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Eric Berger, MA '97

What do you like best about reporting for the Houston Chronicle?
I enjoy working for the Chronicle for several reasons. Foremost, Houston's a great news town. Consider all of the national news stories in recent years: Enron's collapse, Andrea Yates drowning trial, Katrina's 200,000 evacuees, Hurricane Rita, the disintegration of space shuttle Columbia...the list goes on. Secondly, the newspaper is a very supportive environment. The bosses aren't cheap when it comes to travel and accommodating when it comes to family issues. It's a pleasant place to work.

How is working as a science writer different from working on other beats? How has your undergraduate degree in Astronomy assisted you as reporter?
The best thing about covering science is autonomy. Most folks working in a newsroom, naturally, majored in liberal arts. So they're somewhat averse to science. Therefore, I find my judgment in regards to a science story's newsworthiness is deferred to more often than, say, a story originating out of City Hall.

You write a science blog for the Chronicle. Why do you think this is a valuable resource for readers?
Well, the blog proved its value during Hurricane Rita, when it was accessed more than 50,000 times daily. Based upon feedback from readers, many found it a valuable place to find answers to questions and links to Web resources. The issue for people in the Houston area was whether or not to evacuate, and to get timely information on how the storm might affect their communities, and their homes. I also tried to offer calm, thoughtful advice during a period of high tension and tumult. Outside of hurricane season, I have two goals with the blog: to become the place to talk about science and research happening in Houston, including input from local scientists, and to a lesser extent Texas; secondly, I want to interest more people by providing interesting little insights about science, hopefully drawing them into an exciting, but perhaps an imposing topic. I think, a year into it, I've had some successes on both counts.

You have written a lot of stories about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. What was most challenging about covering Hurricane Katrina?
The most difficult thing about covering Katrina was choosing what stories to write about. There was so much drama provided by humans as well as nature. As a newspaper it's easy to assign a reporter to cover every single aspect of a breaking story. But can you really expect a modern reader to pore over 20+ stories for days on end? No, so the challenge is to pick a few large themes, and report and write them well.

What topics do you like write about the most, and why?
I really enjoy writing about topics like heart surgery -- these guys and gals are really the only rock stars left in science -- as well as basic research, such as genetics and particle physics. Nanotechnology is also a favorite because it's big in Houston, and it touches upon so many disciplines. Basically, I just look for things that fascinate me, and then try to convey the gist of what most interests me to readers. That can be challenging when you're writing about things like RNA interference or DNA methylation, but these are the frontiers of modern science, and it's where you need to be if you want to write about the groundbreaking stuff.

Has technology changed your role as a reporter? If so, how?
I was the first person in the Chronicle newsroom (I began working full time there in late 1997) to never have been in a newsroom without an Internet connection. Basically, the ability to do background research, find sources and share information has increased along with the spread of the Internet. I don't know how people did it before the Web existed. In recent years, the greatest advance, however, has been the other way. Instead of helping me do my job, the Web has brought the readers and consumers of news closer to me through e-mail and blog feedback. It's great to know what people are really interested in, and I often find myself learning things from the readers that help me going forward.

What is the best professional lesson you learned at the J-School?
Civic journalism. It seemed like a joke at the time I was in school, 1995 to 1997, and when I graduated the editors in the field just laughed at the concept. It didn't really exist in the real world. But the lessons I learned during several civic journalism talks at MU have served me well. In the context of civic journalism, blogs make a lot of sense, so when one was proposed for me a year ago, I naturally took to it. Modern journalism is more of a conversation with readers, rather than a lecture from the podium. The thoughtful, difficult editing at MU also has served me very well.

What is your best advice for current journalism students?
Though the media world may seem turbulent today, there are, and will always be lots of opportunities for smart, hard-working journalists. There's no substitute for putting a story in an overall context, and pushing a source beyond press release quotes. The modern media world also needs honest, hardworking folks to bring the truth to light. It's one thing to sit behind a computer and ruminate on the news of the day. It's another thing to go out and gather it. If that's what you want to do, you can succeed.