✍️Science Writing News Roundup #135
Building science graphics + AI tools to sharpen your writing + Tips for a successful freelance writing pitch.
Tip Sheet: Designing Science Graphics. Jen Christiansen, graphics editor at Scientific American and author of the new book Building Science Graphics: An Illustrated Guide to Communicating Science through Diagrams and Visualizations, offers a tip sheet that’s chock-full of practical guidance on how to design science graphics. (Image by Canva)
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🔭 Opportunities
Calls for pitches to write about science, the environment, racism, the climate crisis, civic science, and more + Grants, fellowships, and training opportunities for writers👉Bonus content for monthly supporters.
Apply for the Ted Scripps Fellowships in Environmental Journalism by March 1: Take your journalism skills to the next level and deepen your understanding of environmental issues by applying for the Ted Scripps Fellowships in Environmental Journalism. Five accepted candidates will receive an $80,000 stipend, audit courses, participate in field trips and weekly seminars, and work on a significant project at the University of Colorado Boulder. More information can be found here.
Entries are now open for writers to submit their pieces for consideration in The Best Australian Science Writing 2023 and the UNSW Press Bragg Prize for Science Writing 2023.
🗺️ Resources
AI tools to sharpen your writing + Tips for a successful freelance writing pitch. 👉Bonus content for monthly supporters.
When covering disability, avoid ableist tropes like the ‘pity trap'
New tip sheet: High-risk pathogen research and resources for coverage.
Recalls in at-home medical devices and cybersecurity risks top 2023 health tech hazards list.
SEJ's 2023 Journalists' Guide to Energy & Environment. What will be some of the top stories for energy and environmental journalists to cover in 2023?
🔔 Articles
What ChatGPT and generative AI mean for science. Researchers are excited but apprehensive about the latest advances in artificial intelligence.
The benefits and pitfalls of ChatGPT for journalists. In the latest ICFJ Pamela Howard Forum on Global Crisis Reporting webinar, Jenna Burrell, director of research at Data & Society, dove into the pros of ChatGPT and how it can be a tool for journalists, as well as its limitations and what journalists should be cautious about.
Opinion | It’s time to challenge the narrative about ChatGPT and the future of journalism. Don’t let these tools dazzle you beyond reason. Don’t anthropomorphize them. Ask hard questions about what they’re purported to do.
Newsrooms need to do more to protect journalists from online harassment. Women journalists and journalists of color are particularly vulnerable to online harassment, research shows. Many advocates and researchers have called on news organizations to protect journalists when they're attacked on social media.
🎬 Videos/Podcasts
Beyond Disruption: Journalism in the Digital Age / Jeremy Caplan
The Changing Landscape of Obesity Care—An Endocrine Society Virtual Science Writers Conference
What is science writing? A guide for researchers considering a career change.
Making the Jump from Studying the Brain to Science Journalism
A Virtual Conversation with Amy Dockser Marcus, Author of We the Scientists: How a Daring Team of Parents and Doctors Forged a New Path for Medicine.
🧶 Tweets
📌 Events
Virtual Workshop Series: The Craft of Science Editing (Spring 2023) Story Selection & Planning (February 23, 2023)
More events👉Bonus content for monthly supporters.
Jobs and internships
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