đź“° Spotlight on Tina Saey, Ph.D., Senior Writer, Molecular Biology, Science News
Background
-Name: Tina Saey, Ph.D. (pronounced “say”)
-Home Base: Washington, D.C. Area
-Role: Tina covers a wide range of topics, from basic research on microbes to public health. While neuroscience was once part of her beat, she now focuses on anything that deals with the biological processes of life. “My beat is technically molecular biology, but it’s pretty much all of life sciences,” she says, noting with a smile that “red blood cells don’t have any DNA, but I write about those, too.”
-Expertise: A molecular geneticist by training, Tina transitioned to science writing early in her career, focusing on explaining complex scientific topics to a broad audience. She’s been at Science News for nearly 17 years, but before that she worked at Dallas Morning News and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Tina holds a doctorate in molecular genetics from Washington University in St. Louis and a master’s in science journalism from Boston University. Her work has been honored by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, the Endocrine Society, the Genetics Society of America and by journalism organizations.
Beat Overview
-Publication: Science News is published by the nonprofit Society for Science (founded in 1921), with a biweekly magazine circulation of over 117,000 and a monthly reach of 1.4 million unique users on its website. The publication’s mission is “to provide independent, unbiased coverage of science and give people the tools to evaluate the news and the world around them.” Editor-in-Chief Nancy Shute “really feels very strongly that [health and medicine] has to be a major part of our coverage,” adds Tina. All stories go on the website and a subset are subsequently selected for the magazine.
-Coverage Areas: Covers a broad spectrum, from basic science through to new products. While Tina sometimes covers new drug approvals, she sets a high bar for what qualifies, as seen in her coverage of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy and sickle cell genetic medicines. Tina also wants to know about clinical trial results for background, even if she doesn’t always report on them. She does not cover the business side of biopharma, explicitly avoiding personnel changes, financings, and quarterly earnings.
-Angles of Interest: Much more likely to report on data if there’s a publication; also open to data presented at medical and scientific meetings. “We’re writing mostly about things that are coming out of scientific journals,” Tina says. Primary sources of news are pre-publication emails sent to media and tables of contents in new journal issues. She works on stories with various lead times, from day-of to multi-month long-leads (i.e. she’s currently working on features that will be in the January magazine issue, ed cal is not public). Tina’s top current focus areas:
- Opioid vaccines and treatments for opioid addiction and overdose prevention, noting that she’s “looking to do more positive coverage” and wants to know if “there’s something out there that can make a difference.”
- Vector-borne diseases, including COVID, malaria, dengue, West Nile, and chikungunya.
- AI and medicine – open to new angles and perspectives.
- Eugenics – how it has tainted various aspects of society.
- Sex and gender, including menopause.
Pitching Tips
-Know Who on the Team to Pitch: Colleagues on Tina’s team include:
- Laura Sanders – Neuroscience reporter; covers news related to the brain and central nervous system.
- Aimee Cunningham – Biomedical reporter; focused on “the human side,” as Tina describes it, of public health and clinical trials.
- Meghan Rosen and Erin Garcia de JesĂşs – General assignment reporters who cover a variety of topics. Of note, Megan does a lot of reporting on oncology, and Erin studied virology as part of her doctorate work.
- Macon Morehouse – News director; may assign pitches to freelancers if staff members aren’t available.
-Highlight Overlooked Angles: Don’t hesitate to pitch angles regarding data or studies that other outlets might have missed. Tina is open to covering news from an ethical or societal perspective or exploring areas that may have been previously overlooked.
-Include Original Source Material: Even in an initial pitch, include a PDF or a link to the journal article, abstract, poster, or slide presentation. “I will skim the press release, but what I’m going to read to decide whether I’m going to cover it is going to be that paper,” she explains.
-Timing Matters: Tina’s working hours are typically 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. ET. Avoid sending time-sensitive pitches before then, as they’ll likely get buried in her inbox.
-Advance Notice for Early-Morning Announcements: For news going live before business hours, send her the information under embargo the day before around 4 p.m. ET, if possible.
Pet Peeves
-Overly Optimistic Press Releases: Tina notes, “People are not always upfront about the drawbacks that have gone on or arisen during their clinical trial.”
-Business and Finance Press Releases: Tina deletes these, so if there’s significant news disclosed as part of earnings, highlight that specifically in your pitch.
-Company Profile Pitches: Tina doesn’t write company profiles but is open to informational interviews and FYI updates so she can get “an overview of what’s going on.”
-Inappropriate Sources: Typical executive spokespeople like the CEO may not be the most relevant sources for Tina. She’s looking to speak with scientific experts, noting that a “CSO or someone who is the lead on the project that can really talk to me about the science” might be more appropriate.
Events and Conferences
-Rarely Attends In Person: Due to a limited travel budget, Tina doesn’t attend many conferences in person, but she may cover significant scientific meetings by reviewing abstracts and data releases.
-Pre-Pitch for Conferences: For major scientific meetings, it’s beneficial to provide Tina with access to abstracts and other materials in advance to allow for comprehensive coverage.
Key Quote
“I think of myself as a science journalist and not so much as a healthcare reporter. I value that type of reporting very much; it’s just not what I do. … I’m very much an explanatory journalist.”
Lightning Round
-When You Knew You Wanted to Be a Science Reporter: Halfway through graduate school, in the early 90s.
-Most Bizarre News You’ve Reported: Engineering the brain parasite Toxoplasma gondii to deliver proteins into the brain.
-Dream Inbound Pitch Subject Line: “A new type of RNA may revolutionize medicine”—Tina is a self-proclaimed RNA nerd, particularly fascinated by non-coding RNA.
-Subject Line of an Email You’ll Never Open: “New CFO of X company”
-What Keeps You Up at Night: The fear of another pandemic and the potential failure to learn from COVID-19.
-Known Around the Newsroom As: The sci-fi and pop culture guru.
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