Website suggestions

[Royston]

I'm planning on setting up a 'bad scientific journalism' website...I'll try and think of a catchier name than that. The idea is to post an article from a mainstream source such as the BBC, and sift the facts from the crap. I'll then forward the contributions to the guilty party, and hopefully they'll issue a statement on the errors in said article.

 

I'll obviously need some experts involved et.c but do you think it's a good idea...is such a thing needed, or are there already plenty of action groups that deal with this.

 

Any ideas or input to my project would be very much appreciated.

[insane_alien]

i'd say go for it.

 

might encourage reporters to say what the scientist says instead of writing what they think the scientist said.

[Royston]

might encourage reporters to say what the scientist says instead of writing what they think the scientist said.

 

Exactly

 

You never know, if it's successful journalists may even visit the website so they can get a second opinion...if they know what's good for them.

[spooky]

I encourage you to go ahead with this ^.^ sounds like it'd be awesome.

[Royston]

Thanks, in principle it should work...the key to its success will be the level of knowledge of the members coupled with good referencing, i.e. any amendments will have to have a number of sources for reference...and no, citing something like wiki won't be acceptable, peer reviewed articles only, and referenced in the same manner as a science article. That's something I'll compose afterwards when all information is gathered and is ready to be submitted to the offending magazine / television company.

 

There are two concerns, one is the amount of time I can put into the project, (I'm a very busy person) the other is the actual scientific knowledge I possess, which is really why I need experts I can trust (like the experts on here) anyone caught trying to air their own ideas to get media attention will get an instant ban...so it's highly important that I can trust not only the information I'm submitting, but the people who have provided me with this information, as it's likely I won't have access to a majority of peer reviewed articles.

 

Anyway, I'm going to give it a crack, but the website won't be available anytime soon, it'll probably be several months away until I get everything on the site, air tight, as it were. I'll let you all know when it's up and running.

 

EDIT: Just to add, as I said before, any suggestions prior to its launch would be very appreciated.

[MolotovCocktail]

Is it going to be like a blog or a forum? I'm thinking that you would get the most out of it if it was in the style of a discussion or something like that.

 

Also, I have a suggestion for the name of your website: Yellow-Sci. The name is influenced by "Yellow-Journalism", a term used in the 19th century to describe how irresponsible the media and newpapers were (though today is not much different).

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

What sort of software are you going to run the site on (content management system, etc)? I can make a few suggestions if you don't know yet...

[Royston]

Is it going to be like a blog or a forum? I'm thinking that you would get the most out of it if it was in the style of a discussion or something like that.

 

Most definitely a forum...it'll be split into the main scientific faculties, with a thread per article under debate (or more to the point scrutiny) there will be no room for personal opinion, anecdotes et.c, it's primarily a filter of information i.e all media tactics to sensationalize, or display bias and more importantly any misinformation will be removed, and the amended article with references et.c will be stuck in a separate sub-forum for proof reading. Once the article is complete it'll be sent off, and I'll have yet another sub-forum on any feedback we receive, so the process can be improved.

 

Also, I have a suggestion for the name of your website: Yellow-Sci. The name is influenced by "Yellow-Journalism", a term used in the 19th century to describe how irresponsible the media and newpapers were (though today is not much different).

 

Thanks, I'll stick it on my list.

 

What sort of software are you going to run the site on (content management system, etc)? I can make a few suggestions if you don't know yet...

 

I'm undecided on which CMS, though I'll be starting on an open source / free one (for the time being) and more than likely PHP, I need to keep cost down to a minimum, and I have a friend who's fluent in PHP...which I'm not. Not incredibly professional I know, but it's a start. Advertising, and content are the main issues...I just need basic admin capabilities. The site is very specific in it's intentions, so that in itself should reduce the amount of trolling et.c it would just mean an instant ban anyway, all that will be made clear in the rules / regulations et.c

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Here's a decent setup you could do:

 

Run Textpattern (a CMS) for the articles themselves. That way, you can have a full set of "staff" who can all edit the article using a decent markup system and all that fun stuff. You could then use phpBB for the forums, and make a thread for each new article, asking for comments on the draft as it is being made.

[Royston]

That's precisely what I'm looking for (Textpattern), and funnily enough phpbb was what I had in mind for the forums... http://www.phpbb.com/about/features/

 

Are there any web hosting companies you'd recommend that will fit the needs for phpbb and Textpattern.

 

Thanks for the help, and excuse my ignorance, I'm new to this.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

That depends on your budget. How much are you willing to spend per month on this? A decent webhost might cost $10-20 per month, more when the site gets bigger. You'd also have to buy a domain name, which is around $10/year.

 

I can recommend a domain registrar and a host depending on your budget. I'm actually planning another site soon that might go along with your idea... I'll have to post about it later.

[grifter]

You could use my server, but...its not always on.... it has about 25% up-time, with support for php mysql and Cpanel controll and natrually it would be free... but I'm not sure how much longr it'll be in-action for, I'm having bandwith issues :/

[Royston]

Thanks Grifter, but I think I'll be ok now...just to say thanks everyone for the support and advice, and ummm watch this space.

[the tree]

Interesting essay from a while ago about science journalism: Where are all the science journalists?

[Royston]

Thanks the tree, I'll give it a proper read tonight...I'm planning to contact Ben Goldacre, nearer the time.