“A lot of lessons have been learned from three years of covering a global pandemic. It is essential that we take those lessons and build on them. One clear development is that misinformation and disinformation now have an even greater opportunity to infiltrate all types of journalism and news output.” Fergus Bell, Founder and CEO, Fathm and lead facilitator for the journalism programme.

Ongoing waves of COVID-19 continue to expose shortcomings in already disrupted and resource-strapped newsrooms. Journalists face ever sophisticated mis- and disinformation around health issues, and audiences that are bored with the story and increasingly disengaged. 

With the risk of future global public health emergencies high, newsrooms need to expand their capacity to make sense of science related content – and ensure it remains engaging for their audiences.

That is why the World Editors Forum is launching this second volume of the Journalism in Age of Pandemics handbook. It builds on what was published in 2021, and is the product of ongoing training to help newsrooms develop and enhance the key skills that will navigate current challenges – and stand them in good stead for future pandemics. A distillation of expert views and advice, the guide features frontline insights on news gathering, storytelling, visual literacy and innovation, and advances solutions journalism. 

Download the report here

Also note: The Temasek Foundation WAN-IFRA Journalism Programme is hosting two webinars to help journalists identify emerging trends and stay current when reporting. The first, on 28 February, will focus on the disinformation war. It will explore the strategies used to clean the information ecosystem and tools to equip journalists and newsrooms for the ongoing battle for truth. Register here for the one-hour zoom seminar on disinformation.

For additional resources, visit the Science in the Newsroom website. 

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