Scientist on Assignment

Department of Physics Blogs
Published: September

That’s it. Today was my final day as a BSA Media Fellow at the Financial Times.

It passed quickly and relatively smoothly but took every joule of energy that I had to give.

I’m glad its done and I’d do it over again in a heart beat.

What should I write about? Should I write about how my last day happened to be the morning after the Scottish referendum? Or about trying to help the UK News desk but probably just getting in the way? Maybe about finding a hidden little gem of a paper buried deep in the embargoes that I doubt the other big news papers will cover? Or maybe just that today, my last day, was just like every other day – busy and filled with deadlines.

I’ll write more on this once I have time to gather my thoughts but, in brief, I’ve come to realize just what sister fields science and journalism really are. Both journalists and scientists are people who work far too hard doing the job they love for way too little money. They both work weird hours and expect that whatever the barriers, the job will get done by shear will and determination. Even the best newsrooms (or labs) in the world, work through a well-honed chaos rather than martial order. Both journalist and scientists are determined to get as close to the truth as they can and feel a moral responsibility to clearly communicate that little truth to the wider world. Neither is perfect. Time and budget constraints force unwanted compromises and both have traditions and industries that feel necessary but may often impede creativity and progress.

This will not be my last blog post. I’ll write about transitioning back to the labcoat and I’ll try to write some more reflective and self-critical posts in the near future.