Covering Science at the Local Level: A Peer-Mentoring Community

The Open Notebook‘s Covering Science peer-mentoring program is a diverse, supportive community of practice for local and general assignment reporters and editors. Our goal is to support journalists who are interested in adding more science coverage to their stories. In the everyday work of a local reporter, this might look like:

• Covering the psychological effects of school start times at a local school district
• Adding context about climate change to a TV spot about wildfires or floods in the area
• Interviewing an infectious disease researcher for a story on flu season
• Reporting on the disproportionate impact of pollution in low-income communities

Everyone in this growing community of more than 100 members is invited to participate in our Slack group, where they can seek and offer advice on any topic related to covering science. Frequent conversations on the Slack include exploring science angles in story ideas, finding suitable expert sources, deciphering scientific studies, and more. Our community also includes 15 experienced science journalists who serve as peer mentors, helping our members gain skills and confidence in reporting on science.

As part of this program, we offer guided topical discussions hosted on the Slack, webinars centered on core challenges of covering science, informal virtual gatherings, a regular newsletter just for community members, and other opportunities to learn how to incorporate scientific evidence and perspectives into local stories. Our science journalist mentors are also available for one-on-one consultations.

Finally, we work with local journalists who are part of our network to develop editorial resources for journalists who cover science at the local level. For example, we’ve published reported features on writing science explainers for local audiences, finding science angles in local stories, and the do’s and don’ts of community engagement.

This program is supported by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the Simons Foundation and is managed by Rachel Zamzow, managing editor of The Open Notebook and an experienced science journalist and editor based in Texas.

Eligibility

We are seeking participants who work as reporters or editors (staff or freelance) at U.S.-based local, regional, and general assignment media outlets. This program is not intended for students or science journalists who work for science-specializing outlets.

Cost

There is no cost to participate in this program.

How to Join