AAAS Announces Fellowship
for Young Reporters in China

The first ever AAAS Fellowship for Young Reporters in China is now open to young reporters working for Chinese news organizations, particularly those in China.

The new AAAS program is being offered through the generosity of Mr. William T. Golden and the William T. Golden Endowment Fund for Program Innovation.

"Science can play a crucial role in improving access to food, water, and a healthier environment, and journalists are an essential conduit for communicating scientific information to the public," says Shere Abbott, AAAS's Chief International Officer. "We want this fellowship to both prompt discussion of how science is covered and encourage original reporting."

Reporters who submit the best original print or broadcast science-related news reporting will be selected to attend and cover the AAAS Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington, in February 2004. AAAS will cover all travel, lodging and meal costs for winners.

"The emergence of China as a major scientific and technical force suggests that the country has the potential to become the world's largest market for science news," says James Cornell, president of the International Science Writers Association. "This rapid social development underlines the need for a cadre of trained, informed, and independent journalists who can interpret the results of research, track the impact of new technologies, and represent the public interest. Ideally, the AAAS Fellows, by sharing the experiences of their non-Chinese counterparts in the stimulating and dynamic environment of the annual meeting in Seattle, will find new and innovative ways for communicating science and technology when they return home."

Original print stories and broadcast transcripts may be submitted in Chinese. AAAS will invite four independent, working reporters who are fluent in Chinese to review all submissions. Materials will be evaluated to determine the accuracy of scientific information, as well as the integrity of the news content of each story.

Winning entries will be published on a new Foreign Language Portal on EurekAlert! (www.eurekalert.org). In addition, winners will be invited to cover the AAAS Annual Meeting and post breaking-news coverage to EurekAlert! in February 2004.

"I think this program is a great idea," said Andrew Skolnick, a science and medical reporter who has taught journalism at a university in China. "The fellowship program will help to build a bridge, through science journalism, to one fifth of the world. This strikes me as being well worth the effort."

To apply for the AAAS Fellowship for Young Reporters in China, please see www.aaas.org/press/fellowship. Deadline is 30 November 2003.