AAAS Kavli Lecture "HOSTILE WATERS: ORCAS IN PERIL"
The University of Washington Department of Communication and the American Association for the Advancement of Science invite you to a 2024 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award Lecture by Lynda V. Mapes, Environment Reporter, The Seattle Times.
Wednesday, October 16 – 5:00 P.M. Reception to follow.
Kane Hall – Walker Ames Room
HOSTILE WATERS: ORCAS IN PERIL
Come behind the scenes with Lynda Mapes to learn how The Seattle Times told the fast- breaking story of a mother orca carrying her dead baby calf around the Salish Sea for 17 days and more than 1,000 miles – still the best-read story ever published by the Times with more than 6 million page views globally. The multi-media project won a 2018 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Gold Award.
Mapes will discuss the complex environmental factors that continue to influence orca survival, including dwindling salmon runs, toxic pollution, and shipping noise. Dam removal, if successful in restoring historic salmon runs, could brighten the outlook for the orcas. Mapes also will discuss the necessity of crossing cultures to tell stories deeply rooted in the Native cultures of the Salish Sea, and how her work as a reporter is driven by simple but powerful questions such as how and why do things work, who and what was here before, and – always – why does this matter?