# Michael Balter

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{{short description|American science journalist}}
'''Michael Balter''' is an American [science journalist](/source/Science_journalism). His writings primarily cover [anthropology](/source/anthropology), [archaeology](/source/archaeology), [mental health](/source/mental_health) and [sexual harassment](/source/sexual_harassment) in science.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Articles by Michael Balter|url=https://psmag.com/author/michael-balter|access-date=2020-07-13|website=Pacific Standard|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Michael Balter Archives|url=https://www.sapiens.org/authors/michael-balter/|access-date=2020-07-13|website=SAPIENS|language=en-US}}</ref>

Balter was a correspondent for [''Science'' magazine](/source/Science_(magazine)) for over 25 years,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2013-03-11|title=Michael Balter|url=https://www.science.org/content/author/michael-balter|access-date=2020-07-13|website=Science|language=en}}</ref> before being controversially dismissed in 2016.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Feltman|first=Rachel|date=March 11, 2016|title=Science Magazine ends contract of the reporter behind major probe of sexual assault|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/03/11/science-magazine-ends-contract-of-the-reporter-behind-major-probe-of-sexual-assault/|newspaper=The Washington Post|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite news|date=2016-04-30|title=Science Mag axes Michael Balter after 25 years, Denies it was over Sexual Misconduct story|url=https://www.imediaethics.org/science-michael-balter-fired/|access-date=2020-07-13|newspaper=iMediaEthics|language=en}}</ref> He has also written for ''[Scientific American](/source/Scientific_American)'',<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|title=Stories by Michael Balter|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/michael-balter/|access-date=2020-07-13|website=Scientific American|language=en}}</ref> ''[Audubon](/source/Audubon_(magazine)),''<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-01-07|title=Michael Balter|url=https://www.audubon.org/content/michael-balter|access-date=2021-04-27|website=Audubon|language=en}}</ref> ''[The Verge](/source/The_Verge)'',<ref name=":0" /> ''[LA Weekly](/source/LA_Weekly)'', the ''[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)'', and [''Los Angeles'' magazine](/source/Los_Angeles_(magazine)),<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|title=About the Author|url=http://michaelbalter.com/author.php|access-date=2020-07-13|website=MichaelBalter.com}}</ref> and taught journalism at [New York University](/source/New_York_University), [Boston University](/source/Boston_University) and [City College of New York](/source/City_College_of_New_York).<ref name=":5">{{Cite news|last1=Swartz|first1=Katherine|last2=Abrams|first2=Max|date=July 11, 2020|title=UCSB Asst. Professor Sues Journalist for Defamation Over Reportings About Title IX Violations|url=https://dailynexus.com/2020-07-11/ucsb-asst-professor-sues-journalist-for-defamation-over-reportings-about-title-ix-violations/|newspaper=[The Daily Nexus](/source/The_Daily_Nexus)}}</ref>

== Education and early career ==
Born on the [Alaska](/source/Alaska)n [Aleutian Islands](/source/Aleutian_Islands), Balter grew up in [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles) and studied at the [University of California, Los Angeles](/source/University_of_California%2C_Los_Angeles) and [San Jose State University](/source/San_Jose_State_University).<ref name=":3" /> He obtained his [master's degree](/source/master's_degree) in [biology](/source/biology) from UCLA in 1977.<ref name=":3" /> As a student, Balter was involved in [far-left politics](/source/far-left_politics) and especially the [movement opposing the Vietnam War](/source/Opposition_to_the_Vietnam_War).<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|last=Balter|first=Michael|date=2019-02-25|title=What I Did in the War|url=https://medium.com/@michael.balter/what-i-did-in-the-war-e159eaa098ad|access-date=2020-07-13|website=Medium|language=en}}</ref> He was [conscripted](/source/Conscription_in_the_United_States) into the [US Army](/source/United_States_Army) and stationed at [Fort Ord](/source/Fort_Ord), where he and other members of the radical [Progressive Labor Party](/source/Progressive_Labor_Party_(United_States)), which aimed to "subvert and destroy [the military] from within", attempted to organize resistance to the war amongst soldiers.<ref name=":4" /> He was [court-martial](/source/court-martial)ed twice, once for distributing anti-war literature,<ref name=":4" /> and once for disrupting a training exercise.<ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ncPEOXy_FaUC&q=Michael+Balter&pg=PA7219|title=Investigation of Attempts to Subvert the United States Armed Services: Hearings before the Committee on Internal Security House of Representatives |date=1972|pages=7219–7231|language=en |location=Washington DC |publisher=US Government Printing Office}}</ref>

Balter began his journalism career writing for newspapers based in Los Angeles, including ''[LA Weekly](/source/LA_Weekly)'', the ''[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)'', and [''Los Angeles'' magazine](/source/Los_Angeles_(magazine)).<ref name=":3" /> In the 1990s he relocated to [Paris](/source/Paris), where he was a [foreign correspondent](/source/Correspondent) for several American newspapers and magazines, and began writing for [''Science'' magazine](/source/Science_(magazine)).<ref name=":3" />

== Science journalism ==
Balter's 2006 book ''[The Goddess and the Bull](/source/The_Goddess_and_the_Bull)'' describes the [Neolithic](/source/Neolithic) archaeological site of [Çatalhöyük](/source/%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk) in Turkey and the major excavations that have taken place their since the 1960s.<ref name=":7">{{Cite magazine|date=January 4, 2005|title=Goddess & the Bull: Catalhoyuk|url=https://www.world-archaeology.com/books/goddess-the-bullcatalhoyuk/|magazine=Current World Archaeology|language=en-US|issue=9}}</ref> It received positive reviews in both popular magazines<ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Saunders|first=Nicholas|date=January 12, 2005|title=The Goddess and the Bull, Catalhoyuk by Michael Balter|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18524822-200-the-goddess-and-the-bull-catalhoyuk-by-michael-balter/|magazine=[New Scientist](/source/New_Scientist)|language=en-US}}</ref> and academic journals.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Marciniak|first=Arkadiusz|date=2008|title=Michael Balter, The Goddess and the Bull. Çatalhöyük – An Archaeological Journey to the Dawn of Civilization.|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/european-journal-of-archaeology/article/michael-balter-the-goddess-and-the-bull-catalhoyuk-an-archaeological-journey-to-the-dawn-of-civilization-new-york-free-press-2005-401-pp-hbk-isbn-978-0743243605-pbk-published-at-walnut-creek-ca-left-coast-press-isbn-978-1598740691/5D1CE296ADF1F072644412FBB8BD9FAB|journal=European Journal of Archaeology|language=en|volume=11|issue=2–3|pages=279–281|doi=10.1179/eja.2008.11.2-3.279|s2cid=161398651|issn=1461-9571|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Schulting|first=Rick|date=2007|title=Review of The Goddess and the Bull; Çatalhöyük: An Archaeological Journey to the Dawn of Civilization|journal=Canadian Journal of Archaeology|volume=31|issue=2|pages=280–283|jstor=41103311|issn=0705-2006}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Fairbairn|first=Andrew S.|date=2007|title=Review of 'The Goddess and the Bull: Catalhoyuk: An Archaeological Journey to the Dawn of Civilisation' by Michael Balter|url=https://australianarchaeologicalassociation.com.au/journal/review-of-the-goddess-and-the-bull-catalhoyuk-an-archaeological-journey-to-the-dawn-of-civilisation-by-michael-balter/|access-date=2020-09-14|website=Australian Archaeology|pages=54–56|volume=64}}</ref>

=== ''Science'' magazine ===

Balter wrote for ''Science'' for over 25 years,<ref name=":1" /> primarily covering [anthropology](/source/anthropology) and [archaeology](/source/archaeology).<ref name=":3" /> He was the chief of its Paris bureau between 1993 and 2002.<ref name=":3" /> His contract with ''Science'' was terminated in 2016, shortly after he wrote a piece about allegations of [sexual misconduct](/source/sexual_misconduct) against American anthropologist [Brian Richmond](/source/Brian_Richmond).<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> Balter claimed that his dismissal was in reaction to this piece,<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> which was the subject of what he described as a "tense, sometimes bruising behind-the-scenes conflict with [''Science''<nowiki/>'s] editors".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Balter|first=Michael|date=2016-03-11|title=Balter's Blog: Why did @sciencemagazine terminate me after 25 years of service?|url=https://michael-balter.blogspot.com/2016/03/why-did-sciencemagazine-terminate-me.html|access-date=2020-07-13|website=Balter's Blog}}</ref> 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](/source/Marcia_McNutt), its then editor-in-chief.<ref name=":2" /> The [American Association for the Advancement of Science](/source/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.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=March 11, 2016|title=AAAS Statement on Michael Balter|url=https://www.aaas.org/news/aaas-statement-michael-balter|access-date=2020-07-13|website=American Association for the Advancement of Science|language=en}}</ref>

=== Reports on sexual harassment ===
Since leaving ''Science'', Balter has worked as a freelance journalist.<ref name=":8" /> He writes about [sexual harassment](/source/sexual_harassment) and the [Me Too movement](/source/Me_Too_movement) in science, often self-publishing these stories on his [blog](/source/blog).<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|last=Balter|first=Michael|date=September 4, 2019|title=I now publish #MeToo stories on my blog, for free. Here's why.|url=https://www.cjr.org/opinion/metoo-academia-sexual-assault-harassment.php|website=Columbia Journalism Review|language=en}}</ref> He has also written for ''[Scientific American](/source/Scientific_American)'',<ref name=":6" /> ''[Audubon](/source/Audubon_(magazine)),'' and ''[The Verge](/source/The_Verge).''<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" />

In 2019, he wrote about allegations of misconduct by French paleoanthropologist [Jean-Jacques Hublin](/source/Jean-Jacques_Hublin), leading to a boycott of the annual conference of the [European Society for the Study of Human Evolution](/source/European_Society_for_the_study_of_Human_Evolution), of which Hublin is the president.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Williams|first=Shawna|date=August 30, 2019|title=Scholars Boycott Meeting, Citing Misconduct Accusations|url=https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/scholars-boycott-meeting--citing-misconduct-accusations-66377|magazine=The Scientist|language=en}}</ref> In 2020, he was sued for [defamation](/source/defamation) by UC Santa Barbara anthropologist [Danielle Kurin](/source/Danielle_Kurin), after Balter reported allegations of sexual harassment against her and her partner, Enmanuel Gomez Choque.<ref name=":5" />

Balter was ejected from the 2019 meeting of the [Society for American Archaeology](/source/Society_for_American_Archaeology) (SAA) after he attempted to remove [David Yesner](/source/David_Yesner), a former archaeology professor who had been dismissed from the [University of Alaska Anchorage](/source/University_of_Alaska_Anchorage) for "decades of sexual misconduct",<ref>{{Cite web|title=Title IX investigation reveals decades of sexual misconduct by former UAA professor|url=https://www.ktva.com/story/40180592/title-ix-investigation-reveals-decades-of-sexual-misconduct-by-former-uaa-professor|access-date=2019-04-15|website=KTVA|language=en}}</ref> from the conference venue.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web|last=Flaherty|first=Colleen|date=April 15, 2019|title=Archaeology group faces backlash over how it handled known harasser's attendance at meeting|url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/04/15/archaeology-group-faces-backlash-over-how-it-handled-known-harassers-attendance|access-date=2019-04-15|website=Inside Higher Ed|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite web|last=Grens|first=Kerry|date=April 12, 2019|title=An Archaeology Meeting Finds Itself in the Middle of #MeTooSTEM|url=https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/an-archaeology-meeting-finds-itself-in-the-middle-of--metoostem-65737|access-date=2019-04-15|website=The Scientist|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Wade|first=Lizzie|date=April 19, 2019|title=#MeToo controversy erupts at archaeology meeting|url=https://www.sciencemagazinedigital.org/sciencemagazine/19_april_2019/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=1482041|journal=Science|volume=364 |issue=6437 |pages=219–220 |doi=10.1126/science.364.6437.219 |pmid=31000641 |bibcode=2019Sci...364..219W |s2cid=122541727 |language=en|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Balter had traveled to the meeting to appear on a panel on the Me Too movement in archaeology.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":12" /> The SAA was strongly criticized for its handling of the incident.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Flaherty|first=Colleen|date=August 8, 2019|title=Archaeology society continues to anger members with how it responds to negative feedback|url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/08/08/archaeology-society-continues-anger-members-how-it-responds-negative-feedback|website=Inside Higher Ed|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Bishara|first=Hakim|date=April 16, 2019|title=2,000 Archaeologists and Scholars Ask Society for American Archaeology to Review Sexual Harassment Policy [UPDATED]|url=https://hyperallergic.com/495500/2000-archaeologists-and-scholars-ask-society-for-american-archaeology-to-review-sexual-harassment-policy/|website=Hyperallergic|language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Resignation from the National Association of Science Writers ===
Balter resigned from the [National Association of Science Writers](/source/National_Association_of_Science_Writers) (NASW) in April 2021, following a misconduct complaint submitted against him by eleven other members of the organization. He had been a member of the NASW since 1986. Following his resignation, he claimed that the due process of the NASW's investigation had been compromised and denied the misconduct charges against him.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The (Mis)Adventures of a #MeToo Reporter -- Part One: The reporter, falsely accused, resigns from his professional organization |url=https://michael-balter.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-misadventures-of-metoo-reporter.html |access-date=2022-06-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The (Mis)Adventures of a #MeToo Reporter -- Part Two: Answering Kate Clancy's false and distorted allegations. [Updated Oct 30, 2021] |url=https://michael-balter.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-misadventures-of-metoo-reporter_20.html |access-date=2022-06-11}}</ref>{{Third-party inline|date=December 2024}}

== Selected publications ==

* {{Cite book|last=Balter|first=Michael|title=The Goddess and the Bull: Çatalhöyük – An Archaeological Journey to the Dawn of Civilization|publisher=Free Press|year=2005|isbn=978-0-7432-4360-5|location=New York, NY}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balter, Michael}}
Category:Living people
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Journalists from Alaska
Category:American science journalists
Category:San Jose State University alumni

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Michael Balter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Balter) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Balter?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.