The SciCommer Newsletter: 20 May

Back to business

To support the newsletter, the cost is about the same price as one coffee per month. If you want to offer more, then you can. You can also take out a paid group subscription for a subscriber discount. If you want to send a one-off thanks then you can ‘buy me a coffee’.

Do you have something to share? Unfortunately the newsletter isn’t large enough to include examples of science communication projects or events - but if you write up what others can learn from a science communication initative or event then I can include that.

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📰 In the News

Read the SciCommer news and events in Spanish, Portuguese and German.

The Open Notebook have developed a free interactive toolkit to help journalists bring more scientific evidence and context into their stories. Also take a look at ‘Come Again? How to Steer Scientist Sources Away from Jargon’

From Undark ‘The Chilling Effect of DEI Crackdowns in Scientific Publishing’

At the Shanghai Science Festival a new Global Urban Science Communication Capacity Index 2025 was presented.

‘How to Address Misinformation—Without Censorship’ in TIME

In The Hindu ‘What does a career in Science Communication involve?’

Updates from MESH ‘Global Experts Convene in Kathmandu to Co-Design Innovative Course on Community Engagement in Clinical Trials’

Entries are open for the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards and the The Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation) Africa Science Journalism Awards (ASJA).

Are you a researcher, policymaker, or science communicator working on environmental or climate issues? The "Trust in Climate Science" project is conducting a short survey (less than 10 minutes) to gather perspectives from across the global community.

SciCommBites covers ‘(Mis)informed: What it takes to be science-literate in the 21st century’

The National Association for Science Writers (USA) is again offering its virtual summer mentoring program for graduate and undergraduate students (be quick to apply)

Do you work for yourself? Looking to meet with some likeminded people? Join the The Research Adjacent Community.

Submit to one of the special issues for PCST 2025

LISTEN: Let's Talk SciComm Podcast

WATCH: "Trabalho de plataforma" e divulgadores de ciência

Updates from the USA

In Nature ‘US researchers must stand up to protect freedoms, not just funding’

In Science ‘The new reality for American academia’ and ‘Trump’s ‘fear factor’: Scientists go silent as funding cuts escalate’

New Research

Science on screen: the representation of science in independent films JCOM 24(03), A02.

Building Climate Resilience through Communication and Public Engagement. 63-77.

It's Not Just About Jargon! A Toolkit for Effective Science Communication Physiology, 2025 40:S1

SciCom Wiki Fact-Checking and FAIR Knowledge Distribution for Scientific Videos and Podcasts

The “Whole-Of-Society” Approach for Misinformation Correction: How Expert Didactic TikTok Videos Motivate Citizen Fact-Checking and Vaccine Promotion. Journal of Health Communication, 1–13.

Decide your Print, a workshop to foster systemic thinking about sustainability issues JCOM 24(03), N02.

Do People Value Expertise? Revisiting Assumptions About Attention to Expertise via Eye-Tracking and the Loss of Expertise Cues During Person-to-Person Transmission of Science Information. Communication Research, 0(0).

Science communication in the digital age: Trends, gaps, and interdisciplinary opportunities. Information Services and Use. 2025;0(0).

Virtual, Augmented, and Extended Reality Applied to Science Communication: A Systematic Literature Review. IEEE Trans Vis Comput Graph. 2025 May 12;PP. doi: 10.1109/TVCG.2025.3569398. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40354208.

Storytelling Science for Sustainability – Using Storytelling to Communicate the Science of Sustainable Food Systems. Environmental Communication, 1–17.

Undergraduate Thesis: A Review of the Utilization of Comics in Research and the Potential for Graphic Medicine Integration in Health Science Communication

🗓 The SciComm Diary

NEW ENTRIES TO THE DIARY! I can’t fit all entries in the newsletter here so I just include the new ones. If you are a paid subscriber you can access the full diary listings at any time via the button. You can also see what is coming up this week or so, for free, via the button below.

• Science communication remote coworking sessions still happen weekly if you are looking for a virtual community!

• WORKSHOP 20 MAY: PANAS! Science Journalism Workshop 2025

• WEBINAR 21 MAY: Science Reporting Navigator Webinar, , a digital toolkit and interactive course for science journalism. Any story can be a science story.

• UK CONFERENCE 27 - 29 MAY 2025: PCST (Public Communication of Science and Technology Network Conference - PRE WORKSHOPS AVAILABLE TO BOOK [Aberdeen]

• WEBINAR 30 MAY: Reporting on food, waste and climate in America

• WEBINAR 2 JUNE 2025: Communicating Results to Trial Participants

• WEBINAR 3 JUNE 2025: Leadership in Outreach and Public Engagement

• WEBINAR 10 JUNE 2025: A 90-minute interactive workshop introducing the evolution of participatory research and innovation. Led by the participatory research experts at Stickydot. Through short presentations and hands-on activities, we’ll explore why inclusive, ethical, and responsive research matters more than ever.

• UK CONFERENCE 26 JUNE 2025: ABSW Summer School 2025 [London] - there are diversity scholarships available

• UK/Hybrid CONFERENCE 28 - 30 AUGUST 2025: Talking Maths in Public - and now bursaries are available [Warwick]

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Looking for a SCICOMM INTERNSHIP or FELLOWSHIP? Follow the link to see a full list of opportunities that often run on a yearly cycle. These are always available for free for everyone - as are entry-level and paid PhD positions.

• UK: Swansea University is looking for a Communications and Engagement Coordinator £29,959 to £33,482 per annum [Swansea]

• UK: Durham County Council is looking for a Community Engagement Assistant £27,269 to £30,060 per annum [Durham]

• UK: The Sir Harry Evans Global Fellowship provides an unrivalled opportunity for an exceptional early career journalist: a nine-month fellowship with Durham University and Reuters to undertake an investigative project.

• To support The SciCommer and access more jobs and the full SciCommer archive take out a paid subscription (I always share entry level jobs, internships and PhD studentships in the free part of the newsletter)