ScienceAlert

ScienceAlert

Editor	Peter Dockrill[1][2]
Former editors	Julian Cribb (2005 – 2015)[3][4]
Categories	Popular science
Frequency	Daily
First issue	2004
Company	ScienceAlert Pty Ltd[5]
Country	Australia[6]
Based in	Canberra[5]
Language	English
Website	www.sciencealert.com

ScienceAlert is an independently run online publication and news source that publishes articles featuring scientific research, discoveries, and outcomes.^[2] The site was founded in 2004 by Julian Cribb, a science writer, to aggregate research findings from Australian universities,^[7] and it expanded in 2006 when ex-Microsoft programmer Chris Cassella took on the project of developing the website.^[8] It has readership that ranges from 11.5m to 26.5m per month.^[6] Science journalist Fiona MacDonald has been CEO since 2017.^[9]

History

Science communicator Julian Cribb founded ScienceAlert in 2004.^[10][11] The website was born out of his "concern at the lack of information available about what Australians and New Zealanders achieve in science".^[12] Chris Cassella, a former programmer for Microsoft, joined the site in order to develop new web tools.^[7] He took on this work as part of a master's degree thesis in science communication at Australia National University,^[8] where Cribb was a professor.^[13] Initially, the focus of ScienceAlert was twofold: "to both publicise Australasian scientific outcomes more widely and to encourage Australasian research institutions and funding agencies to share more of their achievements by providing a free outlet for them to do so".^[7] Cassella is credited with bringing the site to social media, starting the ScienceAlert Facebook page in 2007.^[12] By 2011, the page had attracted a significant following among young people,^[14] reaching one million followers by 2012.^[15] By 2020, the page had slightly more than nine million followers.^[2][16]

In 2012, ScienceAlert received a grant from Inspiring Australia, a government initiative aimed at engaging "people who may not have had previous access to or interest in science-communication activities".^[17] Although the website began as a project to aggregate research findings and outcomes from Australian universities, by 2019 the focus of the site had shifted toward presenting popular science to a wider audience. The shift toward mass appeal news on social media has met with some criticism. (See Controversy and criticism section, below)

In July 2019, reinforcing the site's commitment to fact-checking, ScienceAlert announced a joint partnership with Metafact. ScienceAlert republishes selected expert answers from the Metafact community across the site's multiple digital channels.^[18][19] ScienceAlert is owned by ScienceAlert Pty Ltd., a privately held company owned by Chris Cassella.

According to its site, ScienceAlert does not run sponsored articles nor is it affiliated with other companies or institutions.^[20][21] As of 2020, ScienceAlert engages more than 11 million readers per month.^[6]

Editorial staff

In addition to Cassella and MacDonald, ScienceAlert's editorial staff is headed by Peter Dockrill, who now manages more than half a dozen contributing science journalists to produce the site's news.^[1][22] Cribb concluded his role as editor at ScienceAlert in 2015. In August 2017, Fiona MacDonald was named CEO of ScienceAlert, with Cassella acting as COO/CFO.^[9] Prior to this role, MacDonald had worked with the news site for more than a decade as an editor and then the director of content.^[23][9][1] According to The Brilliant, the editorial team has doubled since 2017.^[2]

Format

As of August 2023, ScienceAlert had the following sections: Space, Environment, Tech, Physics, Opinion, Health, Humans, Nature and Society. Readers could read the trending news or the latest news from the homepage.^[24]

Controversy and criticism

In May 2019, ScienceAlert joined the debate surrounding publications, such as The Guardian, shifting their style guide to prioritize terms such as "climate crisis or breakdown" over "climate change". ScienceAlert then shared updated definitions for the site's climate science-related terminology.^[25] Later, ScienceAlert noted that this decision led to an increase in negative comments on their Facebook page. The page comprises a small portion of the readers of the publication. The editors said that when they post articles about climate news, "with astonishing speed and ferocity the comment section becomes a hot-pot of climate denialism".^[26] The editors developed a policy of dealing with the social media issue by asking that, rather than adding fuel to the onslaught, readers of the page cooperate in a reporting scheme that could enable quick blocking of the disruptive sources and the alternative accounts the "climate trolls" create to appear numerous as well as to evade the blocks. Accusations of "censorship" followed, but the editors stood by the policy and noted its relative effectiveness.^{[citation needed]}

The broadening of the scope of topics covered (noted above) has drawn criticism from those opposed to the change to an international science news perspective. Those objecting prefer the original exposure for scientific research and developments solely in Australia that had determined the content of ScienceAlert when founded.^{[citation needed]}

The site also has come under criticism for issues related to sensationalism, hyperbole, misleading or naive headlines, and even sexism to attract readers. In a social media post from 2014, STEM blogger Zuleyka Zevallos criticized superficial explanations about a powdered coffee product that vaguely referred to "researchers" without evidence. She also pointed out sexist imagery of unclothed women used by the webzine to attract attention.^[27]

References

1. MacDonald, Fiona. "Our Team". ScienceAlert. Archived from the original on 2020-09-12. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
2. "Wake up Australia. You have the second-largest science website in the world". August 19, 2020. Archived from the original on October 4, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
3. Centre, The University of Melbourne eScholarship Research. "Cribb, Julian - Japanese entry - Encyclopedia of Australian Science". www.eoas.info. Archived from the original on 2020-09-18. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
4. "Julian Cribb: What are the future challenges to our food system". Resilience. May 19, 2011. Archived from the original on 2021-10-06. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
5. "ABN Lookup". abr.business.gov.au. November 1, 2014. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
6. "sciencealert.com Traffic Statistics". SimilarWeb. Archived from the original on 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
7. Beeby, Rosslyn (February 27, 2012). "ACT pair takes Australian science to the world". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
8. Sharaz, David (June 14, 2012). "Canberra science website more popular than NASA". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
9. "Parfemme: In Touch With Scientist and Mother Fiona MacDonald". Archived from the original on 2020-09-28. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
10. Kirk, Susan (February 28, 2012). "A million fans for Australian science". Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
11. "Women dominate ACT Australian of the Year nominations". The Star. October 26, 2018.
12. "Australian Science Communication Conference | Chief Scientist". www.chiefscientist.gov.au. 2012-03-01. Archived from the original on 2020-09-22. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
13. "sciencerewired / Interview With Chris Cassella - ScienceAlert at sciencerewired". Archived from the original on 2021-10-06. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
14. "Parliament of Australia: Aust. Australian science followers top half a million". Archived from the original on 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
15. "Taking science to the world – from Narrabundah!". citynews.com.au. February 27, 2012. Archived from the original on 2021-10-06. Retrieved 2019-02-27.
16. "ScienceAlert". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 2020-09-05. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
17. Australia, Inspiring (2012-06-12). "Inspiring Australia grant overviews". www.scienceinpublic.com.au. Archived from the original on 2018-03-13. Retrieved 2018-06-12.
18. "This fact-checking website answers all your science-related questions". Rappler. 23 March 2019. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
19. "- Metafact". metafact.io. Archived from the original on 2019-10-07. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
20. "Podcast: ScienceAlert's journey to 6.4 million Facebook likes". The RiotACT. Archived from the original on 2020-01-04. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
21. "Episode One Hundred And Thirty Four – On ScienceRewired – Interviews On Science, Society And Education". September 1, 2012. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
22. "ScienceAlert: science communication for the masses". January 13, 2016. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
23. NSW, Inspiring (December 9, 2014). "Building online communities". Inspiring Australia. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
24. "ScienceAlert". www.sciencealert.com. Archived from the original on 2020-09-04. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
25. Dean, Signe (24 May 2019). "ScienceAlert Editor: Yes, It's Time to Update Our Climate Change Language". ScienceAlert. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
26. Dean, Signe (27 September 2019). "Do Not Feed The Climate Trolls". ScienceAlert. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
27. "BroScience: Sexism in Click Bait Science News". June 26, 2014. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.