The Open Notebook is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides tools and resources to help science, environmental, and health journalists cultivate their skills. We’re guided by two principles: that high-quality science journalism is essential to society, and that everyone, including science journalists, learns best by practicing the craft as part of a supportive, diverse community of people who are all striving to master their skills.
We hear regularly from science writers at all levels of experience, all over the world, who say they view The Open Notebook as an invaluable resource. Gifts from our community have enabled The Open Notebook to provide thousands of science journalists with in-depth, nuts-and-bolts resources and training. We’ve published more than 500 articles on the craft of science journalism, on topics as wide-ranging as how to cover science for local audiences, how to synthesize ideas to write with authority, and how to report international stories ethically. Our free, online Science Journalism Master Classes cover core skills for any science journalist in a way that is approachable, accessible, and practical. Our TON en Español program has reached some 15,000 of our Spanish-speaking colleagues. And we’re advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion in science journalism through many of our programs, including our numerous mentoring programs and our many articles and resource pages that center DEI issues.
Creating these resources costs money. We’re committed to paying writers competitive professional rates for every interview, feature, story annotation, and translation. We also pay for professional editing and copyediting, as well as covering operational costs such as website hosting and domain registration, site maintenance, and nonprofit registration fees.
If you support our mission to help science journalists improve their skills, please consider making a tax-deductible one-time donation or recurring gift to help sustain our work.
