✍️Science Writing News Roundup #29 (February 2, 2021)

How to create, grow and monetize newsletters + An example of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy reporting done right + How to kick-start your freelancing career during the pandemic

🌈 Opportunities

• Newsletter strategies for journalists: how to create, grow and monetize newsletters. During this four-week massive open online course, which will be held from February 22 to March 21, 2021, students will learn the fundamental skills required to launch and maintain a newsletter.

• The Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources will hold a five-hour workshop for editors on March 3, 2021 to explore questions of environmental racism, social equity and the problematic lenses through which these stories get told.

National Association of Science Writers (NASW) @ScienceWriters

DEADLINE EXTENDED: Are you an undergrad or grad student curious to flex your science writing skills? Join NASW as a student member TODAY to be eligible for our #SciWriStudent Internship Fair being held this Saturday, February 6th ahead of #AAASmtg! How: nasw.org/article/nasw-i…

@sciwri_student @sciwri_student

@sciencewriters students: Last call to sign up for the internship fair and editor meet & greet this Sat. Feb. 6. Pre-register here by the end of today, Tues. Feb. 2! https://t.co/9oK8ciavR3

Outside In Radio @OutsideInRadio

Our spring pitch window is open! We'd love to hear your pitches about science, the natural world, unexpected ways to think about landscape, the history of environmentalism. Check out our guidelines, and submit by Feb 28! #pitchus #callforsubmissions

outsideinradio.orgPitch Us — Outside/In

📚 Tips

• How to kick-start your freelancing career during the pandemic: From budgeting to networking, four journalists share their best tips to help you take that first step on your freelancing journey!

• How editors can support writers with mental health conditions. According to April Reese, editors can work to create a culture of openness and empathy when it comes to mental health. They can learn how to recognize the signs of common mental health conditions and how to reach out when a writer seems to be struggling.

• Reporting tricks and communication tips for scientists in government. Sarah Loftus had the exciting opportunity to write environmental science stories for a newspaper as an AAAS Mass Media Fellow. Trying to keep pace in a virtual newsroom taught her some reporting tricks and communication lessons that she thinks are also useful for scientists working in government.

• Reporting lessons for journalists from the first year of Covid-19 data and science in the news. A new report offers a series of tips for journalists to bring into the short- and long-term future of data, health and science reporting, including the following: 1) Tap into the power of citizen science, 2) “Geo-customize” data to make them personally relatable, 3) Collaborate with other newsrooms, and more.

• An example of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy reporting done right. How do you report on vaccine hesitancy responsibly, focusing on what’s important and relevant, without inadvertently increasing it? Fran Kritz’s article at NPR reports on a tried-and-true, evidence-based strategy that years of research have shown to be effective: using trusted messengers to deliver health information.

⏰ Resources

• Resources for covering the COVID-19 and variants story. Here are a few resources to help with your reporting.

• Lessons for reporting on COVID-19 variants. What do we know about the COVID-19 variants? Do the new strains respond differently to vaccines? Bernardo Gutierrez, a researcher at the University of Oxford, joined ICFJ for a webinar to discuss.

Siri Carpenter @SiriCarpenter

THREAD. One year ago today, and also one lifetime ago, @Open_Notebook published our first book, THE CRAFT OF SCIENCE WRITING. theopennotebook.com/the-craft-of-s… 1/n

theopennotebook.comThe Craft of Science WritingAn indispensable guide for media professionals, scientists, and educators who want to hone their science writing craft or provide a resource for students.

Org. for Women in Science for the Developing World @OwsdSecretariat

Looking for a media opportunity to talk about your research? @ResearchSEA is looking for both experts who can talk to journalists about issues such as women's health, women in STEM, women in the arts, etc. AND women experts in any field of research:

asiaresearchnews.comFocus On Women - Call for ExpertsBe included in a tip sheet for reporters. A communications service from Asia Research News.

🍿 Videos

• Covering the COVID-19 vaccine: What journalists need to know (Knight Center Courses)

• Understanding the Vaccine Race: A Virtual Conversation with Jon Cohen (Science Writers in New York)

• Women are missing from our coverage, so how do we fix it? (International Center for Journalists)

• Health Reporting: Finding Data and Verifying Expert Claims (International Center for Journalists)

• Prague Media Point 2020 Conference: Climate Change and Journalism

🌏 Events

• What Do We Know (and Not Know) about COVID-19 Variants and Vaccines? A Virtual Conversation with Dr. Mirella Salvatore (February 3, 2021)

• Freelancing Business Basics for Science Writers (February 4, 2021)

• Reporting on COVID-19 Vaccines at the Intersection of Science and Politics (February 5, 2021)

• People and Microbes on the Move: an Evening with Science Journalist and Author Sonia Shah (February 5, 2021)

• Story Collider’s Introductory Storytelling Workshop: This introduction to science storytelling is fun, fast, and very hands-on (February 8, 2021)

• AAAS 2021 Annual Meeting (February 8-11, 2021)

• Medium in Conversation: Vaccine Questions, Answered with Tara Haelle, a freelance science and health journalist (February 9, 2021)

• AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards Ceremony (February 9, 2021)

• Journalism, Science, and Policy: Communicating Risk and Relevance (February 11, 2021)

Siri Carpenter @SiriCarpenter

I’m really looking forward to speaking on a panel at #SciTalk21, about making the decision whether or not to complete a PhD before transitioning into science writing. Please come!

Science Talk @ScienceTalkOrg

Can we help you attend #SciTalk21? Apply for a Registration Award today! Applications are due no later than Friday, February 5th. https://t.co/KFueCVl8aD https://t.co/mQHmQKxaXg

Genomic Biology @IGBIllinois

Please join us for our first Science Café of the Spring tomorrow, Wednesday, February 3rd, at 5:30 PM. Hear from our very own IGB Science Writing Fellow, Dr. Alisa King-Klemperer, on her journey into science writing. Details here: bit.ly/2YQkkZL

⛳️ Career opportunities

• Science Writer, STAT, Boston, MA

• Communications Interns, The European Geosciences Union, Germany

• Health Science Reporter, Inverse, Remote

• Science Writer & Communication Specialist, Lifeology, US-based

• Science Writing Intern, New America, Washington, DC

• Summer Intern, Spectrum, US-based

• Science Writing Editor, Great Minds, Remote

• Associate Editor, Custom Media, Nature Research, London or New York

• IBM Quantum Community Writing Intern, US-based

• Scientific Writer, IBM Research, US-based

• Diverse Voices in Science Journalism (DVSJ) Intern, AAAS, US-based

• More jobs 👉Science Writing News Roundup #28

👉 Don’t miss any updates from the Science Writing News Roundup:

Worried you missed something? See previous newsletters here. What would you like to see in the newsletter? Please send me your suggestions by replying to this email: sciencewriting@substack.com😃

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