of oil dropped below $126 a barrel, summer vacationers are undoubtedly still worried that they’ll be paying $4 for a gallon of gas before the season is over—if they aren’t already. Even if... Continue reading

17. The Observatory

    CJR Debate: Crude Journalism

    June 2, 2008 12:10 PM

    Despite today’s news that the price of oil dropped below $126 a barrel, summer vacationers are undoubtedly still worried that they’ll be paying $4 for a gallon of gas before the season is over—if they aren’t already. Even if speculation... Continue reading

18. The Observatory

    The Silent Side of Oil

    April 2, 2008 01:03 PM

    Oil has always been a big story for obvious economic, environmental, political, and technological reasons. For decades, Americans have read about tanker spills, rising oil prices, shortages at the pumps, and delicate trade relations. More recently, the press has swarmed... Continue reading