Narragansett, RI -- May 31, 2002 -- The Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting has awarded 13 fellowships to journalists in broadcast, print, and electronic media to attend a week-long marine and environmental science workshop at the URI Graduate School of Oceanography.

The journalists are Jennette Barnes, Warwick Beacon, Warwick, RI; Susan Cover, Springfield News-Sun, Springfield, OH; Tracey Davanna, freelance, Belfast, Ireland; Molly Kavanaugh, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Elyria, OH; Pagnawath Kuhn, Business News and National Television, Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Jake Miller, freelance, Jamaica Plain, MA; Scott Miller, KING TV, Seattle, WA; Aaron Nicodemus, The Standard-Times, New Bedford, MA; Alex Nussbaum, The Record, Hackensack, NJ; Smita Paul, multimedia freelance, New York, NY; Jean Plunkett, The Providence Journal, Providence, RI; Annie Sherman, South County Newspapers, Wakefield, RI; David Wiwchar, Ha-Shilth-Sa Newspaper, Port Alberni, BC.

The six-day immersion program, Coastal Impacts: Marine and Environmental Science for Journalists, June 23-28, gives reporters and editors an opportunity to learn about the basic science underlying the news in their communities to help them improve the accuracy and clarity of science-based news reporting. The workshop includes basic research in the field and lab with scientists and graduate students; lectures that examine the intersection of science, policy, and politics; and a public lecture and debate series about science and journalism.

The Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting was established in 1997 with funding from the A.H. Belo Corporation, The Providence Journal Foundation, and the Washington Post's Philip L. Graham Fund, with additional funding from the Telaka Foundation in 1998. The Metcalf Institute was named in honor of the late publisher of The Providence Journal, Michael P. Metcalf. (www.gso.uri.edu/metcalf)

Contact: Lisa Cugini, (401) 874-6642, lcugini@gso.uri.edu