The changing media landscape in China, India

Winning the 2016 EurekAlert! Fellowships, four journalists have reflected the changing media landscape in China and India.

Four early-career journalists from China and India have emerged from the fiercest competition to date to win the 2016 EurekAlert! Fellowships for International Science Reporters.

An independent panel of judges selected Dinsa Sachan, Swagata Yadavar, Boran Zhang and Cui Zheng from 20 applications, the largest cohort since the Fellowship program began in 2004.

The 2016 EurekAlert! Fellows truly embody the mission of the Program, which was designed to encourage reporters from emerging economies who are making great strides in science journalism, changing the media landscape, and serving society, said Brian Lin, director of editorial content strategy at EurekAlert!, an editorially independent, online science news service operated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

"Over the years, we've seen dramatic changes in science journalism in China through the lens of our Fellows," said Joy Ma, editorial content manager for EurekAlert! Chinese. "This year, we received a large number of applications from reporters working in online or 'new media' outlets, which are thriving on the availability of new technology and social media."

Swagata Yadavar of Mumbai is a health correspondent for THE WEEK, a major English weekly news magazine in India. She has tackled local health issues such as drug-resistant tuberculosis, forced female feticide, and insurance scams leading to unindicated hysterectomies on illiterate rural women.

"For the first time, I would not have to rely on agencies and news wires to know about path-breaking research, but would be able to witness it myself when leading researchers from all over the world present their papers," Yadavar said.

The 2016 Annual Meeting's theme of Global Science Engagement is of special interest to Dinsa Sachan, a New Delhi-based freelancer who covers the intersection of science and society.