Science press conference

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The Science Press Conference (WPK) is a German professional association of science journalists . It has the legal form of a registered association. The WPK was founded in Bonn in 1986 - the Federal Press Conference was deliberately taken as a model in terms of name, work methods and structure - and is still based there today. The members of the WPK are full-time science journalists from all media branches, with the exception of full-time press officers. The chairman of the WPK is the television journalist Martin Schneider (as of December 2013).

The WPK is an expression of the increasing professionalization of German science journalism, especially after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster .

aims

The WPK aims to promote the quality of science journalism through seminars, background discussions and the promotion of research trips for its members . H. journalistically independent reporting that is also independent of the interests of the scientific community. For the public, she organizes roundtable discussions aimed at improving the dialogue between “science, politics and society”.

Relations with international associations

The association is a member of the European Union of Science Journalists' Associations (EUSJA). The EUSJA "unites the most important science journalists' organizations from over 20 European countries". In addition, the WPK is an active member of the World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ), the global umbrella organization of international associations of science journalists.

publication

On the online magazine meta, the association publishes articles on current developments in science journalism as well as on theoretical principles and practical aspects. Most of the contributions come from members of the WPK; the authors of the WPK Quarterly work on a voluntary basis. The editorial management is held by Markus Lehmkuhl, who is also responsible in terms of press law .

Organization and financing

The board consists of five people. The WPK is affiliated with a circle of friends in which anyone can become a member who supports the goals of the WPK. The WPK is financed on the one hand by membership fees and contributions from the circle of friends. The WPK also has a board of trustees, which is an independent association. Numerous large scientific organizations, companies and ministries are represented on the Board of Trustees. In addition to this non-earmarked financing, earmarked sponsoring of certain projects is possible under strict guidelines such as transparency with naming of the sponsor, his waiver of influence and repayment of unused project-related funds. One example of this is the WPK research fund Covid-19 / Sars-CoV-2 . This supports thorough research (as of July 2020) on the causes, backgrounds and socio-political effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially by freelance journalists after submitting an application. Through this flow of money, among other things, on-site reports outside of mainstream news reach a broader public.

Awards

In 2017, the WPK received the Stein im Brett award from the Professional Association of German Geoscientists for strengthening trust in science by improving science journalism.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jean Pütz on the history of the WPK
  2. ↑ a b Alexander Mäder in Handbuch WissenschaftskommunikationDernbach, Beatrice, Kleinert, Christian, Münder, Herbert (eds.), Springer 2012
  3. ↑ see page of the WPK at http://www.wpk.org/wpk/organisation/der-vorstand.html
  4. ↑ fact, fiction, falsification: trends in science journalism, Grit Kienzlen, Jan Lublinski, Volker Stollorz, UVK Verlagsgesellschaft, 2007, p. 19.
  5. ^ Science Communication in the World: Practices, Theories and Trends, Bernard Schiele, Michel Claessens, Shunke Shi, Springer, April 2, 2012
  6. ^ Wissenschafts-Pressekonferenz eV: The WPK. WPK website, undated, accessed on July 4, 2020.
  7. ^ Wissenschafts-Pressekonferenz eV: Sponsoring guidelines. PDF, WPK website, undated, accessed on July 4, 2020.
  8. ↑ Science Press Conference eV: WPK Research Fund Covid-19 / Sars-CoV-2. WPK website, undated, accessed on July 4, 2020.
  9. ↑ Oliver Bilger: "We don't want our lives to be torn in two". Commuters protest on the Polish border. Article dated April 29, 2020, Tagesspiegel website , accessed July 4, 2020.
  10. ↑ Laura Salm-Reifferscheidt: Canada - SARS, chance and room 911. One night in the hotel resulted in a worldwide pandemic. Podcast from June 26, 2020 from the series Pandemia - Die Welt. The viruses. And we. Site of four thousand hertz , accessed on July 4, 2020. (Download without app: 64,4MB )
  11. ↑ Hildegard Willer: Peru: The air goes out. Article dated July 2, 2020, Riffreporter website , accessed July 4, 2020.
  12. ↑ Science journalism has a "brick in the board". In: geoberuf.de. October 30, 2017, accessed July 22, 2019 .