12/02/2020

Online service brings scientists closer to journalists.

Brazilian scientists publish 400 new results daily, 10% of which have social interest and potential for media coverage. “With forty science news items a day, it would be possible to make an entire newspaper!”, assures journalist Sabine Righetti, creator of Agência Bori . The project was launched this Wednesday (12), at the State University of São Paulo (Unesp), to increase the visibility of Brazilian science and bring scientific production closer to the press. “When we open the newspaper, turn on the TV or the radio, we don’t see this science. And if it’s not in the media, it doesn’t reach the population,” adds Ana Paula Morales, coordinator of the project.

Bori searches for unpublished studies in academic journal databases; then, it curates the works and offers them to the press. In a restricted area of the platform, journalists who register for free can access the research, accompanied by explanatory text, images, and the contact information of a spokesperson.

At the launch event, IMPA's Director-General, Marcelo Viana, participated in a panel discussion on science journalism. A columnist for Folha de S.Paulo, Viana recounted seeing journalists who were "frightened" during the promotion of the Mathematics Biennium. "None of them were doing mathematics outreach. I have a very particular perspective. Within the problem of science outreach, there is the challenge of mathematical outreach. It's easier to explain why the Zika mosquito is important or why a satellite is important than to convey mathematical ideas."

To detail the challenge, Viana divides the issue into three aspects. “The first is society, the public, which is the ultimate recipient of science communication. My diagnosis is that society is extremely lacking in scientific outreach. Lacking in the sense that it doesn't receive it, and because it needs to receive it. The second aspect is that science communication is a bottleneck. And I say this based on the fact that we scientists are not aware of the importance of doing outreach. We weren't trained for it, but it's a process. Finally, the issue of journalism. Few journalists follow science communication.”

Also participating in the debate on science journalism were Abel Packer, director of the SciELO/Fapesp Program, and Mariana Versolato, Science and Health editor of Folha de S.Paulo, who stated that initiatives like Agência Bori are essential to combat fake news . “Fake news is passed on, transmitted very quickly, because it uses simple language and has emotional appeal. So much so that people feel they need to pass it on. Therefore, we need to make this effort to make scientific news simpler, obviously without error, without discrediting studies, or even scientists. But finding a 'middle ground' in the language used for dissemination is fundamental to increasing audience reach.”

The event also marked the launch of the Open Box of Science . An initiative of Gênero e Número , the project mapped 250 women in five areas of knowledge. The research and profiles of these researchers are gathered on the digital platform, with open and interactive content, data visualizations, and reports that narrate their trajectories from a gender perspective, indicating female role models in reaching this prominent position and revealing challenges overcome. To arrive at the group, a methodology of data extraction and analysis from the Lattes platform was applied . Using CAPES criteria for granting research support scholarships, an algorithm was developed to list all female researchers with doctorates.

Bori and Open Box da Ciência participated in the 1st Serrapilheira Camp in 2018, a science outreach program of the Serrapilheira Institute. Their projects were selected and received R$ 100,000 for their initiatives.

The full event can be watched at this link .