Annenberg Grant Supports AAAS Mass Media Fellows

Four environmental scientists will head to the Los Angeles area next summer for a crash course in journalism, thanks to a new one-year grant to the AAAS Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellowship program from the Annenberg Foundation.

The grant will pay the stipends, and travel and administrative costs for four Fellows, said Stacey Pasco, the senior program associate at AAAS Education and Human Resources who manages the Fellowship program. The Los Angeles area media outlets have not yet been selected.

"As environmental issues increasingly come to the attention of the public, we're pleased that the Annenberg Foundation sees the importance of training today's environmental science students to become better communicators," said Judy Kass, senior project director in Education and Human Resources at AAAS.

Over the past 32 years, AAAS has teamed with various sponsoring organizations—such as the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the American Physical Society and the American Mathematical Society—to place science, engineering and mathematics scholars in newsrooms across the country.

"It's important to support all forms of science journalism, including environmental reporting, as we see many of today's headlines focusing on global environmental issues," said Pasco.

"We are pleased to support the Fellowship program which will ultimately foster a deeper appreciation for and understanding of science and technology at large," said Wallis Annenberg, vice president of the Annenberg Foundation.

The Fellows work for 10 weeks as reporters, editors, researchers and production assistants at such news outlets as the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, National Public Radio, the Sacramento Bee, and Scientific American. AAAS typically chooses 15 to 20 new Fellows each year.

Becky Ham

6 December 2006