A navigator for better science reporting

For the past five or so years, Siri Carpenter, the editor-in-chief and executive director of The Open Notebook, and I had this increasing sense that journalists who probably needed our resources the most — local and regional reporters — have the least training in covering science and probably the least time to devote to reading our vast resources. The Navigator was created to distill our archives, making them more accessible and less intimidating.”

Rachel Zamzow, deputy executive director, The Open Notebook

Lurking in every reporter’s beat, assignments and articles is science. After all, science describes everything — the universe, planet Earth and you. Journalists and editors often overlook the science angle. Still, its inclusion, even a few lines or a scientist’s quote, can enhance an article and help combat misinformation and blatant lies about science.

This is the essence of The Open Notebook’s mission: to become “the leading online source of training and educational materials for journalists who cover science.” In collaboration with one of its many supporters and partners, the Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI), The Open Notebook launched the Science Reporting Navigator in early October 2025.

“For the past five or so years, Siri Carpenter, the editor-in-chief and executive director of The Open Notebook, and I had this increasing sense that journalists who probably needed our resources the most — local and regional reporters — have the least training in covering science and probably the least time to devote to reading our vast resources. The Navigator was created to distill our archives, making them more accessible and less intimidating. A reporter who’s interested in covering science can dip into the Navigator quickly, find what they need and report a good story,” Rachel Zamzow, deputy executive director, said.

Sriya Reddy, Reynolds Journalism Institute Science Reporting Navigator project manager

Sriya Reddy, who joined RJI in November 2024 as a member of its innovation team, was assigned as the Science Reporting Navigator project manager, her first role. She was a product intern at CalMatters and a Report for America corps member for The Dallas Morning News.

“I help to facilitate partnerships between RJI and different newsrooms to build resources like the Navigator. I was very interested in this project, because I wanted to build something easier for small- to medium-size newsrooms to use that helps them understand science content that’s often complicated,” Reddy said.

According to Reddy, the project started with a reporter survey. Identifying misinformation and pseudoscience was their top interest.

“Science is a topic that some journalists think they need to have so much background knowledge, and that is how the Navigator helps. When I was a reporter, I covered environmental stories, which included science, but I didn’t have a science background. The Navigator would have been very beneficial,” Reddy said.

The Navigator is divided into three optional methods that make it easier for journalists to find pertinent scientific information or prompt them to think about how they can use science in their reporting.

• Follow a Learning Path: Journalists can choose from six series of lessons based on their current stories. For example, find a scientific angle for a breaking news story, an investigation into an ongoing community issue or an analysis of policy impacts.
• Explore by Topic: Lessons are also presented in 10 themes, such as reading scientific papers and deciphering statistical terms.
• Browse Resource Library: A glossary of terms, parts of a scientific paper and four other categories are available in downloadable tip sheets and templates.

Interviewing scientists can be challenging for many journalists, and the resource library addresses this topic.

“Some of the Navigator content about interviewing scientists encourages journalists that scientists are very similar to any other source. We want to break down the mystifying process of talking to a scientist, which can be intimidating. The Navigator has a downloadable template of possible key questions to ask a scientist if you’re covering a particular study or a broad field,” Zamzow said.

Newsrooms can contact Zamzow at rachel.zamzow@theopennotebook.com for more information.

Bob Sillick has held many senior positions and served a myriad of clients during his 47 years in marketing and advertising. He has been a freelance/contract content researcher, writer, editor and manager since 2010.  He can be reached at bobsillick@gmail.com.