Deadline: February 12, 2024
Applications are open for the Metcalf Institute Annual Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists 2024. As climate change has become a more frequent issue of concern, newsrooms have adjusted by incorporating more coverage of environmental change and its impacts. Unfortunately, many reporters and editors lack the background, sources, and confidence to cover these stories with the depth and nuance they require. Metcalf Institute’s Annual Science Immersion Workshop for Journalists (AWJ) is designed to address this gap, and to be a valuable resource for journalists working in a wide variety of beats.
It is the 26th anniversary of this immersive program, and this year will have a special focus on water issues and climate change. Fellows will dive deep into issues such as water quality, plastics and public health, and ecosystem restoration, all through a social justice lens.
Metcalf Institute’s AWJ is for full-time journalists working in any medium who want learn more about research and topics relating to climate change science, impacts, adaptation, and justice. It is designed to bolster your understanding of the methods, norms, and culture of science, with hands-on activities, field trips, and opportunities to develop relationships with scientific experts and with your other fellows! They welcome journalists of all beats, such as arts & culture, business, technology, policy, and politics, as climate change shapes all of these fields with ever-increasing urgency.
Benefits
As a result of participating in the Annual Science Immersion Workshop, Fellows will:
- Be able to identify important climate change and energy stories that are relevant to their news audiences.
- Understand how academic scientists plan, fund, conduct, and publish their research
- Be better prepared to understand and communicate scientific uncertainties
- Be better prepared to translate scientific findings for news audiences
- Recognize and understand the interactions between climate change, the environment, and society, and how climate change disproportionately affects communities of color and low-income communities.
Costs
- Fellows must pay all travel expenses up front and will receive travel reimbursement ($500 max within continental U.S., $1,000 max outside of continental U.S.).
- Lodging, meals and ground transportation during the in-person workshop are covered by Metcalf Institute.
Eligibility
- Metcalf Institute receives applications from journalists worldwide but journalists must be reporting for audiences in the United States and U.S. territories.
- Must be full-time professional journalists who work in any medium or combination of media.
- Applications are open to journalists working on general assignment, environment, climate change, health, business, finance, technology, policy, politics, and any other areas where climate change and energy may be reported as intersecting issues.
Selection Criteria
- Among the criteria considered in the selection of Metcalf Fellows are the applicant’s expressed commitment to accurate, science-based coverage of environmental topics and editorial support for this professional development and possible publication/broadcast of the applicant’s environmental reporting after the fellowship. Editors may also apply.
- Metcalf Institute’s selection process strives to maximize diversity of each Annual Workshop class with regard to race and ethnicity, gender, ability, sexual orientation, medium, geography, and journalism experience.
Application
The Metcalf fellowship application package has three required parts:
- 2024 fellowship application form
- A resume, and
- Two professional references.
For more information, visit Metcalf Fellowship.
