Michael Balter

Michael Balter is an American science journalist. His writings primarily cover anthropology, archaeology, mental health and sexual harassment in science.[1][2]

Balter was a correspondent for Science magazine for over 25 years,[3] before being controversially dismissed in 2016.[4][5] He currently writes for Scientific American,[6] Audubon, and The Verge,[2][7] and has previously contributed to LA Weekly, the Los Angeles Times, and Los Angeles magazine.[7]

Education and career

Born on the Alaskan Aleutian Islands, Balter grew up in Los Angeles and studied at the University of California, Los Angeles and San Jose State University.[7] He obtained his master's degree in biology from UCLA in 1977.[7] As a student, Balter was involved in far-left politics and especially the movement opposing the Vietnam War.[7][8] He was conscripted into the US Army and stationed at Fort Ord, where he and other members of the radical Progressive Labor Party, which aimed to "subvert and destroy [the military] from within", attempted to organize resistance to the war amongst soldiers.[8] He was court-martialed twice, once for distributing anti-war literature,[8] and once for disrupting a training exercise.[8][9]

Balter began his journalism career writing for newspapers based in Los Angeles, including LA Weekly, the Los Angeles Times, and Los Angeles magazine.[7] In the 1990s he relocated to Paris, where he was a foreign correspondent for several American newspapers and magazines, and began writing for Science magazine.[7]

Balter wrote for Science for over 25 years,[4] primarily covering anthropology and archaeology.[7] He was the chief of its Paris bureau between 1993 and 2002.[7] His contract with Science was terminated in 2016, shortly after he wrote a piece about allegations of sexual misconduct against American anthropologist Brian Richmond.[4][5] Balter claimed that his dismissal was in reaction to this piece,[4][5] which was the subject of what he described as a "tense, sometimes bruising behind-the-scenes conflict with [Science's] editors".[10] He also highlighted previous conflicts with the magazine, including a leave of absence he took in protest of its firing of four women, and a blog post he wrote that was critical of Marcia McNutt, its then editor-in-chief.[5] The American Association for the Advancement of Science, which publishes Science, denied that the Richmond piece was a factor in its decision to terminate Balter's freelance contract with the magazine.[4][5][11]


Selected publications
  • Balter, Michael (2005). The Goddess and the Bull; Çatalhöyük: An Archaeological Journey to the Dawn of Civilization. New York, NY: Free Press. ISBN 978 0743243605.
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References
  1. "Articles by Michael Balter". Pacific Standard. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  2. "Michael Balter Archives". SAPIENS. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  3. "Michael Balter". Science. 2013-03-11. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  4. Feltman, Rachel (March 11, 2016). "Science Magazine ends contract of the reporter behind major probe of sexual assault". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  5. "Science Mag axes Michael Balter after 25 years, Denies it was over Sexual Misconduct story". iMediaEthics. 2016-04-30. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  6. "Stories by Michael Balter". Scientific American. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  7. "About the Author". MichaelBalter.com. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  8. Balter, Michael (2019-02-25). "What I Did in the War". Medium. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  9. United States Congress, House Internal Security (1972). Investigation of Attempts to Subvert the United States Armed Services. pp. 7219–7231.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  10. Balter, Michael (2016-03-11). "Balter's Blog: Why did @sciencemagazine terminate me after 25 years of service?". Balter's Blog. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  11. "AAAS Statement on Michael Balter". American Association for the Advancement of Science. March 11, 2016. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
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