Covering Science at the Local Level

Science journalism goes beyond reporting scientific news—it’s a lens through which we can see the world. It’s about how evidence, uncertainty, risk, and power interact. It’s about using scientific evidence to hold decision-makers accountable and inform the public. Every community is wrestling with countless issues that have scientific evidence at their core—extreme weather, opioid addiction, reproductive health access, gun violence, housing and transportation infrastructure, agriculture, and many others.

Local journalists play a crucial role in explaining these topics, countering misinformation, and strengthening trust in journalism. Integrating science into local journalism helps media outlets provide deeper, clearer coverage, contextualizing global issues for local communities. Local reporters and editors should have access to tools and resources to confidently incorporate science into their stories. This includes understanding scientific evidence, knowing where to find it, quoting scientists, and conveying concepts like risk and uncertainty accurately.

The Open Notebook offers a variety of resources to assist local journalists, including an interactive toolkit designed with local and general-assignment journalists in mind, a community of practice and “help desk” for reporters on deadline, virtual and in-person trainings, and a library of articles and tip sheets focused on challenges that journalists may face in covering science at the local level.

Explore the Science Reporting Navigator

This interactive toolkit helps journalists on any beat bring more scientific evidence and context into their stories. This free resource, the Science Reporting Navigator, was produced through a partnership between and the Reynolds Journalism Institute.

Schedule a Training

We offer practical, customizable virtual and in-person trainings that help reporters and editors—on any beat—interpret scientific evidence, weigh claims, include expert voices, and cover complex topics accurately, clearly, and with nuance.

Build Community with Other Local Journalists

The Local Science Reporting Help Desk is a free, peer-supported resource for local journalists who need help covering science—from finding experts to making sense of research. Join the Slack community to ask questions and exchange advice with other journalists, or email us on deadline and we’ll bring your question to the community.

Check Out Our Tip Sheets for Local Journalists

To help make it easier for journalists on deadline to incorporate scientific evidence and perspectives into their coverage, we’ve distilled key science reporting skills into a series of quick-hit tip sheets.

Find In-Depth Resources to Help You Include Science in Local Stories

We’ve published hundreds of in-depth guides at The Open Notebook, with advice on a wide range of topics related to covering science, health, the environment, and technology. Here, we’ve curated a subset of those articles and resource guides that we think are especially valuable for reporters working at the local level. (If you’re hungry for even more, check out our Local Reporting and Community Engagement topic area.)