Training & support

Journalism workshops

Journalists in a Rotterdam workshop tell safety officials news media has an indispensable role in keeping the public informed in a radiological emergency to avoid panic

Atomic Reporters brings journalists together with acknowledged specialists to improve coverage of a complex subject. We organize workshops and broker information on all aspects of nuclear science and technology introducing reporters to important sources, explaining the basics, to overcome the obstacles journalists face covering the nuclear file. In June 2023, US-based staff and freelance journalists contributing to national, local, and international media, participated in a workshop hosted by the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

After a reduction of tensions at the end of the cold war, news media’s interest and coverage of nuclear weapons issues has waned. To close the gap in knowledge among journalists amidst renewed nuclear threats Atomic Reporters is actively working to inform reporters. Previously we have organized workshops for journalists in India, the Middle East, Europe, and the US, addressing the safety of peaceful uses of nuclear power, the security of nuclear material, and dangers and threats of nuclear weapons.

Field trips

A visit to the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum

Nuclear weapons have been used only once in conflict at the end of World War Two in 1945. The release of energy from splitting the atom first discovered in 1938 is distantly understood. To bridge the gap Atomic Reporters organizes field trips for journalists offering them direct connection to nuclear related issues including visiting the Trinity test site in New Mexico, where the first nuclear device was exploded.

Radioactive material frequently goes missing and gets mixed up with scrap metal. To show journalists the scale of the problem we held part of a workshop in Rotterdam on a tour boat sailing beside the port’s wharves where scrap is imported. On the first anniversary of the false missile alert that spread terror in Hawaii in 2018 we invited selected journalists from around the world to a workshop discussing the threats of emerging technologies. A visit to the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum in Pearl Harbour was part of the event.

Study programmes

Our study programmes for young people are supported by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung

A generation has come of age after the end of the Cold War without experiencing its nuclear anxiety, and not very familiar with the other side of the nuclear coin, its peaceful uses. While Atomic Reporters foremost priority is to journalists, it is also helping younger people understand how the discovery of nuclear fission nearly a century ago changed history. The organization holds online and in person courses, as well as providing citizen journalism training, as part of its effort to inform and enlarge the conversation about nuclear topics and support accountability.

The study programmes, supported by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) have introduced young people selected internationally to leading experts in the fields of civilian nuclear energy, nuclear non-proliferation, disarmament, safety, policy, as well as providing visits to international organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). The result of online citizen training programmes supported by the CTBTO resulted in the publication of magazines, videos and social media content.

Online events

Fukushima - 10 years later, a presentation held by Tatsujiro Suzuki, Nagasaki University

A growing audience has been tuning in to a series of online discussions organized by Atomic Reporters with prominent figures, addressing nuclear related topics. Discussions have been held about the uncertain future of New START, the last surviving nuclear arms control agreement between Russia and the US; assessments of the 2023 meeting of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) member states; proliferation issues in the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal between Australia, the UK and US, and many other themes.

Recordings of our digital events are available on the Atomic Reporters YouTube channel. Check out Fukushima: 10 years later, comments by Tatsujiro Suzuki, professor at Nagasaki University’s Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition (RECNA). Atomic Reporters carries out most of its work from Vienna, Austria, a global hub for nuclear non-proliferation related activities - host to the International Atomic Energy Organization (IAEA), the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) other international, government and non-governmental organizations.