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Participation of broader audiences in science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) requires engaging under-served audiences. The conduit of this engagement is communication. Journalism, or the 4th estate, has been a precious and important part of of social and political life. Today engaged and diverse science communication is needed now more than ever to cultivate an inclusive and plural STEM workforce and informed citizenry.
Just as STEM is lacking diversity, so is science communication. Promoting science communication opportunities and access to under-served and under-represented audiences is one of my personal missions. #DivSciWri
So here is your weekend to do -- Get some!
On supporting science journalism
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Update: I've designated what type of opportunity each program is. Some are awards, others are training programs or public events.
AWARD: The National Association of Science Writers Science in Society Journalism Awards. This annual award provides recognition for investigative or interpretive reporting about the sciences and their impact on society. NASW especially encourages entries of critical, probing pieces that would not receive an award from a special interest group. NASW will award separate cash prizes of $2,500 for writing judged best in each of five categories: books, commentary and opinion, science reporting, science reporting for a local or regional market*, and longform science reporting (series or lengthy broadcasts). 2015 awards will be announced in September and presented at an awards dinner in October in Cambridge, Mass. Reasonable travel and hotel expenses of the award winners will be covered. No fee to submit, but deadline is February 1. For more information, please check out their website at http://www.nasw.org/awards. * This category is especially suited for Diverse Science Writers who report for local or ethnic target media markets -- a great opportunity.
CONTEST/TRAINING: iBiology Young Scientist Series. iBiology generally features research talks by well-known senior scientists, but is now expanding its focus to highlight the work of outstanding young scientists. PhD candidates or postdocs with an interesting research story and good presentation skills are only eligible to apply. Four winners will attend a two-day workshop at the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University, a leading organization in training scientists to give effective talks. After this training, the selected scientists will record their 30-minute talks in a green screen studio. The talks will be posted on iBiology.org as part of a new Young Scientist Seminar Series. For young scientists, this is a unique opportunity to showcase your work! Apply by Feb 1st.http://www.ibiology.org/young-scientist.html
TRAINING: Metcalf Institute for Marine & Environmental Reporting. 2015 Annual Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists is a competitive, weeklong workshop that takes journalists into the lab, field and classroom. Ten journalists awarded the Metcalf fellowships will gain a greater familiarity with research methods and basic statistics, conduct a fisheries survey aboard a research vessel, explore the development and use of sea level rise models for climate change adaptation, and gain skills and confidence to translate scientific publications for public audiences. The program runs from June 7-12, includes room, board, tuition & up to $500 travel support. Apply by February 6th at Metcalfinstitue.org/training/awj.
TRAINING: Connecting the Dots: Effectively Communicating Science to Non-scientists. Research!America and George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs have partnered to present a professional development program designed to enhance the ability of scientists to communicate their research to the public. This two-day, non-credit program will provide scientists, physicians, researchers and academics at the post-graduate level and above with the information and tools they need to effectively share their work.Topics include:Strategic Scientific Communications, Using Social and Digital Media for Influence and Persuasion, Developing and Delivering Messages, Communications Planning, Public Presentations, Creating Leads, Talking Points and Visuals, and Media Training. Program costs $295, but travel assistance is possible. Visit the website for more information and to apply. Deadline is February 6. http://www.cvent.com/events/connecting-the-dots-effectively-communicating-science-to-non-scientists/event-summary-a62a0eb2795142a9bf9655e901879fde.aspx?RefID=R!A
AWARD: The Keck Futures Initiative. National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine, with the support of the W.M. Keck Foundation awards four $20,000 prizes in 2015 to individuals or teams (up to four individuals associated with the creation of the work being nominated) who have developed creative, original works that address issues and advances in science, engineering and/or medicine for the general public. Nominations are accepted in four categories: Book; Film/Radio/TV; Magazine/Newspaper; and Online. The winners will be honored in the Fall 2015 at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C and are expected to attend in person. Deadline is February 9. Details and application online: http://www.keckfutures.org/awards/nominate.html.
EVENT: Science & You - a Science Communications Fair. This is an event that is open to anyone interested in science communication and happening in France: June 2-6th, early bird registration deadline is Feb 16th. http://www.science-and-you.com/en.
TRAINING: AAAS Minority Science Writers Internship. The American Association for the Advancement of Science is offering an internship for minority undergraduate students interested in science writing journalism. The program allows the interns to learn about science writing at Science Magazine for 10 weeks during the summer. They will experience what it’s like to cover the scientific and technology issues that shape the global community. The program pays for travel to and from the facility in Washington, D.C. as well as a stipend. But, travel to D.C. and lodging are the responsibility of the interns. Deadline to apply is March 1st. For more information, check out their website at http://www.aaas.org/page/aaas-minority-science-writers-internship
TRAINING: The MBL (Marine Biological Laboratory) Logan Science Journalism Program in Woods Hole, Mass. The program runs May 27-June 5, 2015 with opportunities available for extended fellowships in Woods Hole or Arctic Alaska. Deadline to apply is March 2. The program offers professional science journalists, writers, editors, and broadcast journalists a chance to forget about story deadlines and immerse themselves in the process of basic biomedical and environmental research. Room, board, lab fees, and U.S. travel are covered for accepted fellows. For more information, please check out the webpage at http://www.mbl.edu/sjp/.
AWARD: 2015 Knight-Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism. The Knight-Risser Prize for Western Environmental Journalism is accepting entries for work produced in 2014. The $5,000 prize places a premium on stories that expose undiscovered or covered-up problems, explain detailed solutions in ways that can be put to use, and help readers understand the broader significance of the issues being covered. Journalism in any media is accepted that best illuminates an environmental issue or story in the United States west of the Mississippi River, Canada west of Ontario, including Nunavut, and all of Mexico. Entries are not limited to journalists from western news organizations. Deadline for entries is March 15. The entry form and guidelines available at this link: http://knightrisser.stanford.edu/eligibility_guidelines.html.
CONTEST: NESCent 2015 Evolution Film Festival/Video Contest. Scientists, science educators, and science communicators (students and professionals) are invited to submit a video that explains a fun fact, key concept, compelling question, or exciting area of evolution research in 3 minutes or less. Entries may be related or unrelated to your own research, and should be suitable for use in a classroom (K-12, undergraduate, graduate…your choice). Videos should be both informative and entertaining. Animations, music videos, and mini documentaries are okay. The finalists will be screened at the 2015 Evolution meeting in Guarujá, Brazil. First- and second-place winners will receive up to $1,000 and $500, respectively. Submission details are at http://filmfestival.nescent.org/how-to-submit/ . Submission deadline is May 31st.
New to science communication? Need a place to share your thoughts with an established community? Then consider a guest post. (Note, guest posts are not routine submissions and may not include compensation. Contact the editor or community organizer for more details).
Conditionally Accepted is an online space is for for marginalized scholars who are “conditionally accepted” in academia, and they are inviting guest blog posts. Contribute an individual blog post or a series of posts, 500-1,000 words each, on topics related to experiencing inequality, discrimination, and harassment in and related to academia and higher education. There is a larger list of possible themes on the website; and they are definitely interested in soliciting contributions from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) scholars. If you are interested, more information is available the website http://conditionallyaccepted.com/2015/01/21/call-for-submissions/.
Voices blog at Scientific American is home for news, ideas and conversations related to gender, ethnicity, sexuality, physicality, socio-economic status and geography—all that makes us different, and all that makes us the same. How these factors bear on the world of science, technology, engineering and mathematics and on the ways that issues and advances in these fields are communicated to the general public will our chief concern. There are still too many barriers—from bias to privilege to ignorance—that keep us apart and hinder scientific progress. Voices aims to produce top-notch posts by the field’s most knowledgeable and insightful thinkers. Additional information here https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/voices/2014/07/02/welcome-to-voices-a-blog-to-celebrate-diversity/.