✍️Science Writing News Roundup #98 (May 23, 2022)
How to write simple science news stories + Ukraine at war: What the country's science writers are doing.
How to write simple science news stories: The oldest and most used structure in news is the inverted pyramid. This is where you start with the most important facts first. Try fitting as many of the who, what, why, when and how in the first sentence or paragraph as possible. (Image: Stella Lohnap interviewing a science student at Nasarawa State University, Keffi in Nigeria.)
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.
🚆Opportunities
Calls for pitches: Write about 1) mortality, 2) science in general.
Other opportunities: Grants for reporting on 1) climate change and 2) reproductive health. [Bonus content for monthly supporters]
Submissions are open for the 2022 Online Journalism Awards. Explore all categories, including honors for science journalism, newsletters immersive storytelling and more.
Apply to the NSWA 2022 Mentorship Program. Do you need someone to bounce ideas off of, review pitches before you hit send, keep you on track to meet your goals? Then, the NSWA Mentorship Program is for you!
The Science Journalism Innovation Fund will provide financial and advisory support to pioneers in Germany who want to break new ground in science and data journalism.
Press registration is now open for the Ecological Society of America’s Annual Meeting, the world’s largest gathering of professional ecologists. The 2022 meeting will run from August 14-19 in Montréal, QC.
The Solutions Journalism Network is recruiting individual journalists with a demonstrated interest in covering climate or the environment to join a Climate Change Cohort, running from July 2022 to July 2023.
🦜Resources and tips
🎬Videos
Reducing nuclear danger with William J. Perry: The Doomsday Clock of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists currently stands at 100 seconds to midnight, the closest to doomsday since the clock was invented in 1947.
Periodismo científico y desinformación: Un pulso por ganar la confianza del público
Dr. Gregory Koblentz on the danger of disinformation: Understanding Russia’s propaganda campaign against Ukrainian biological facilities.
🔭News
2022 Idea Grants will nurture career transitions and regional networking: Two projects that aim to fill the gaps in professional development opportunities for mid-career science writers and for science writers from Florida and Puerto Rico have been selected by NASW’s Grants Committee to receive Peggy Girshman Idea Grants.
Meet the candidates for the 2022-2024 NASW board. This election will confirm four officers and fill the board’s 11 at-large seats out of the field of 13 at-large candidates.
📄Events
Ukraine at war: What the country's science writers are doing (May 24, 2022)
Contextualise your Environmental Story (May 24, 2022)
Experts on Camera: Dr. Kelcie Ralph on Pedestrian and cyclist fatalities (May 25, 2022)
Finding Angles and Pitching Science Stories - Siri Carpenter (May 25, 2022)
Media briefing: Substance use and misuse among U.S. teens (May 26, 2022)
2022 Science Writers' Boot Camp. HERstory of Medicine: Research and Clinical Advancements in Women's Health (June 6, 2022)
🫕Jobs and internships
C&EN Production Editor, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC
Science News Editor, C&EN, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC
Head of Production Operations, C&EN, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC
Head of Editorial, C&EN, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC
To see the jobs and internships below, please click here to become a monthly supporter:
Senior Editor, UK-based
Senior Writer, PA
Health Writer, US-based
Digital Editor, DC
Communications officer, Spain
Editorial Assistant, UK-based
Science Writer, AZ
👉 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