VIRTUAL: How the Mass Media Cover Health, Science, and the Environment—and What You Can Do to Help

Featuring Laura Helmuth, Science Editor for the Washington Post

Offered via webcast. 

In an age of weaponized false information and viral conspiracy theories, major media publications are in an arms race to get attention for legitimate, evidence-based reporting about science, health, and the environment. This lecture will cover how the media are adapting to become more transparent about reporting practices and journalistic standards, using social media to reach people in new places, and applying lessons from research on communication. The lecture will include practical advice about how scholars, scientists, and physicians can suggest stories, become expert sources, and write for the mass media themselves.

Laura Helmuth, PhD, is the Health and Science Editor for The Washington Post and the immediate past-president of the National Association of Science Writers. She has been an editor for National Geographic, Slate, Smithsonian, and Science magazines, and a freelance writer or editor for the New York Times, Nautilus, National Wildlife, Stanford Medicine and other publications. 

Commentator: Hubbard School Associate Professor Rebekah Nagler

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Webcast only

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