Uploaded October 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
On February 3, 2023, a train carrying toxic materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, dumping its cargo into a small, conservative, rural community. The Environmental Protection Agency told residents everything was fine; it wasn’t. What followed was a maelstrom of confusion and mistrust as scientists attempted to document the hazards and journalists worked to communicate the rapidly changing story to an audience sometimes unwilling to trust the word of experts and reporters.
In this session at the ScienceWriters2023 meeting, a panel discusses how an uncoordinated government science response and journalists who sometimes missed residents’ key concerns contributed to the obfuscation, as well as what the scientific findings truly are and how local journalists adapted to reach the audience most in need of information.
The session was presented in Boulder, CO, on October 9, 2023 as part of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing's annual New Horizons in Science briefings for science writers. The panel was introduced by New Horizons Program Director Amber Dance.
Moderator: Sharon Lerner, reporter, ProPublica
Panelists:
Andrew Whelton, professor of civil engineering and ecological engineering, Purdue University
Nick Messenger, economist and senior researcher, Ohio River Valley Institute
Stephanie Czekalinski, deputy editor of engaged journalism, Ideastream Public Media
On February 3, 2023, a train carrying toxic materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, dumping its cargo into a small, conservative, rural community. The Environmental Protection Agency told residents everything was fine; it wasn’t. What followed was a maelstrom of confusion and mistrust as scientists attempted to document the hazards and journalists worked to communicate the rapidly changing story to an audience sometimes unwilling to trust the word of experts and reporters.
In this session at the ScienceWriters2023 meeting, a panel discusses how an uncoordinated government science response and journalists who sometimes missed residents’ key concerns contributed to the obfuscation, as well as what the scientific findings truly are and how local journalists adapted to reach the audience most in need of information.
The session was presented in Boulder, CO, on October 9, 2023 as part of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing's annual New Horizons in Science briefings for science writers. The panel was introduced by New Horizons Program Director Amber Dance.
Moderator: Sharon Lerner, reporter, ProPublica
Panelists:
Andrew Whelton, professor of civil engineering and ecological engineering, Purdue University
Nick Messenger, economist and senior researcher, Ohio River Valley Institute
Stephanie Czekalinski, deputy editor of engaged journalism, Ideastream Public Media
