Online Course in Science Journalism

The world's first online course in science journalism is being launched by the World Federation of Science Journalists in close cooperation with SciDev.Net, the London-based Science and Development Network.

Follow one of these links to start the course:  
 

 The authors and translators of this course are experienced journalists and trainers from all continents. They cover major practical and conceptual issues in science journalism, for example: how to find and research stories, exposing false claims, how to pitch to an editor, turning crisis reporting to advantage and so forth - topics that are relevant to beginners in journalism as well as more experienced reporters and editors in all regions of the world.

The lessons are being taught and revised with participants of the WFSJ's Science Journalism Cooperation (SjCOOP) project.

The course is ready for use by professional journalists, journalism students and teachers. Each lesson consist of an e-lecture with examples, self-teaching questions, and assignments. Lesson 2 also has personal testimonies written by experienced journalists.

Lesson 1 - Planning and structuring your work (by Jan Lublinski)
Lesson 2 - Finding and judging science stories (by Julie Clayton)
Lesson 3 - The interview (by Christina Scott)
Lesson 4 - Writing skills (by Nadia El-Awady)
Lesson 5 - What is Science? (by Gervais Mbarga and Jean-Marc Fleury)
Lesson 6 - Reporting scientific controversy (by Killugudi Jayaraman)
Lesson 7 - Reporting on Science policy (by Hepeng Jia and Richard Stone)
Lesson 8 - How to shoot science (by Šárka Speváková and Carolyn Robinson)

The Online course was adapted and translated into:
Arabic by Nadia El-Awady, Magdy A.M. Said, Waleed Al-Shobakky and Ahmad Moghrabi
French by Gilles Provost, Isaac Njifakue and Mélanie Robitaille
Spanish by Horacio Salazar and Lisbeth Fog
Portuguese by Luisa Massarani and Catarina Chagas
Chinese by Lan Lin, Fang Xuanchang, Gong Yidong, Zhao Yan, Luo Hui, Jia Hepeng and You Xuequing

The English version was adapted by : Emily Chung

Online Course Editors:
Julie Clayton (United Kingdom) and
Jan Lublinski (Germany)

Web:
Augustin Denis (Canada)

Advisory Board:
Nadia El-Awady (Egypt), Lamia Baiche (Algeria), Musa Fadl Alla (Sudan), Deborah Blum (United States), David Dickson (United Kingdom), Armand Faye (Senegal), Jean-Marc Fleury (Canada), Lisbeth Fog (Colombia), Jia Hepeng (China), Patrick Luganda (Uganda), Luisa Massarani (Brazil), Gervais Mbarga (Cameroon), Diran Onifade (Nigeria), T.V. Padma (India) and Christina Scott (South Africa).

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On Monday 4 February 2008 The World Federation of Science Journalists launched this course in Doha, Qatar. You can read the news related to this event. See below a few pictures taken during the ceremony. Members of the test class also received a certificate for their help in making this course a success.