Learning Sessions: reporting on nuclear weapons in Europe

As nuclear risks are on the rise, how can journalists deepen their reporting on nuclear weapons issues in Europe beyond the headlines? In partnership with the Stanley Center for Peace and Security, the European Journalism Centre invites journalists in Europe to take part in two virtual learning sessions.

These sessions are part of the Developing Story Project, a new multi-year initiative to support journalists, editors, and other media professionals in reporting on nuclear weapons issues around the world—and to help them connect and collaborate with others working on this vital beat. 

Nuclear weapons are not only a story about the grainy past or the hypothetical future. This is an ongoing story that needs ongoing coverage as it continues to shift, change, and evolve. Not just a headline or a breaking news alert, but a developing story.

Though covering nuclear weapons can seem daunting—the topic is technical and opaque, and has a long and complex history—it is full of potential and possibility. There is money, power, secrets, and enormous human stakes; all things that make for compelling and consequential journalism. 

What you will learn

You will hear from experts, as well as from journalists with experience covering nuclear weapons issues, who will offer insights and point to ongoing developments and opportunities for deeper reporting. 

To prepare for these virtual sessions, participants will be granted access to a recorded background briefing on the challenges of the new nuclear age from Ankit Panda–the Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace–who will provide a big-picture analysis of the current state of play. After the virtual sessions, participants will be invited to apply for the Developing Story Project’s multi-day workshop in Hiroshima, Japan in August. Future Developing Story Project opportunities—to learn, connect with fellow journalists, and strengthen your reporting—will be announced soon.

Sessions 

Sessions 

• Europe Session #1: Beyond Breaking News: How and Why to Report on Nuclear Weapons
  Tuesday, May 20 at 15:00 BST (16:00 CEST)
• Europe Session #2: Secrecy, Signals, and Shifting Norms: Covering the New Nuclear Age
  Wednesday, May 28 at 15:00 BST (16:00 CEST)

Speakers

• W.J. Hennigan - New York Times Opinion correspondent and lead writer for the “At the Brink” series 
• Jamie Kwong - Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 
• Alexandra Bell - President and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 
• Héloïse Fayet - Head of the Deterrence and Proliferation Research Program at the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri) 
• Jonathan Tirone - Foreign Correspondent and Reporter, Bloomberg News 

Headerphoto by Kilian Karger on Unsplash