The Open Notebook – TON Fellowship Stories

Elaina Plott Explores Everyday Life on a Sinking Island

Scientists project that Tangier Island, a fishing community in the Chesapeake Bay, might be uninhabitable in 25 years—but locals don’t buy it. In her Pacific Standard portrait of a cozy town fighting a changing climate and a changing culture, Elaina Plott shows what climate science and climate politics look like at street level. She spoke to TON about the power of asking sources basic questions, the keys to small-town field reporting, and why opinions and empathy might both be overrated.

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by Olga Kreimer · February 5, 2019 · 0 comments

Lizzie Presser Reveals the Underground Work of Home-Abortion Providers

Across the United States, there’s a secret network of women working outside the law and the medical establishment to provide cheap and accessible home abortions. Investigative reporter Lizzie Presser shares how she discovered their story and brought their work into the light.

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by Aneri Pattani · September 4, 2018 · 2 comments

Do You Need a Science Degree to Be a Science Reporter?

Some consider science journalism more technical and knowledge-heavy than other beats. That’s why there are often space writers with degrees in astronomy or health reporters who used to be doctors. But does that mean those are the only people who can do the job well? Do you need a science degree to be a science reporter? We reopen the classic debate with five science reporters.

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by Aneri Pattani · August 21, 2018 · 4 comments

Dylan Keefer, director of sound design, mixing audio for Radiolab.

A Guide to Translating Science to Audio

The challenge of making complex science topics clear and entertaining can be even greater for audio journalists, who can’t use visual aids or rely on the audience to reread a confusing section. Yet Science Friday, Science Vs, and Radiolab have all discovered unique ways to meet this challenge. Now they share some of the most important lessons they’ve learned along the way.

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by Aneri Pattani · June 26, 2018 · 0 comments

How to Cover Big Science Events: Lessons from the Great American Eclipse

The Great American Eclipse was arguably the largest science story of 2017, with nearly every U.S. newsroom covering it. But what that coverage looked like—and why it took the form it did—varied significantly from outlet to outlet. Examining the approaches taken by four different organizations—BuzzFeed, The Washington Post, The Oregonian, and Science News—can reveal important lessons in shaping coverage of a large science event.

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by Aneri Pattani · June 19, 2018 · 1 comment

Adriana Gallardo Finds the Untold Stories of Black Mothers

When ProPublica and NPR put out a call for stories about women who died or nearly died in pregnancy or childbirth, they got thousands of replies. But only 200 about the experiences of black women—even though they are most affected by this issue. That’s when ProPublica engagement reporter Adriana Gallardo got creative and used a StoryCorps model to get more black women involved in the conversation.

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by Aneri Pattani · May 22, 2018 · 1 comment

Alaina Levine at Biosphere 2, a unique earth system science research facility in Oracle, Arizona.

How to Use Reporting Skills from Any Beat for Science Journalism

Many science reporters get their start in other beats, including crime, business, fashion, or politics. But science touches every aspect of life, so it’s no wonder many of them say the skills they developed in those beats have made them better-equipped—and sometimes uniquely positioned—to report on science.

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by Aneri Pattani · April 24, 2018 · 3 comments

Asking for More: Negotiating Rates for Freelance Assignments

Many freelancers question whether they can ask for more than what’s offered for assignments—and, if so, how and when they should ask. Seeking answers to these quandaries, we surveyed and interviewed freelancers and editors about this practice. Our results show that, on the whole, it rarely hurts to ask. In fact, doing so tends to pay off. The key is asking in the right way.

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by Rachel Zamzow · April 10, 2018 · 4 comments

Navigating Conflicts of Interest

With pay rates stagnant at best, many freelance science journalists combine journalism with work for institutional clients. But it may be unclear what, if any, conflicts of interest these other assignments create. Despite a dearth of guidance on these issues, many freelancers manage to mix journalism with other work by following carefully placed boundaries and making transparency a priority.

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by Rachel Zamzow · February 27, 2018 · 4 comments

Marshall Allen Unearths Waste in Health Care

Experts say the U.S. health care system wastes an estimated $765 billion each year. In a year-long ProPublica investigation, reporter Marshall Allen searched for the sources of these squandered dollars. His resulting series chronicles several cases of needless spending, including a shocking story about a nearly $2,000 ear piercing. Here, Allen tells Rachel Zamzow about what inspired him to tackle this gargantuan topic and how he found real people to make his story come alive.

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by Rachel Zamzow · February 13, 2018 · 1 comment

Going Digital: Inside New Science Journalism Outlets

While many traditional print publications struggle to stay afloat, new all-digital science magazines are launching, and some online outlets are expanding their health and science desks. Rachel Zamzow chats with the editors and publishers of five new digital science publications or desks about their outlets’ inner workings, growing pains, and some helpful tips they’ve learned along the way.

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by Rachel Zamzow · January 16, 2018 · 2 comments

Spotting Shady Statistics

Excessive data mining, cherry-picking of subjects and endpoints, peeking at data before a study has ended, and other questionable practices that scientists may deploy in pursuit of significant and eye-catching results, are often hard to detect. We show how science journalists can learn to catch many such tricks.

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by Rachel Zamzow · December 5, 2017 · 9 comments