What is the Simulated Newsroom?

The Simulated Newsroom (SIM Newsroom) is an immersive educational workshop designed by top physician-journalists to rapidly develop your skills to communicate scientific information and advocate for better health.

The SIM Newsroom is designed for health care providers who want to:

  • interact with the media to tell healthcare stories
  • combat misinformation on all platforms
  • advocate for populations that fall through the cracks
  • produce engaging content to spread evidence-based health information
  • more effectively strategize health communications

Currently, this program is in the pilot stage. We will be having a test virtual and in person half-day workshop in the coming months. Our long-term goal is to host and conduct a series of multi-day workshops where we give interested scientists and health professionals a grounding in the fundamentals of journalism’s core principles and practices to assist with their communication, advocacy and knowledge translation pursuits. We imagine these workshops to be fundamental in training the next generation of science communicators and instrumental in helping to combat disinformation.

Why is this important?

During the pandemic, 90 per cent of Canadians have used the internet to search for health-related information. And 96 per cent of Canadians reported seeing what they believed to be inaccurate, false or misleading information online. This is greatly alarming. A recent study in the Royal Society Publishing has found a significant link between being exposed to misinformation about COVID-19 online and decreased compliance with public health measures and increased vaccine hesitancy. The pandemic has unmasked the impact disinformation has on our collective health. By extension, it shows how important it is for publishers of health journalism to meet Canadians where they are and provide them with content that many legacy media outlets do not have the resources or specialization to invest in anymore. At anytime, a health professional may be called upon to speak to the public – whether it’s during a media interview, writing an article or on social media. We believe every health professional should possess the skills to do this communication work, whether or not it is significant part of their career.

 

Who should attend the Simulated Newsroom?

If you are an expert in science, health, or technology on a mission to bring public understanding to your field, the simulated newsroom is for you. Whether you hope to advocate for change locally, spark a national conversation, or promote your field regionally, we’ll teach you the judgement, methods and skills you need to be an effective communicator with public audiences. You’ll be able to use these abilities to better engage colleagues, stakeholders, boards, and governments as a master communicator.

 


Please join our Pilot Feb 13th Virtual Workshop

 

REGISTER HERE

 

Our keynote speaker is none other than André Picard. He is one of Canada’s top health & public policy observers and commentators. He has been a part of The Globe and Mail team since 1987, where he is a health reporter and columnist. He is also the author of five bestselling books. Picard is an eight-time nominee for the National Newspaper Awards, Canada’s top journalism prize, and past winner of the prestigious Michener Award for Meritorious Public Service Journalism.

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