David Perlman

{{Short description|American science journalist (1918–2020)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = David Perlman

| birth_date = December 30, 1918

| birth_place = Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.

| death_date = June 19, 2020 (aged 101)

| death_place = San Francisco, California, U.S.

| alma_mater = Columbia University (BA, MA)

| occupation = Journalist

}}

David Perlman (December 30, 1918{{snds}}June 19, 2020){{Cite web|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/David-Perlman-award-winning-Chronicle-science-15353853.php|title=David Perlman, award-winning Chronicle science writer, dies at age 101|last=Fagan|first=Kevin|date=19 June 2020|website=San Francisco Chronicle|language=en|access-date=2020-06-19}} was an American science journalist based in San Francisco, California, who was the science editor for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Early life and education

Perlman was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.{{Cite web|last=Horgan|first=Richard|date=August 4, 2017|title=San Francisco Chronicle Toasts 98-Year-Old Outgoing Science Editor David Perlman|url=https://www.adweek.com/digital/san-francisco-chronicle-david-perlman-retirement/|access-date=June 21, 2020|website=www.adweek.com|language=en-US}} Perlman graduated from Columbia College, where he worked for the student newspaper Columbia Daily Spectator in 1939 and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in 1940.{{Cite web|date=November–December 2009|title=Dean of American Science Writing|url=https://www.college.columbia.edu/cct/archive/nov_dec09/features|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915222653/https://www.college.columbia.edu/cct/archive/nov_dec09/features |archive-date=2016-09-15 |access-date=June 7, 2020|website=Columbia College Today}}

Career

He began his career as a reporter in 1940{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/business/media/27chronicle.html|title=San Francisco Reporter, 90, Covers Science Beat With Verve|last=Kilgannon|first=Corey|date=2009-04-26|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-01-20|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} at the San Francisco Chronicle, where he started covering science in 1957, after breaking his leg while skiing and reading about astronomy during his recovery.{{Cite web|url=https://www.poynter.org/news/hes-spent-nearly-7-decades-san-francisco-chronicle-year-98-hes-retiring|title=He's spent nearly 7 decades at The San Francisco Chronicle. This year, at 98, he's retiring.|last=Funke|first=Daniel|date=26 July 2017|website=Poynter|language=en|access-date=2018-01-20}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/la-xpm-2013-feb-21-la-me-perlman-20130222-story.html|title=Science writer is quite the specimen himself: He's 94|last=La Ganga|first=Maria L.|date=2013-02-21|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2018-01-20|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}} He became the Chronicle's science editor emeritus after retiring in August 2017 at the age of 98.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/author/david-perlman/|title=David Perlman, Science Editor Emeritus - San Francisco Chronicle|website=www.sfchronicle.com|language=en|access-date=2018-01-20}} In a 2017 interview for Poynter, he stated that cuts to science coverage in the media are "absolutely obscene" and create "a generation with a major disability in what they can think about and understand."{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/science-journalist-thinking-disability-david-perlman-generation-americans-climate-change-global-a7864551.html|title=Science journalist retires at 98 and warns of generation of Americans with thinking 'disability'|last=Johnston|first=Ian|date=28 July 2017|work=The Independent|access-date=2018-01-20|language=en-GB}}

In 2000, the American Geological Union recognized his contributions to science news reporting by instituting the "David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism—News".{{Cite news|url=https://honors.agu.org/medals-awards/david-perlman-award-for-excellence-in-science-journalism-news/|title=David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism - News - Honors Program|work=Honors Program|access-date=2018-01-20|language=en-US}} A former president of the National Association of Science Writers and the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing, he was a Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences. He was the recipient of journalism awards from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Society of Professional Journalists, the American Chemical Society, the American Geophysical Union and the United States Geological Survey.

Death

Perlman died on June 19, 2020, at the age of 101.{{Cite web|last=Russell|first=Cristine|title=RIP David Perlman, the Dean of American Science Writing|url=https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/rip-david-perlman-the-dean-of-american-science-writing/|access-date=2020-06-21|website=Scientific American Blog Network|language=en}}

References

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