Science Journalism around the Globe during Times of Disruption

Time: 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm, followed by a reception

How do current socio-political developments, historical legacies, and challenges to media freedom shape the work of science journalists around the world? And how does growing pressure on major US-based media outlets impact science reporting worldwide? As a highlight of this year’s ISTA Journalist in Residence program, we invite you to join our panel discussion with renowned science journalists based in Australia, Austria, Switzerland, India, and the US.

Joined by a distinguished colleague from Austria, the 2025 ISTA Journalists in Residence will share insights into the challenges they face within their respective national (media) landscape – and how they navigate them. How do current developments affect public perceptions of science in different parts of the world? The panelists will also explore how the increasing political and financial pressure on dominant US-based media influence science journalism around the globe. Could these shifts open up opportunities for greater regional diversity and visibility of international voices? Finally, the panel will reflect on how science, science communication, and science journalism can work together in these times of disruption – to strive for a brighter future.

Panelists:

Clare Watson from Australia is an award-winning independent journalist and fact-checker writing about science, health, medicine and environment, published in The Guardian, Nature, New Scientist, Undark, ScienceAlert, and Australian media including ABC National Radio and Cosmos Magazine. She is currently visiting ISTA through the Institute’s Journalist in Residence program.

Giorgia Guglielmi from Italy, based in Switzerland, is a freelance science writer and communicator, specializing in life sciences, biomedicine, science policy, and the intersections of science and society. Her pieces have appeared in Nature, Science, The Transmitter, Scientific American, and more. Giorgia Guglielmi is visiting ISTA as a Journalist in Residence through FRONTIERS, the science journalism initiative funded by the European Research Council (ERC).

Jackie Snow from the USA is an experienced independent journalist and expert with strong expertise in and focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI), published in leading publications including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and National Geographic. While much of her reporting focuses on Al and the way it can benefit the world, she also published on topics from data poisoning to concentrated solar-thermal power. She is currently visiting ISTA through the Institute’s Journalist in Residence program.

Monika Mondal from India is a rising-star, award-winning independent journalist writing about science, society and environment, published in international outlets such as Undark, Nature, Guardian, Diplomat, Wired, but also in reputable general public media in India such as The Hindu. She is currently visiting ISTA through the Institute’s Journalist in Residence program.

Tanja Traxler from Austria, is Chief Science Editor at the renowned Austrian daily Der Standard. Prior to focusing on journalism, she has studied and researched in the field of Quantum Physics in Austria, the US and the Netherlands. She published popular science books, and was awarded prices for Science Book of the Year (2019) and Austrian Science Journalist of the Year (2024).

Moderation: Marlene Nowotny, Science Journalist at Ö1 Radio