AAAS Announces 2024 Mass Media Fellows and New Project Director

16 April 2024

by: AAAS Mass Media Fellowship

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Twenty early-career scientists will be embedded across the country to work in newsrooms and utilize their science communication expertise in brand new environments as 2024 Mass Media Fellows this summer.

The program is also under new leadership as of January.

"It is an honor to lead one of AAAS' flagship fellowship programs as it approaches its 50^th year in 2025," said Olivia Monahan, Mass Media Fellowship's new project director. "We had a stellar group of applicants, and we are excited to welcome the 2024 cohort this June."

Mass Media Fellows consist of current and recent graduate collegiate-level early-career scientists who are seeking a hands-on experience of translating science to a general audience.

Fellows will begin their summer by meeting at AAAS headquarters in Washington, D.C., for orientation, where they will take part in an intensive science writing crash course learning about details of writing and reporting for newspapers, magazines, online articles, radio and podcasting. Equipped with a common language and understanding, Fellows will then spend 10 weeks embedded in a national or local newsroom before coming back together at a gathering at the end of August.

Incoming fellows' enthusiasm for the fellowship opportunity is palpable. Noah Haggerty, a plasma physics researcher and longtime reader of the Los Angeles Times, where he will be placed this summer, looks forward to the opportunity to be embedded in the work of the newsroom.

"I'm excited to be surrounded by so many talented people who seem so passionate about the work that they're doing," said Haggerty, who hopes to work as a science journalist in a metro newsroom someday. "I'm excited to learn from them every single day about what it's like working in a newsroom spending every day thinking about these complex topics, how to communicate them to the public, and thinking about what is most important for the public to understand."

Touching on what sets the AAAS Mass Media Fellowship apart from other journalistic opportunities, Haggerty said, "This program is so special to me because it focuses on people with a science background, helping them for the summer to understand what it is like to work in science journalism."

For Lizette Ortega, science was not something she had a great experience learning about until a transformative first semester in college when a physics professor took the time to break down complex topics until she had no questions unanswered. Ortega described her experience as a first-generation college and graduate student studying applied physics as a formative one, inspiring her desire to serve as a science communicator for others.

"I want to make science accessible to as many people as possible," said Ortega.

This summer, Ortega will bring her skills to The Washington Postwhere she will be introduced to journalistic practices and the process of communicating science news to the public.

Placed at El Nuevo Díain Puerto Rico, Alonso Daboub will bring a unique skillset to the program as the only fellow writing science news in Spanish this summer.

"As a Latin American myself, I think it's important to give back to that community, I was raised by that community," said Daboub, who believes that being bilingual made him more curious about how to construct a narrative given the differences in the two languages.

Daboub, who studies behavioral neurobiology in an integrated science undergraduate program, is interested in exploring how the differences in language and perspectives affect the dissemination of scientific knowledge through his fellowship experience.

Rashada Alexander, director of AAAS' Immersive Fellowships, reflected on the strengths of the program and the recent leadership changes.

"As one of AAAS' immersive fellowship programs, the Mass Media Fellowship offers a chance for these STEMM folks to 'look up' from their bench research and laboratories and experience a wholly new environment that also exposes them to potential career paths and new ways to benefit science and society. [As the new Project Director], Olivia brings a focused passion, and strong set of skills in fellowship management and science communication to the leadership of [the program]. I am so excited to see how Olivia's vision and capabilities will drive the Mass Media Fellowship forward!"

For information on the organizations sponsoring fellows this summer, and for criteria for applying for future classes, visit aaas.org/programs/mass-media-fellowship.

The 2024 Mass Media Fellows and their host sites are as follows. (To see their sponsors, visit the program page.):

• Unnati Akhouri, StateImpact Pennsylvania
• Maria Isabel Barros Guinle, NPR
• Lily Burton, WUNC - North Carolina Public Radio
• Jordan Chapman, The Dallas Morning News
• Megan Chong, Zócalo Public Square
• Alonso Daboub, El Nuevo Día
• Serina DeSalvio, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
• Freya Gulamali, The News & Observer
• Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times
• Bing Lin, Inside Climate News
• Ben Long, Cascadia Daily News
• Rudy Molinek, Smithsonian Magazine
• Raina Okonogi-Neth, The Conversation U.S.
• Lizette Ortega, The Washington Post
• Siddhant Pusdekar, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
• Alia Sajani, STAT
• Max Springer, Scientific American
• Elizabeth Walsh, Idaho Statesman
• Sarah Ward, MIT Technology Review
• Claire Yuan, Science News