After being trained as a journalist in the very practical sense of the term, studying master’s degree in communication gave me very good surprises. For a start, I was not expecting to be so interested in taking a step back and look at practices. It seemed like entering in a real new world. During the conference in DC, I met very inspiring people. I saw participants who love their job so much that they are ready to think and discuss about their practices to make a difference. It motivates me to continue my research, feeling that later, people could use it to feed their thoughts. The conference helped me review my ideas on fact checking and trust which are at the very core of journalism. The place given to the readers and how to best serve them was also something I appreciated to hear. Regarding my other assignation as a coordinator of the Weight Expert project, I will report to my coworkers about the way science journalists do research online to fact-check and determine who to speak to about the subject they are writing on.
I felt privileged to be a part of that great team and to be able to contribute on a small scale to that great movement engaged to face changes. Finally, I want to thank the Fonds de recherche du Québec and the World Federation of Science Journalism for giving me this great opportunity that I hope will be given to me again in the future. For more information on the Kavli 5th Symposium click here.
— Aline Vancompernolle, student in communication (master) at Laval University
