Fourteen journalists are back on their beats after Metcalf Institute’s first virtual Annual Science Workshop for Journalists, June 8-19, 2020. The Institute developed an innovative web-based program for the 22nd workshop in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing guidelines. The fellows represented a broad range of small and large news organizations in the U.S. and around the globe including Australia, Colombia and Nigeria.
“While the pandemic motivated us to adapt our internationally recognized science immersion model, it has also provided a unique opportunity to engage additional international fellows,” said Sunshine Menezes, Metcalf Institute executive director. “News consumers want substantive reporting on climate change that digs deeply into the consequences and solutions, and this is exactly what Metcalf Institute training delivers, whether it’s online or in-person.”
Fellows heard from leading scientists, policymakers, and communicators who are working to project the impacts of climate change, identify adaptation measures, and investigate the most effective ways to communicate these challenges. Workshop topics were carefully selected to offer widespread relevance through local, regional, and national examples from across the U.S.
The 2020 Workshop Fellows learned about climate change impacts, policy, and adaptation measures from national experts and gain skills to interpret and translate complex scientific data into compelling, informative stories about the environmental challenges we face. Workshop topics were designed to help journalists understand the processes and methods of science and to provide insights into the cutting edge of climate change research.
- Extreme weather
- Sea level rise and coastal adaptation
- Aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems
- Infectious diseases and public health
- Infrastructure
The 2020 Annual Workshop Fellows are:
- Kyle Bagenstose, Northeast investigative reporter, USA Today/Gannett in Philadelphia, PA
- Tom Bateman, municipal affairs reporter, Times & Transcript in New Brunswick, Canada
- Whitney Bauck, senior sustainability reporter, Fashionista in New York, NY
- Denise Chow; environment, climate change and science reporter; NBC News, New York, NY
- Kate Cimini; agriculture, housing and homelessness reporter; The Salinas Californian in Seaside, CA
- Morgan Krakow, reporter, Anchorage Daily News in Anchorage, AK
- Joanna Lauder, reporter, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in Victoria, Australia
- Josephine Okojie; agriculture, environment, and entrepreneurship reporter; BusinessDay in Lagos, Nigeria
- Tatiana Pardo Ibarra, freelance journalist in Bogota Colombia
- Annie Ropeik, energy and environment reporter, New Hampshire Public Radio in Concord, NH
- Jake Spring, environment and agriculture reporter, Reuters in Brasilia, Brazil
- Maria Temming, staff writer for physical sciences, Science News magazine in Washington, DC
- Rebecca Thiele, energy and environment reporter, Indiana Public Broadcasting in Bloomington, IN
- Amy Woodyatt, freelance environment journalist in London, United Kingdom
Meet the fellows Fellows Describe workshop experience
2020 Annual Workshop Finalists:
- Subel Bhandari, German Newswire DPA (Deutsche Presse-Agentur in New South Wales, Australia
- Raphael Vincent Bosano, ABS-CBN Corporation in the National Capital City, Philippines
- Sara Cincurova, freelance journalists in Bratislava, Slovakia
- Yessenia Funes, G/O Media in New York, NY
- Natasha Grzincic, Vice Canada in Ontario, Canada
- Sally Grace Holtgrieve, Community Impact Newspaper in Pflugerville, TX
- Dominique Mosbergen, Huffington Post in Singapore
- David Schechter, WFAA-TV in Dallas, TX
- Gabriel Titiyoga, El Mercurio newspaper in Jakarta, Indonesia
- Carol Thompson, Lansing State Journal in Lansing, MI
- Nikita Vashisth, freelance journalists in New Delhi, India
View Recent Annual Science Immersion Workshops:
2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015