Editing Scientific American (section)

=== Editorial controversy ===
In 2013, [[Danielle N. Lee]], a female scientist who blogged at ''Scientific American'', was called a "whore" in an email by an editor at the science website ''Biology Online'' after refusing to write professional content without compensation.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jaschik |first=Scott |date=October 14, 2013 |title=When Does a Scientist Get Called a Whore? |url=http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/10/14/outrage-among-women-science-over-how-colleague-was-treated-and-censored |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016001311/http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/10/14/outrage-among-women-science-over-how-colleague-was-treated-and-censored |archive-date=October 16, 2013 |access-date=October 15, 2013 |work=[[Inside Higher Ed]]}}</ref> Lee wrote a response to the email and posted it on the ''Scientific American'' blog.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hess |first=Amanda |date=October 14, 2013 |title=Scientific American's Troubling Response to Its Blogger Being Called an 'Urban Whore' |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/10/14/danielle_lee_called_an_urban_whore_how_scientific_american_bungled_the_racist.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015202731/http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/10/14/danielle_lee_called_an_urban_whore_how_scientific_american_bungled_the_racist.html |archive-date=October 15, 2013 |access-date=October 15, 2013 |work=Slate}}</ref> Then editor-in-chief Mariette DiChristina removed Lee's post, citing legal reasons for removing the blog.<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 14, 2013 |title='Scientific American' draws heat over 'urban whore' blog post |url=https://www.foxnews.com/science/scientific-american-draws-heat-over-urban-whore-blog-post/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016062756/http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/10/14/scientific-american-draws-heat-over-urban-whore-blog-post/ |archive-date=October 16, 2013 |access-date=October 15, 2013 |work=Fox News}}</ref> The editor at ''Biology Online'' was fired after the incident.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Curry |first=Colleen |date=October 14, 2013 |title=Biology-Online Fires Editor Who Called Scientist 'Urban Whore' |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/biology-online-fires-editor-called-scientist-urban-whore/story?id=20564772 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014212201/https://abcnews.go.com/US/biology-online-fires-editor-called-scientist-urban-whore/story?id=20564772 |archive-date=October 14, 2013 |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]}}</ref>

The controversy widened in the ensuing days. The magazine's blog editor, Bora Zivkovic, was the subject of allegations of sexual harassment by another blogger, Monica Byrne.<ref>Byrne, Monica. Zivkovic said of the meeting, "within five minutes, it was clear that SciAm wasn't a good match for her professional goals. [He] stayed for the coffee out of politeness, but found her offputting and uninteresting as a person. So much emphasis has been put on the subject matter of their conversation, but for [Zivkovic] this was no different than talking to an entomologist about insects: all the writing samples she sent were related to sex and relationships. I was mortified to hear that she understood the conversation as inappropriate, and I did apologize, but not for harassment (there was none), for causing her any discomfort. As a naturalized American, I wasn't raised with all the subtleties that the American madonna/whore culture exposes. And I didn't understand how she could write and talk so freely about sex and yet be offended by our conversation, which was mild in comparison. My interest in her, sexually or otherwise, was zero." [http://monicacatherine.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/this-happened/ "This Happened"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021062656/http://monicacatherine.wordpress.com/2012/10/09/this-happened/ |date=October 21, 2013 }}, October 14, 2013. Retrieved on October 24, 2013.</ref><ref name="creep">{{Cite news |last=Helmuth |first=Laura |date=October 17, 2013 |title=Don't Be a Creep |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/10/science_blogging_scandal_bora_zivkovic_and_sexual_harassment.2.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019230321/http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/10/science_blogging_scandal_bora_zivkovic_and_sexual_harassment.2.html |archive-date=October 19, 2013 |access-date=October 24, 2013 |work=Slate}}</ref> Although the alleged incident had occurred about a year earlier, editor Mariette DiChristina informed readers that the incident had been investigated and resolved to Byrne's satisfaction.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Raeburn |first=Paul |date=October 16, 2013 |title=Scientific American blog editor admits to sexual harassment |url=http://ksj.mit.edu/tracker/2013/10/scientific-american-blog-editor-admits-s |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131026192921/http://ksj.mit.edu/tracker/2013/10/scientific-american-blog-editor-admits-s |archive-date=October 26, 2013 |access-date=October 24, 2013 |work=Knight Science Journalism at MIT}}</ref> However, the incident involving Lee had prompted Byrne to reveal the identity of Zivkovic, following the latter's support of Lee. Zivkovic admitted the incident with Byrne had taken place.<ref name="Zivkovic">{{Cite news |last=Zivkovic |first=Bora |date=October 15, 2013 |title=This happened |url=http://blog.coturnix.org/2013/10/15/this-happenned/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021062704/http://blog.coturnix.org/2013/10/15/this-happenned/ |archive-date=October 21, 2013 |work=A Blog Around The Clock}}</ref> He apologized to Byrne, and referred to the incident as "singular", stating that his behavior was not "engaged in before or since."<ref name="Zivkovic" />

Zivkovic resigned from the board of [[Science Online]], the popular science blogging conference that he co-founded with Anton Zuiker.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Greenhouse |first=Emily |date=October 18, 2013 |title=A Ripple of Voices Against Sexism |url=https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/a-ripple-of-voices-against-sexism |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417095606/https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/a-ripple-of-voices-against-sexism |archive-date=April 17, 2023 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |issn=0028-792X}}</ref> Following Zivkovic's admission, several female bloggers, including other bloggers for the magazine, wrote their own accounts, alleging additional incidents of sexual harassment, although none of these accounts were independently investigated.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cooper-White |first=Macrina |date=October 17, 2013 |title=Bora Zivkovic, Scientific American Blog Editor, Responds to Sexual Harassment Allegations |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/17/bora-zivkovic-sexual-harassment_n_4117277.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021214143/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/17/bora-zivkovic-sexual-harassment_n_4117277.html |archive-date=October 21, 2013 |access-date=October 24, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Jane J. |date=October 18, 2013 |title=Shakeup at Scientific American Over Sexual Harassment |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/131017-sexual-harassment-bora-sexism-journalism-culture-science |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529212811/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/131017-sexual-harassment-bora-sexism-journalism-culture-science |archive-date=May 29, 2023 |work=[[National Geographic]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Sorg |first=Lisa |date=October 18, 2013 |title=The fall of Pittsboro scientist and Scientific American blog editor Bora Zivkovic |url=http://www.indyweek.com/triangulator/archives/2013/10/18/the-fall-of-triangle-scientist-and-scientific-american-blog-editor-bora-zivkovic |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131025044351/http://www.indyweek.com/triangulator/archives/2013/10/18/the-fall-of-triangle-scientist-and-scientific-american-blog-editor-bora-zivkovic |archive-date=October 25, 2013 |work=Indy Week}}</ref> A day after these new revelations, Zivkovic resigned from his position at ''Scientific American''.<ref>{{Cite press release |title=Bora Zivkovic resigns from Scientific American |date=October 18, 2013 |publisher=Scientific American |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/pressroom/pr/corporate-press-releases/2013/bora-zivkovic-resigns-from-scientific-american/ |access-date=October 24, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131025223333/http://www.scientificamerican.com/pressroom/pr/corporate-press-releases/2013/bora-zivkovic-resigns-from-scientific-american/ |archive-date=October 25, 2013 |author=<!-- Staff writer(s); no by-line. --> }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Palmer |first=Roxanne |date=October 15, 2013 |title=Scientific American Blog Editor Accused of Sexual Harassment |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128123613/https://www.ibtimes.com/scientific-american-blog-editor-accused-sexual-harassment-1426612 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://www.ibtimes.com/scientific-american-blog-editor-accused-sexual-harassment-1426612 |archive-date=January 28, 2023 |work=[[International Business Times]]}}</ref>