U of G Prof. Merritt Turetsky will make regular appearances on CTV’s Your Morning as a science expert.
The ecology professor will “unscramble” science as part of the national network’s new five-minute mini-feature called Science Roundup.
“Science is often scrambled, with so many parts to it,” said Merritt. “The public gets disconnected if the story’s not clear. I believe that the public misunderstands much about science, and if this goes on long enough they will start to distrust science. I want to unscramble it for people, to communicate why scientists love science, how scientists do science, because it’s an incredible process of gaining knowledge.”
The first regular installment with Turetsky at the helm airs at 7:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 10, and she will make return appearances every two to three weeks.
Turetsky holds a Canada Research Chair in Integrative Ecology. She’s an expert in permafrost degradation and the changing wildfire regimes associated with climate change.
Through her career, she’s developed a keen awareness of journalists’ needs and has also learned how to succinctly explain science.
After working with the news outlet as an expert on the recent wildfires, Merritt suggested the idea of a regular five-minute segment dedicated to science. The network decision-makers liked it.
“They have roundups for sports and other subjects, but not science,” she says. “I often work with media on stories related to what we call ‘downer’ science, like disasters, but there are so many upbeat inspirational science stories to tell.”
As commentator, Turetsky will choose three story topics per segment. For story ideas, she will tap into her own knowledge of recently published work and consult with a variety of sources within science journalism. She’s also eager to hear from researchers across Canada with story ideas in all aspects of science. She plans to eventually develop this science communication project into a more interactive model, allowing viewers to pose questions or make suggestions.
Turetsky will augment stories on Science Roundup with items on a new Twitter account called Science Unscrambled (@unscrambled_sci).