Journalists Archives - CASW Connector

Resource Database / Guide

Investigating Health and Medicine – A GIJN Guide

Global Investigative Journalism Network

This guide to reporting on health and medicine issues was originally published in November 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Original authors Serena Tinari and Catherine Riva have updated it as of November 2024, to include a revised introduction, additional insights throughout including lessons learned from covering the coronavirus outbreak, and a new chapter on behind-the-scenes reporting strategies. Available in English, French, Spanish, and Arabic.

Investigating Health and Medicine – A GIJN Guide

Summary:

This guide to reporting on health and medicine issues was originally published in November 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Original authors Serena Tinari and Catherine Riva have updated it as of November 2024, to include a revised introduction, additional insights throughout including lessons learned from covering the coronavirus outbreak, and a new chapter on behind-the-scenes reporting strategies. Available in English, French, Spanish, and Arabic.

Organization:

Global Investigative Journalism Network

Date:

December 10, 2024

Category:

For:

VISIT

Article

Small Fry — How to Tell Compelling Stories About Obscure Species

"Getting people excited about large, charismatic wildlife is easy, but tiny, little-known or less-than-lovable species can be a tough sell. Journalists Bethany Brookshire and Douglas Main on why it’s important to include oddball organisms in your reporting and how to get audiences engaged. Pro tip: Building curiosity and caring for minor-league creatures often means being a bit self-centered."

Article

Using Open Data to Sharpen Science Stories

"Many reporters are familiar with the idea of using data to bring nuance and depth to a story. They may draw from public government data, such as census data or COVID-19 dashboards, for example. But ... journalists aren’t widely utilizing the vast troves of freely accessible data that researchers and organizations share online. These “open” research datasets are distinct from other types of data in a journalist’s toolkit, including data collected via Freedom of Information Act requests or scraped from the web. ... "Taking advantage of open data might seem daunting—especially if you don’t have formal research training. ... But if you know what types of open data exist, where to look, and what questions to ask experts, these data can open a world of possible stories."

Fellowships & Grants

COP30 Climate Change Media Partnership Reporting Fellowship

Earth Journalism Network

"The Climate Change Media Partnership (CCMP), led by Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN) and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security, is pleased to announce the COP30 CCMP Reporting Fellowship Program for journalists from low- and middle-income countries interested in covering the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP30). Hosted this year by Brazil, the conference is scheduled to take place in the city of Belém from November 10-21, 2025, with the World Leaders’ Summit on November 6-7." Deadline: July 15, 2025, 11:59 PM (Pacific/Niue).

Mentor program

AHCJ Mentorship Program

AHCJ

The AHCJ Mentorship Program is restricted to members of the Association of Health Care Journalists. "For emerging journalists, our program offers the chance to be paired with experienced professionals who provide invaluable insights, feedback and support. ... For experienced journalists, this is a unique chance to shape the future of health journalism by guiding and mentoring the next generation of reporters." To participate, AHCJ members fill out an application form and indicate whether they're interested in being a mentor or a mentee. The AHCJ team reviews applications and matches mentors and mentees based on shared interests, goals and expertise.

Resource Database / Guide

2025 Journalists’ Guide to Environment + Energy

Society of Environmental Journalists

"In this special report, '2025 Journalists’ Guide to Environment + Energy,' the SEJournal looks ahead in our ninth annual guide to key issues in the coming year. Check out the guide’s special forward-focused TipSheets, Backgrounders, WatchDogs, a new EJ TransitionWatch column and an overview analysis."

Article

Covering Health Misinformation: What Journalists Need To Rethink

Journalists and public health experts shared 12 strategies for building trust, using careful language and improving coverage of health misinformation during a workshop at the Association of Health Care Journalists' annual conference.

Conference

ScienceWriters2025

NASW

"The National Association of Science Writers and the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing are excited to announce that ScienceWriters2025 will take place in Chicago, November 7-9, at the Marriott Chicago O'Hare. We are thrilled to be able to bring the community together this fall in a city with vibrant cultural and scientific opportunities. In this challenging time, we are pleased to have secured a convenient midwestern location with reasonable rates, which we hope will keep costs lower for attendees. The virtual portion of the conference will take place online October 22-24."

Awards

Online Journalism Awards: Excellence in Science Reporting

"This category honors excellence in digital journalism focusing on science. Entries in this category may report across areas such as, but not limited to, health and wellness, climate change, medical and natural sciences, space science, scientific innovation, STEM education and careers, and/or the role of science in society." ... "Entries may include up to three links of work demonstrating how the single story used multiple mediums to reach the intended audiences." Deadline: May 22, 2025

Awards

CASW Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting

CASW

"CASW established the Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting in 2000. Given annually, the prize seeks to honor a writer for a body of work published or broadcast within the last five years which, for reasons of uncommon clarity, accuracy, breadth of coverage, enterprise, originality, insight and narrative power, has made a profound and lasting contribution to public awareness and understanding of critical advances in medical science and their impact on human health and well-being." The honoree receives an award of $3,000, presented at the NASW/CASW ScienceWriters conference in October. The deadline for nominations is June 30.

CASW Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting

Summary:

"CASW established the Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting in 2000. Given annually, the prize seeks to honor a writer for a body of work published or broadcast within the last five years which, for reasons of uncommon clarity, accuracy, breadth of coverage, enterprise, originality, insight and narrative power, has made a profound and lasting contribution to public awareness and understanding of critical advances in medical science and their impact on human health and well-being." The honoree receives an award of $3,000, presented at the NASW/CASW ScienceWriters conference in October. The deadline for nominations is June 30.

Organization:

CASW

Category:

For:

VISIT

Awards

CASW Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award for Young Science Journalists

CASW

"The award is intended to encourage young science writers by recognizing outstanding reporting and writing in any field of science. The award is given in memory of Ev Clark, a veteran journalist at Business Week, The New York Times and Newsweek, and Seth Payne, his long-time friend and colleague at Business Week and a founder of the award. It is designed to carry on the work of both men, who offered friendship and advice to generations of young journalists." Winners receive a cash prize and expenses paid to attend the NASW/CASW Science Writers conference, where the award is presented. Applications are due June 30.

CASW Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award for Young Science Journalists

Summary:

"The award is intended to encourage young science writers by recognizing outstanding reporting and writing in any field of science. The award is given in memory of Ev Clark, a veteran journalist at Business Week, The New York Times and Newsweek, and Seth Payne, his long-time friend and colleague at Business Week and a founder of the award. It is designed to carry on the work of both men, who offered friendship and advice to generations of young journalists." Winners receive a cash prize and expenses paid to attend the NASW/CASW Science Writers conference, where the award is presented. Applications are due June 30.

Organization:

CASW

Category:

For:

VISIT

Awards

National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications

National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine

Applications for the 2025 awards are now open, with a deadline of March 31. "Submissions are now being accepted for the National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications, given by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in partnership with Schmidt Sciences. The awards honor exceptional science communicators, journalists, and research scientists who have developed creative, original work to communicate issues or advances in science, engineering, or medicine to the general public. Submissions are encouraged from individuals who have developed high-quality communications in 2024 and demonstrated the ability to communicate the spectrum of science, engineering, or medicine. The program will confer 24 awards totaling $640,000. In addition to the prize, Schmidt Sciences will help foster a vibrant and expanding community of science communications awardees by partnering with renowned journalistic institutions to provide ongoing training and professional development opportunities."

National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications

Summary:

Applications for the 2025 awards are now open, with a deadline of March 31. "Submissions are now being accepted for the National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications, given by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in partnership with Schmidt Sciences. The awards honor exceptional science communicators, journalists, and research scientists who have developed creative, original work to communicate issues or advances in science, engineering, or medicine to the general public. Submissions are encouraged from individuals who have developed high-quality communications in 2024 and demonstrated the ability to communicate the spectrum of science, engineering, or medicine. The program will confer 24 awards totaling $640,000. In addition to the prize, Schmidt Sciences will help foster a vibrant and expanding community of science communications awardees by partnering with renowned journalistic institutions to provide ongoing training and professional development opportunities."

Organization:

National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine

Category:

For:

VISIT

Book

“Understanding and Addressing Misinformation About Science”

National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine

"'Understanding and Addressing Misinformation About Science' characterizes the nature, scope, and impacts of this phenomenon, and provides guidance on interventions, policies, and future research. This report is a comprehensive assessment of the available evidence and reflects a systems view of the problem given the broader historical and contemporary contexts that shape the lived experiences of people and their relationships to information. The report aims to illuminate the impacts of misinformation about science and potential solutions across a diversity of individual peoples, communities, and societies."

Conference

Building Trust in Science: A One-Day Conference for a More Informed Future

Aspen Institute

"Building Trust in Science: A One-Day Conference for a More Informed Future, a collaboration between the Aspen Institute Science & Society Program and the MIT Press, aims to bridge the gap between decades of research in neuroscience and social science about how humans process and understand information, and the vulnerabilities to misinformation and propaganda we endure when we fail to leverage this knowledge in communicating science, especially in the age of generative AI.

"This conference, planned for March 10, 2025 in Boston, at MIT in Cambridge, MA, will be ideal for science communicators, journalists, researchers, students, policymakers, and anyone interested in mobilizing knowledge for a better world. This conference will explore how journalists, science communicators, researchers, and policymakers can utilize knowledge about human learning to empower diverse groups to make informed decisions in a complex world;
combat disinformation and build trust in science and scientists;
amplify voices and perspectives historically marginalized by science and journalism; and craft impactful messaging that fosters active and engaged communities where science is a cornerstone."

Conference

Global Investigative Journalism Conference 2025

Global Investigative Journalism Network

The Global Investigative Journalism Conference is the world’s largest international gathering of investigative journalists. The conference features training on the latest tools and techniques, cutting-edge workshops, and extensive networking and brainstorming sessions. In 2025, the conference will be held for the first time in Asia — in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Global Investigative Journalism Conference 2025

Summary:

The Global Investigative Journalism Conference is the world’s largest international gathering of investigative journalists. The conference features training on the latest tools and techniques, cutting-edge workshops, and extensive networking and brainstorming sessions. In 2025, the conference will be held for the first time in Asia — in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Organization:

Global Investigative Journalism Network

Dates:

November 20, 2025 - November 24, 2025

Category:

For:

VISIT

Fellowships & Grants

Spreading Love Through the Media: Request for Proposals

Greater Good Science Center

"The GGSC is pleased to announce a request for proposals (RFP) to support nonfiction content and reported stories related to love. We are interested in projects that extend well beyond romantic love; we define love as a deep, unselfish commitment to another person’s well-being—even to put their interests before your own. With funding from the John Templeton Foundation, the GGSC will distribute grants of between $5,000 and $50,000 to two dozen journalists and media producers who approach the topic of love from a variety of angles and across a range of media, including articles, videos, radio stories, podcasts, social media content, and more." The application deadline is 11:59 pm PT on March 24, 2025.

Spreading Love Through the Media: Request for Proposals

Summary:

"The GGSC is pleased to announce a request for proposals (RFP) to support nonfiction content and reported stories related to love. We are interested in projects that extend well beyond romantic love; we define love as a deep, unselfish commitment to another person’s well-being—even to put their interests before your own. With funding from the John Templeton Foundation, the GGSC will distribute grants of between $5,000 and $50,000 to two dozen journalists and media producers who approach the topic of love from a variety of angles and across a range of media, including articles, videos, radio stories, podcasts, social media content, and more." The application deadline is 11:59 pm PT on March 24, 2025.

Organization:

Greater Good Science Center

Category:

For:

VISIT

Fellowships & Grants

Dalla Lana Fellowship in Journalism and Health Impact

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

"Since 2012, more than 200 subject-matter specialists from around the world have joined the Fellowship in Journalism and Health Impact to learn journalism. Applying the skills they’ve learned in the program, they’ve moved on to become award-winning reporters, senior policy-makers, institutional leaders and breakthrough researchers." Twenty journalists from around the world are admitted to the academic-year fellowship. It begins with a 10-day boot camp. Every fellow is assigned to a six-person “bureau” under the mentorship of a highly experienced journalist. It continues with courses taught two days each month. Tuition is $13,000 CAD. Rolling deadline.

Dalla Lana Fellowship in Journalism and Health Impact

Summary:

"Since 2012, more than 200 subject-matter specialists from around the world have joined the Fellowship in Journalism and Health Impact to learn journalism. Applying the skills they’ve learned in the program, they’ve moved on to become award-winning reporters, senior policy-makers, institutional leaders and breakthrough researchers." Twenty journalists from around the world are admitted to the academic-year fellowship. It begins with a 10-day boot camp. Every fellow is assigned to a six-person “bureau” under the mentorship of a highly experienced journalist. It continues with courses taught two days each month. Tuition is $13,000 CAD. Rolling deadline.

Organization:

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Category:

For:

Journalists

VISIT

Awards

Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards

Covering Climate Now

"The annual Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards has become a recognized standard for excellence in climate journalism. Since our program’s launch in 2021, it has grown every year by leaps and bounds. We now routinely receive more than 1,000 entries, from dozens of countries, on every continent. A similarly global panel of more than 100 judges — all journalists, including many prior CCNow Award recipients — selects the winners." Entry submissions cover 14 subject-based categories. The awards also have a “Large projects & collaborations” category; an “Emerging Journalists of the Year" and a “Journalists of the Year” award, given to "three journalists who demonstrate exemplary commitment to the climate story and whose work has had a transformative impact on our profession." Deadline: March 31, 2025.

Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards

Summary:

"The annual Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards has become a recognized standard for excellence in climate journalism. Since our program’s launch in 2021, it has grown every year by leaps and bounds. We now routinely receive more than 1,000 entries, from dozens of countries, on every continent. A similarly global panel of more than 100 judges — all journalists, including many prior CCNow Award recipients — selects the winners." Entry submissions cover 14 subject-based categories. The awards also have a “Large projects & collaborations” category; an “Emerging Journalists of the Year" and a “Journalists of the Year” award, given to "three journalists who demonstrate exemplary commitment to the climate story and whose work has had a transformative impact on our profession." Deadline: March 31, 2025.

Organization:

Covering Climate Now

Category:

For:

Journalists

VISIT

Awards

Knight Science Journalism Victor K. McElheny Award

Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT

"The Victor K. McElheny Award recognizes outstanding local and regional journalism covering issues in science, public health, technology, or the environment. Each year, the award honors a single entry — be it a series or standalone piece — with a $10,000 prize." Applications for the award are typically open from December to January, with the prize presented in the spring. For 2025, nominations will be accepted between December 15, 2024 and January 31, 2025.

Video

Communicating Science to a Skeptical Public: “Your Local Epidemiologist” Katelyn Jetelina

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

"Launched as a 'direct line' to accessible information during the COVID-19 pandemic, the newsletter 'Your Local Epidemiologist' has blossomed into a trusted, wide-ranging science source to more than 250,000 followers. In this event, the newsletter’s founder, epidemiologist and data scientist Katelyn Jetelina, speaks about how public health leaders can cut through misinformation and partisanship with effective, empathetic communication."

Communicating Science to a Skeptical Public: “Your Local Epidemiologist” Katelyn Jetelina

Summary:

"Launched as a 'direct line' to accessible information during the COVID-19 pandemic, the newsletter 'Your Local Epidemiologist' has blossomed into a trusted, wide-ranging science source to more than 250,000 followers. In this event, the newsletter’s founder, epidemiologist and data scientist Katelyn Jetelina, speaks about how public health leaders can cut through misinformation and partisanship with effective, empathetic communication."

Organization:

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Date:

October 28, 2024

Category:

For:

VISIT

Awards

Goldsmith Prize for Explanatory Reporting

Shorenstein Center for Media, Politics and Public Policy

"The new Goldsmith Prize for Explanatory Reporting honors reporting that focuses on the functioning of government and the implementation of public policy. Exemplary pieces use an explanatory and solutions-focused lens to illuminate a government or public policy implementation process, program, or problem. The winner of the Goldsmith Prize for Explanatory Reporting receives $15,000, to be awarded directly to the winning journalist or team." The deadline to submit work for the 2025 prize is January 9, 2025.

Article

9 local story ideas from the 2024 Lancet Countdown report on climate change and health

"Health threats from climate change are reaching record-breaking levels, affecting people in every country, according to the eighth annual Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change report, which provides an up-to-date assessment of the links between health and climate change." This explainer from The Journalist's Resource highlights major findings from the report and offers nine story ideas for local journalists based on its research.

Fellowships & Grants

2025 United Nations Foundation Polio Press Fellowship for Individual Reporting to Africa

United Nations Foundation

The UN Foundation has launched a call for applications for its 2025 Polio Press Fellowship, geared toward journalists who are interested in reporting on stories on polio eradication in Africa. The goal of this fellowship is to provide professional journalists with the means to travel outside their country of residence to areas affected by polio to report on the importance of polio eradication work, as well as ways in which polio infrastructure can contribute to broader health goals. Upon participating in a series of virtual polio training sessions, selected journalists will receive funding to travel independently to one or more countries in Africa at the forefront of the polio eradication effort to gather stories and interviews with polio survivors, health care workers, community members, families, and health authorities. Preference will be given to reporters interested in traveling to the following countries: Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Niger, Nigeria, Madagascar, and Mozambique. The deadline to apply is January 3, 2025.

2025 United Nations Foundation Polio Press Fellowship for Individual Reporting to Africa

Summary:

The UN Foundation has launched a call for applications for its 2025 Polio Press Fellowship, geared toward journalists who are interested in reporting on stories on polio eradication in Africa. The goal of this fellowship is to provide professional journalists with the means to travel outside their country of residence to areas affected by polio to report on the importance of polio eradication work, as well as ways in which polio infrastructure can contribute to broader health goals. Upon participating in a series of virtual polio training sessions, selected journalists will receive funding to travel independently to one or more countries in Africa at the forefront of the polio eradication effort to gather stories and interviews with polio survivors, health care workers, community members, families, and health authorities. Preference will be given to reporters interested in traveling to the following countries: Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Niger, Nigeria, Madagascar, and Mozambique. The deadline to apply is January 3, 2025.

Organization:

United Nations Foundation

Category:

For:

Journalists

VISIT

Fellowships & Grants

Ferriss – UC Berkeley Psychedelic Journalism Fellowship

UC Berkeley

"The Ferriss – UC Berkeley Psychedelic Journalism Fellowship offers ten $10,000 reporting grants per year to journalists reporting in-depth print and audio stories on the science, policy, business and culture of this new era of psychedelics. In addition to underwriting individual stories, the Fellowship aims to establish and nurture a new generation of journalists covering the frontlines of this rapidly changing field. We’re looking for big, underreported, narratively compelling stories placed in rich political, economic, scientific, and cultural contexts. We are committed to supporting journalists from diverse backgrounds and of all nationalities. The fellowship is a project of the U.C. Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics." The deadline is January 31, 2025.

Ferriss – UC Berkeley Psychedelic Journalism Fellowship

Summary:

"The Ferriss – UC Berkeley Psychedelic Journalism Fellowship offers ten $10,000 reporting grants per year to journalists reporting in-depth print and audio stories on the science, policy, business and culture of this new era of psychedelics. In addition to underwriting individual stories, the Fellowship aims to establish and nurture a new generation of journalists covering the frontlines of this rapidly changing field. We’re looking for big, underreported, narratively compelling stories placed in rich political, economic, scientific, and cultural contexts. We are committed to supporting journalists from diverse backgrounds and of all nationalities. The fellowship is a project of the U.C. Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics." The deadline is January 31, 2025.

Organization:

UC Berkeley

Category:

For:

Journalists

VISIT

Awards

NFPW Professional Communications Contest

National Federation of Press Women

The NFPW National Communications Contest is open to writers regardless of gender, professional status, or location. Categories include writing, editing, photography, web and social media, and more. Entrants apply at the state level to affiliate organizations in their state; first-place winners from the state-level contest then move to the national level. For the 2025 contest, work must be published or broadcast between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024. Deadlines: Early-bird deadline is January 29, final deadline for books is February 5, and final deadline for other work is February 19.

Find a resource

Library

Investigating Health and Medicine – A GIJN Guide

Small Fry — How to Tell Compelling Stories About Obscure Species

Using Open Data to Sharpen Science Stories

COP30 Climate Change Media Partnership Reporting Fellowship

AHCJ Mentorship Program

2025 Journalists’ Guide to Environment + Energy

Covering Health Misinformation: What Journalists Need To Rethink

ScienceWriters2025

Online Journalism Awards: Excellence in Science Reporting

CASW Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting

CASW Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award for Young Science Journalists

National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications

“Understanding and Addressing Misinformation About Science”

Building Trust in Science: A One-Day Conference for a More Informed Future

Global Investigative Journalism Conference 2025

Spreading Love Through the Media: Request for Proposals

Dalla Lana Fellowship in Journalism and Health Impact

Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards

Knight Science Journalism Victor K. McElheny Award

Communicating Science to a Skeptical Public: “Your Local Epidemiologist” Katelyn Jetelina

Goldsmith Prize for Explanatory Reporting

9 local story ideas from the 2024 Lancet Countdown report on climate change and health

2025 United Nations Foundation Polio Press Fellowship for Individual Reporting to Africa

Ferriss – UC Berkeley Psychedelic Journalism Fellowship

NFPW Professional Communications Contest