Risk Analysis Center Hires Local TV Reporter for Communications Position
David
Ropeik, well known in Boston for his environmental and science reporting
at WCVB-TV, Channel 5, began working on some big stories this week at
the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis (HCRA). The biggest story may be
that Ropeik has joined HCRA as its Director of Risk Communications.
After 22 years in front of the camera, Ropeik will be using his media skills to educate policy makers, industry, and the public about health risks in our society.
During his career, Ropeik has covered many controversial environmental problems in the region including extensive reporting of the contamination of drinking water in Woburn, the subject of the recent book and film A Civil Action. He also covered issues surrounding nuclear power.
Working with John Spengler of HSPH, Ropeik investigated dangerous indoor air pollution at ice rinks. Their findings led to national reform.
For the past three years Ropeik has answered readers' questions about science in the "How and Why" column in The Boston Globe. That column is now appearing on MSNBC.com.
Coming to HCRA, said Ropeik, "feels like taking the social mission of journalism to a higher step. It's an opportunity to communicate important information to the public that can improve the quality of people's lives. There's a huge disconnect between what people are afraid of and what the data suggests are the real risks. Narrowing that gap is an important and intriguing challenge."
Ropeik has twice won the prestigious DuPont-Columbia Award, often cited as the television equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. He won his first in 1987 for a documentary about serving on a sequestered jury.
His second DuPont came in 1991, for a compilation of reports on environmental
issues, which included an in-depth look at the variation between public
and scientific views of risk.
