Penny Park

Penelope Dawn (Penny) Park (July 26, 1953 - December 14, 2018) was a Canadian journalist and science writer.

Penny Park
Park in 2009
Born(1953-07-26)26 July 1953
Montreal
Died14 December 2018(2018-12-14) (aged 65)
Toronto
NationalityCanadian
Alma materUniversity of New Brunswick, University of Guelph
OccupationJournalist and science writer
AwardsSandford Fleming Medal

Early life and education

Penny Park was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1953.

She received a Bachelor of Arts in linguistics from the University of New Brunswick, where she worked at the university's radio station.[1][2] After completing her degree, she worked for as a reporter on a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation New Brunswick morning show covering politics. However, after a few years, she grew dissatisfied with political reporting.[1] She returned to university, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Guelph in 1980.[2][3]

Career

After graduating from the University of Guelph, Park worked briefly at CBC radio in northern Ontario. In 1982, she became a producer on Quirks & Quarks, the CBC's flagship radio science show. She worked as a producer and senior producer on the program for 13 years.[4][3]

In 1994, Park, along with host Jay Ingram, left Quirks & Quarks to develop the nightly television program @discovery.ca (later renamed Daily Planet) for Discovery Channel. She worked at Discovery for 16 years, as segment producer, senior producer, and documentary maker for Daily Planet.[4][5][6]

In 2010, she left Discovery Channel to become the founding executive director of the Science Media Centre of Canada a non-profit charitable organization set up to inform public debate with accurate science.[5] The centre's primary purpose is to serve journalists with accurate information on scientific matters, by providing media alerts about upcoming scientific announcements, giving background information on breaking science new stories, and connecting journalists with scientific experts.[7]

In 2017, Park was the launch editor of The Conversation Canada, a Canadian edition of the independent, not-for-profit media outlet.[8] She has also contributed to UNEP’s yearbooks that give updates on selected global environmental issues.[9][10]

Park died on December 14, 2018.[11][12]

Honours

In 2013 Park was awarded an honorary doctoral degree, D. Litt., at the University of the Fraser Valley.[2][13]

She was the 2014 recipient of the Sandford Fleming Medal from the Royal Canadian Institute for her commitment to excellence and innovation in Canadian science media.[14]

References
  1. "(Class of '69) Penny Park - Enhancing Science Awareness". The Study. Archived from the original on 2016-09-12. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  2. "Penny Park's mission to enhance science awareness nets honorary degree from UFV - UFV Today". Blogs.ufv.ca. 2013-06-04. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  3. "Curiosity, Doubt, and Truth: What Journalism and Science have in Common and Why they Need Each Other". University of Toronto Scarborough - News and Events. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  4. "Penny Park". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  5. "Veteran Science Journalist Takes Helm at Science Media Centre of Canada". Marketwired.com. 2009-12-08. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  6. "In Memoriam: Penny Park". Science Media Centre of Canada. 2018-12-19. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  7. "Lofty goals, poor reception for science journalism centre". King's Journalism Review. 2011-11-15. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  8. Hermida, Alfred; Young, Mary-Lynn. "It's time to start The Conversation in Canada". The Conversation. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  9. "Year Book 2010". Unep.org. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  10. "UNEP YEAR BOOK 2014". Unep.org. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  11. "Remembering Penny Park, 2014 Fleming Medal Winner". Royal Canadian Institute for Science. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  12. "Penelope Dawn (Penny) Park Obituary". Toronto Star. December 30, 2018.
  13. "Penny Park's Mission To Enhance Science Awareness Nets Honorary Degree From UFV – Abbotsford Today". Abbotsfordtoday.ca. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  14. "The Sandford Fleming Award". Royal Canadian Institute. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
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