2016 Annual Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists

Do you have the science background, sources, and investigative tools needed to dig into environmental stories and advance your career? Do you want to recharge your battery, gain new perspectives, and network with journalists from around the globe?

The University of Rhode Island’s Metcalf Institute for Marine & Environmental Reporting,  a global leader in providing science training for journalists, is accepting applications for its competitive 18th Annual Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists: Global Change in Coastal Ecosystems, June 5-12, 2016.

The workshop will be held at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography, one of the nation’s premier oceanographic research institutions and home to Metcalf Institute. Ten early- to mid-career journalists will be selected for the fellowship, which includes tuition, travel support, room and board, and career-changing professional training, thanks to the generosity of private donors and the Metcalf Institute endowment.

Using the world’s best-studied estuary, Narragansett Bay, as a living laboratory, the workshop gives journalists opportunities to explore and understand the effects of human activities on coastal ecosystems. In the field, lab, and classroom, Metcalf Fellows gain a greater understanding of how scientists conduct research, build confidence in their abilities to discern the credibility of scientific sources, and acquire the skills needed to comb through complex scientific data to break stories on a range of science and environmental topics. The workshop also provides a unique opportunity for Fellows to network with leading researchers, policy experts, and other journalists in an informal, off-deadline atmosphere.

Metcalf Institute Annual Workshop alumni hail from the U.S. and around the world, including the Philippines, Israel, South Africa, China, Singapore, Brazil, and India. Metcalf Fellows represent a wide variety of small and large news organizations ranging from local and regional newspapers and broadcast outlets to online and national/international outlets.

“I have learned so much about pollutants, storm damage, and fisheries management,” said 2015 Annual Workshop alumnus, Kevin Bunch, of C & G Newspapers.  “I can think of no professional development program that has been more helpful to me.”

The 2016 Metcalf Fellows will:

• Gain skills and confidence to translate scientific publications for public audiences;
• Develop a greater familiarity with research methods and basic statistics;
• Explore the development and use of sea level rise models for projecting impacts and responses;
• Explore the water quality impacts of shellfish aquaculture and, separately, emerging aquatic contaminants, potentially harmful chemicals not currently monitored or regulated;
• Conduct a fisheries survey aboard the URI research vessel;
• Discuss the relationships between climate change and extreme weather;
• Enjoy off-deadline interactions with scientists and cultivate contacts for future reporting.

View application information here.

Eligibility

Early to mid-career journalists from all media, and journalists who are new to reporting on science and environmental topics, are invited to apply. Applicants must demonstrate a strong interest in improving and expanding their coverage of environmental topics and a desire to gain a better understanding of scientific research methods through field and lab work. The fellowship includes room, board, tuition, and travel support paid after the program. U.S.-based journalists are eligible for up to US$500 in travel support and those working outside of the U.S. may receive a reimbursement of up to US$1,000 with written assurance that they will be able to pay the full costs of their travel and can obtain the appropriate visa.

Applications for the 2016 Annual Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists must be submitted online by February 5, 2016. Inclusions must be submitted online, emailed or postmarked by February 5, 2016.

 

This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:

http://metcalfinstitute.org/training/awj/