In a Nov. 17 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award lecture, BBC Reel editor Melissa Hogenboom answered two questions for the community of science journalists, slight variations of which she often asks her scientist sources: Why do you do what you do, and why does it matter?

Her talk was the second of three in this year’s AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award lecture series.

The awards recognize distinguished science reporting for a general audience.

Molteni called the outbreak of COVID-19 “a crisis of information” that forced journalists to choose what to write about and how to frame their narratives.

Her talk will be the first of three such lectures this fall.

Screeners are Ph.D. scientists or experts in their field who assess the scientific accuracy of entries and recommend those worthy of judging by panels of science journalists.

AAAS has announced this year’s cohort of Mass Media Fellows this week – 28 young scientists who will be placed in newsrooms around the country for a summer of hands-on immersion in science journalism.