A week in the life of a freelance science journalist

Bianca Nogrady

Bianca Nogrady

— 3 min read
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Smiling woman with brown curly hair and dark grey turtleneck jumper stands in front of a building that bears a banner reading 'Falling Walls Science Summit: Which Are The Next Walls To Fall'

Nematodes, HIV, fatherhood, electric cars and climate finance ... all in five days.

[This piece was first posted on 29 July, 2023]

Last week I wrote four pieces in five days – one biology, one social sciences, and two environmental pieces – and got ready to cover a major medical research conference this week.

It’s one of the many fun things about having a reporting turf that stretches from the deep cold reaches of the universe to the swarming microcosm of life in a petri dish; I’m never at risk of getting stuck in a subject matter rut.

This is the life of a freelance science journalist. I’ve been reporting on science full-time and freelance since 2005 (give or take a couple of years for making small people and books), and I still love it.

Smiling woman standing in front of building bearing a banner for the Falling Walls Science Summit
Nerding out at the Falling Walls Science Summit in Berlin in 2022.

I’ve always loved science, from being a toddler collecting interesting rocks until the seams of my romper pockets literally burst, to being a grown-ass woman who cried when the Cassini probe burned up in Saturn’s atmosphere. And I’ve always loved writing.

So imagine my delight when, as a university student still wondering whether to follow her parents into medicine, I discovered there was this thing called science journalism and people actually got paid to write about science. That was my career lightbulb moment, and I haven’t looked back.

I often get asked how I got into science journalism, so here’s the quick version of that tale:

Did Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor, followed by a graduate diploma in science communication. Got a job as founding editor of a science magazine for 7-11-year-olds, which is one heck of a crash course in how to write about science for a general audience.

Worked as a media officer for a national science organisation, and learned how things work from that side of the table.

Got a job as a medical reporter for a weekly magazine for doctors, where my work would go past five sets of editorial eyes before it even got to layout.

Then, decided I wanted more diversity in my subject matter so I took the plunge into freelancing and have been here ever since. I write across the length and breadth of science, medicine, environment and technology, for a range of publications from international newspapers to science magazines to specialist medical outlets. I occasionally get in front of the microphone on radio, and I’ve also penned a few books. (It’s all here, if you’re interested)

Woman with curly hair speaking into a radio microphone with a computer in front of her
Answering science questions live on-air on ABC radio.

I haven’t studied journalism. I learned on the job, and I’m still learning every day.

Which brings me to this newsletter.

With so few in-house jobs in science journalism, there are fewer opportunities to learn on the job where you have mentors within shouting distance, a regular salary even if your stories fall over, and editors who will take the time to teach. So I figure my way of paying it forward is to write about how I write; to breakdown a particular reporting project; explain my decision-making about interviewees, angles, studies etc; talk through the structure; and give you a sense of how that story took shape.

My goal is to do this approximately every two weeks. Buuuut… the best laid plans of mice and journalists often go astray, so I’m going to call that an aspirational goal and see how it goes.

If you’ve read a particular story of mine, and want me to break it down, let me know. And I’m always happy to answer questions about anything to do with science journalism and freelancing.

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