Videos
Digging into crime data to inform news coverage across beats
Research Initiatives
The Journalist’s Resource
Informing the public by making academic resarch accessible for anyone reporting on the news.
The news media landscape is shifting. Today’s news comes from traditional journalists, e-mail newsletter authors and independent content creators. Their processes may differ, but they all share a common challenge: making sense of complex scientific and public policy issues in a time of polarization, political unrest and limited financial resources.
Clear, evidence-based reporting is essential to help local, state, and national audiences understand the forces shaping their lives. Fortunately, the world of academia is full of scholars with deep expertise in specific policy topics. Like journalists, scholarly researchers are intensely curious and driven by society’s tough questions. Their research can help to inform and improve both public policymaking and news reporting.
However, wading through the sea of research publications to identify high-quality vs. low-quality research, understanding academic jargon or research methods, and navigating lengthy journal articles to pull out relevant points for a public audience is too cumbersome for many reporters working on tight deadlines with limited resources. The Journalist’s Resource helps to guide reporters and news content creators through the world of academic research, highlighting significant new research related to news topics, interviewing academic experts for context on developing news stories, and suggesting how journalists can use research findings to hold elected officials and politicians accountable for their political (and scientific) claims.
That’s why news media makers and consumers alike rely on The Journalist’s Resource for free, approachable, open access to academia’s rich offerings – and why academics can look to JR to get their research into places where it can have the most impact. Think of JR like a bridge, connecting research expertise to the media, and audiences to the best quality information to build their understanding of the world.
What We Do
Research Explainers
JR regularly publishes research-based explainers on current public policy topics, articles about standout studies, informative nonfiction comics, and interactive graphics. We cover topics including economics, politics, education, legal systems, health, and the state of the media.
Tip Sheets
JR publishes tip sheets to help understand academic research methods, find and recognize high-quality vs. flawed research, avoid missteps when reporting on new studies or public opinion polls, and hold the scientific community accountable. Our work helps to prevent journalists from inadvertently spreading misinformation.
Trainings and Events
JR offers free online training sessions on how to use academic research in reporting, and often presents at journalism conferences. We also hold frequent webinars bringing expert researches and journalists together to offer context and depth on top news stories. Thousands of journalists from around the world have joined our webinars and events.
Collaborative Journalism
We serve as a research desk for news collaboratives, and we work regularly with other organizations that educate and train journalists. We publish under a Creative Commons license and actively encourage newsrooms and classrooms to republish our content. Many do so — including the Global Investigative Journalism Network and International Journalists’ Network, which have translated our work into multiple languages.
Publications & Resources
Videos
The Future of Federal Funding at Hispanic-Serving Institutions
Videos
SCOTUS, tariffs, and the administrative state: What journalists need to know
Related People
Clark Merrefield
Senior Editor, Economics, The Journalist's Resource
Nancy Gibbs
Lombard Director of the Shorenstein Center and Edward R. Murrow Professor of the Practice of Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School
Thomas E. Patterson
Bradlee Professor of Government and the Press
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Shorenstein Center Programs
Explore more Shorenstein Center research programs.