✍️Science Writing News Roundup #182
Best practices for pitching freelance stories + 2024 Doomsday Clock Announcement
If you’ve experienced a journalism layoff or buyout in the past year, a new survey needs your input! The Institute for Independent Journalists Foundation is conducting a census of journalists who were laid off and bought out recently. The survey should take 5-7 minutes.
Welcome! You are reading the Science Writing News Roundup, a newsletter for science writers. You can also read this edition online. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here.
👩💻Articles
“The Algorithm”: Hilke Schellmann’s Take on AI and the Pitfalls of Removing Humanity From Hiring. Former Knight Science Journalism Fellow Hilke Schellmann is an investigative journalist with experience holding powerful people accountable. As those people hand decision-making power to artificial intelligence, Schellmann brings accountability to AI.
Q&A with CASW’s first physical sciences graduate fellow. The first physical sciences Taylor/Blakeslee fellowship went to Joseph Howlett, who started a master’s degree in science communication at the University of California Santa Cruz this fall, fresh off a postdoctoral research position in physics at Stanford University.
More articles 👉Bonus content for monthly supporters.
🌾Resources
New blockchain verification tool to help fight the use of deep fakes in elections: As fears around synthetic content rise, this new AI-powered tech allows newsrooms to establish the authenticity of digital images and videos.
How to report about science in the context of a health emergency: The World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ) is working with the World Health Organization (WHO) on a field guide for Science and Knowledge Translation that could help science journalists, non-specialized journalists, editors, news organization directors and social media influencers, to report and translate science in health emergencies.
More resources 👉Bonus content for monthly supporters.
🎟️Videos and Podcasts
Angela Saini, science journalist and author. How do you connect with audiences on a deeper, truer level? Viv talks to award-winning journalist and author, Angela Saini, about combatting pseudo-science and reaching people by peeling back the layers of thinking. Her celebrated books include: Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong, Superior: The Return of Race Science and her latest The Patriarchs: How Men Came to Rule.
Best practices for pitching freelance stories. On January 10, CASW Connector hosted a Chat discussing the best practices for pitching freelance stories, including how to structure your pitch, how to approach new editors, the art of the soft pitch, and much more.
The climate-nuclear nexus: What climate change means for nuclear security. On Jan 11, 2024, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists held a virtual discussion on what climate change means for nuclear security, covering topics like how climate change acts as a “threat multiplier,” what policymakers think of this issue, and what we can do to mitigate impacts from new threats in a world of increasingly complicated climate reality.
💎Opportunities
The 2024 Wake Forest University Environmental and Epistemic Justice Initiative Summer Institute will welcome 4-6 early to mid-career journalists to the second class of EEJI fellows with the goal of improving coverage of the many environmental justice issues, while aiding in diversifying the ranks of environmental journalism. Each fellow will receive a $2500 reporting stipend, plus expenses for travel and accommodations to attend the 2024 Summer Institute at Wake Forest University. The Institute is particularly interested in applicants with environmental justice projects that focus on North Carolina and the southeastern United States. Application Deadline: March 8, 2024.
CASW accepting entries for 2024 prizes, fellowships. The Council for the Advancement of Science Writing is now accepting entries and nominations for three major science journalism prizes that will be awarded in 2024. Applications for 2024 Taylor/Blakeslee graduate fellowships, which support graduate-level study in science writing, are also being accepted.
How to pitch Vox’s Future Perfect: Core coverage areas include: Global poverty and public health; the catastrophic and existential threats, both natural and technological, that humanity faces; animal welfare, factory farming, and the future of meat; the frontiers of artificial intelligence and biotechnology.
More opportunities and calls for pitches 👉Bonus content for monthly supporters.
🗺️Events
2024 Doomsday Clock Announcement (January 23, 2024)
Freelance Science Communication: An Introduction (January 25, 2024)
More events 👉 Bonus content for monthly supporters.
📇Jobs
Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive the next post in your inbox:
Worried you missed something? See previous posts here. What would you like to see in the newsletter? Please send me your suggestions: sciencewriting@substack.com