When applying for @ksjatmit.bsky.social, I was advised to make a case how it would be a transformative experience As someone aversive to hyperboles, I cringed. It turned out to be transformative in ways more than one, without which this award would not have been possible. bsky.app/profile/scie...

CASW@sciencewriting.bsky.social · last wk.

Congratulations to @janeqiu.bsky.social for winning the 2026 Sharon Begley Science Reporting Award! Judges called her work masterful, trailblazing and fearless. Her award grant will support a book project on emerging infectious diseases. casw.org/news/jane-qi...

What does a week of science journalism at MIT look like? Inside KSJ’s HBCU Science Journalism Summer Camp, emerging journalists asked questions, reported stories, and learned from one another. The week was only the start: they’ll keep working with KSJ over the next eight months.

A week at MIT. Ten emerging journalists. A closer look at what science journalism can make possible. KSJ’s HBCU Science Journalism Summer Camp brought undergraduate journalism students from five HBCUs to Cambridge from June 7–12. 📸 Photos by Leise Jones

In another smart piece of reporting for @science.org , former KSJ Fellow @kakape.bsky.social speaks to the experts trying to understand how the cruise ship hantavirus started — and what that says about the only hantavirus documented to transmit from person to person. www.science.org/content/arti...

How did the cruise ship hantavirus outbreak start? Scientists are investigating new scenarios

Understanding how the first patient became infected may shed new light on Andes virus’ transmission patterns and incubation period

science.org

Our Knight Science Journalism Fellows have been busy. The latest Alumni Notes features award-winning environmental investigations, a wave of new books, ambitious reporting and more.

Alumni Notes: Taking Award Season — And Summer Reading Season — By Storm - Knight Science Journalism @MIT

A recurring roundup of news about former KSJ Fellows, including a compendium of what the fellows have been writing.

ksj.mit.edu

Congratulations to our HBCU Science Journalism Fellow Davis Dailey, who took a germ of an idea and developed it into this fascinating story for @vpm.org on invasive plant monitoring in Henrico county, Virginia: www.vpm.org/news/2026-05...

A growing invasion: Henrico’s effort to track and contain invasive plants

Local groups are planting native trees and mapping invasive species in the county.

vpm.org

Our February panel brought together journalists and researchers to discuss how AI is reshaping news. In this clip, John Wihbey, director of the AI-Media Strategies Lab at Northeastern University, argues that the long-standing "grand bargain" between platforms and journalism has broken.

Last week, we gathered MIT leaders and faculty, former KSJ directors, and journalists including current and former fellows to celebrate the life and legacy of Victor McElheny. 

At Victor McElheny Luncheon, Luminaries Reflect on KSJ Founder’s Life and Legacy - Knight Science Journalism @MIT

The event featured a panel discussion marking 25 years since the signature achievement of the Human Genome Project, which revolutionized biology and captivated McElheny as a reporter.

ksj.mit.edu

Meet the 2026-27 Knight Science Journalism Fellows | Karem Monzer is a Lebanese journalist and filmmaker, and Managing Editor at Beirut Today.

Meet the 2026-27 Knight Science Journalism Fellows | Smriti Mallapaty is a senior reporter for Nature magazine based in Sydney, Australia.

How does race shape the way science gets done, medicine gets practiced, and stories get told? Our Spring Lecture with MIT STS brought together David S. Jones, Oliver Rollins, and KSJ Director Usha Lee McFarling to dig into the history — and what comes next.

Meet the 2026-27 Knight Science Journalism Fellows | Sam Fellman is the deputy editor for defense at Business Insider, where he leads coverage of military affairs and works with journalists based around the world.

Brazilian journalist Eliane Brum joined the Knight Science Journalism program this spring for a seminar on covering the Amazon from inside it. 📸: Photo: Sumaúma, Lela Beltrão — 2026

Since starting her career as a visual journalist at the New York Times, Leslye Davis has worked across photo and print journalism, as well as short and long-form video. 🔗: https://ksj.mit.edu/news/2026/05/08/leslye-davis-on-the-power-of-visual-storytelling/

We're proud to announce the 10 outstanding undergraduate journalism students to our 2026-27 HBCU Science Journalism Fellowship class. 

KSJ Names 2026-27 HBCU Science Journalism Fellowship Class - Knight Science Journalism @MIT

Representing five different Historically Black Colleges and Universities, the students are interested in everything from AI to astronomy.

ksj.mit.edu

Sarah McBride has built her career on finding the human stories behind Silicon Valley’s biggest technologies. We spoke with her about her path to journalism, navigating hype cycles, and finding the human elements of technology stories. 🔗: https://ksj.mit.edu/news/2026/03/13/sarah-mcbride/

Celebrating Samira Hamza this #InternationalDayOfWomenAndGirlsInScience — the 2025 recipient of the Springer Nature Fellowship for Advancing Science Journalism in Africa and the Middle spklr.io/63326DZSoY @ksjatmit.bsky.social. 👉 spklr.io/63322DZSoq #WomenInScience #WomenInSTEM #IDWGS

We had the privilege of hosting former Mutter Museum executive director Kate Quinn for a fascinating conversation about museums, human remains, the media, and public trust. It was a thought-provoking seminar, with a lively Q&A.

We have a VIP (and a VIB!) at the @ksjatmit.bsky.social offices today. @melaniedgkaplan.bsky.social is speaking to Knight fellows about her book Lab Dog.

If you're in the New England area, don't miss the chance to see former KSJ fellow @melaniedgkaplan.bsky.social discuss her fascinating new book about the world of animal research.

melanie d.g. kaplan@melaniedgkaplan.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Bundling up and heading north! Thanks for helping spread the word, friends. See you there!

Environmental Journalist Paula Moura, a 2025-26 KSJ Fellow and a transplant from Brazil to the U.S., sees herself as a bridge of communication between the two countries. 🔗: https://ksj.mit.edu/news/2026/01/16/paula-moura/

Uproot member @ashleydsouza.bsky.social spoke with @ksjatmit.bsky.social Fellow and founding member of The Uproot Project, @ycabreraoc.bsky.social, about the highs and lows of covering the environmental beat. ksj.mit.edu/news/2026/01...

Yvette Cabrera, On Covering the ‘Broccoli’ of Environmental Beats

Environmental justice reporting can be emotionally heavy and hard to swallow, but “there are some really uplifting stories,” the KSJ Fellow explains.

ksj.mit.edu

Environmental justice reporting can be emotionally heavy and hard to swallow, but “there are some really uplifting stories,” KSJ Fellow @ycabreraoc.bsky.social explains.

Yvette Cabrera, On Covering the ‘Broccoli’ of Environmental Beats

Environmental justice reporting can be emotionally heavy and hard to swallow, but “there are some really uplifting stories,” the KSJ Fellow explains.

ksj.mit.edu

@meerasub.bsky.social  (‘17) collaborated with illustrator Danica Novgorodoff to create a nonfiction graphic novel for a young adults featuring four real-life youth climate activists

A Better World Is Possible

"Helpful and hopeful." —John Green, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Fault in Our StarsA Better World Is Possible is a comprehensive and graph...

us.macmillan.com

In “Shade: The Promise of a Forgotten Natural Resource," @samkbloch.bsky.social (KSJ '22) examines the key role that shade plays in protecting human health and enhancing urban life, and looks for ways we can bring shade back.

Shade by Sam Bloch: 9780593242766 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

An extraordinary investigation into shade, this “compelling . . . conversation-starter draws examples from history, city-planning and social policy” (NPR) to change the way we think about a...

penguinrandomhouse.com

A rare opportunity to ask KSJ's director your questions about applying for our world-renowned fellowship program. Don't miss it!

Usha Lee McFarling@usha.bsky.social · 8mo ago

We’ll be hosting a webinar 12/18 on the @ksjatmit.bsky.social science journalism fellowships and how to apply. Bring your questions and stay for the tips. Register 👇🏽 mit.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Interested in applying to KSJ's world-renowned science journalism fellowships? Attend our informational webinar THIS THURSDAY, Dec 18 at 2:00 pm EST, where @usha.bsky.social and @ashleythesmart.bsky.social will be on hand to take your questions. Registration Required: mit.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Applying to the Knight Science Journalism Academic-Year Fellowship . After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

KSJ directors will host a live webinar to answer questions about the academic-year fellowship and the application process. This session is a great way to learn what we look for in candidates and how t...

mit.zoom.us

Laura Bliss (‘23) published an investigation in July about toxic consequences of trash smoldering beneath the surface of landfills in California and the waste industry's efforts to avoid regulation. @bloomberg.com 

America’s Overheated Landfills Have Been Making People Sick

Beneath layers of waste, landfills around the US have been reaching scorching temperatures, spewing toxic gases and geysers of trash juice.

bloomberg.com

Dyna Rochmyaningsih (KSJ '24) calls for attention to the disaster in the Indian Ocean. "A region unused to tropical cyclones has had three in a week. The world needs to ask why this happened, not look away." www.nature.com/articles/d41...

The Indian Ocean disaster is a climate tragedy — and needs more attention

A region unused to tropical cyclones has had three in a week. The world needs to ask why this happened, not look away.

nature.com

What does it take to win the $10,000 McElheny Award for Local Science Journalism? Investigative, compelling narrative journalism that makes a difference for communities.  Submissions close Jan 31. Get started in the submission portal and read about past winners: 

The Victor K. McElheny Award for Local and Regional Science Journalism

The Victor K. McElheny Award honors outstanding local and regional journalism covering issues in science, public health, technology, or the environment.

ksj.mit.edu