Simons Foundation publication launched 2023, covering neuroscience research news, commentary, and career resources for neuroscience professionals at all career stages.

The Transmitter is an essential resource for the neuroscience community, dedicated to helping scientists at all career stages stay current and build connections. The publication aims to deliver useful information, insights and tools to build bridges across neuroscience and advance research. As part of that mission, The Transmitter offers a steady stream of up-to-date news and analysis of the field, written by journalists and scientists, and practical tools, including trackers for upcoming courses and events as well as resources specifically geared toward early-career researchers.

The Transmitter launched in November 2023, developed by the same team that produces the award-winning Spectrum magazine. Spectrum began in 2008 as the News & Opinion section of the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative site, SFARI.org. In 2015, Spectrum relaunched as an editorially independent online identity. 

As we have evolved, we have experimented with story forms and the areas we cover, incorporating an ever-expanding range of voices. But one thing that has never wavered is our commitment to providing accurate and objective coverage of science and the people who shape it.

Funding for The Transmitter comes from the Simons Foundation, but our team is editorially independent. The articles we produce do not necessarily reflect the views of the foundation’s scientific staff.

The Simons Foundation is a philanthropic organization dedicated to advancing the frontiers of basic science through grantmaking, in-house research and public engagement.

Explore the all-time most popular nonfiction literary magazines. These outlets have been influential for writers of essays, memoirs, and nonfiction.

Most Popular Nonfiction-Only Literary Magazines of All Time

The Transmitter

The Transmitter is the destination for neuroscientists seeking news and analysis of developments in their field. The site covers all areas of neuroscience, with a special focus on basic research.<div><br></div><div>We seek pitches from freelance journalists for news stories, trends, explainers and features that would interest our audience of researchers. We also consider ideas for Q&amp;As with, or profiles of, interesting scientists.</div><div><br></div><div>Your pitch should dig into evidence-based research in some area of neuroscience. Or maybe you have the inside track on a controversial or retracted study. We also cover policy developments and societal trends affecting the broader neuroscience research community, including principal investigators and early-career scientists.</div><div><br></div><div>We usually have the bases covered when it comes to stories about studies published in major journals and described in mainstream press releases. But you are welcome to pitch such stories if you have exclusive access or a unique angle.</div><div><br></div><div><b>What we’re looking for in a pitch:</b></div><div>Your pitch should tell us what’s new and exciting about your idea, which experts you have interviewed for it and whom else you plan to interview, and why this story is important to our audience. Please search our site for coverage of the topics your idea relates to and explain how your story would advance that coverage. Also, make sure your proposed story hasn’t already been covered elsewhere. You should tell us a little bit about yourself and why you’re well positioned to write this story for The Transmitter. Please disclose any potential conflicts of interest you may have, and include links to your published clips.</div><div><br></div><div>Our pay starts at $1 per word. </div>

Writing news stories, trends, explainers and features: call for journalists

<div><span style="color: rgb(20 20 20/var(--tw-text-opacity,1));">The Transmitter solicits essays and opinion pieces from scientists and clinicians working in neuroscience and related fields. We aim to present a variety of voices and perspectives and to offer neuroscientists a space to highlight important issues and debates that might otherwise lack a venue.</span></div><div><br></div><div><b>Overview: </b></div><div><ul><li>Essay topics can include either neuroscience itself or issues relating to the culture and practice of neuroscience. </li><li>These pieces reflect your position as an expert in the field and should focus on an area of research or a cultural or practical issue in which you have direct experience. </li><li>Topics must be specific to neuroscience, rather than science or academia more broadly. </li><li>These pieces work best when they have a strong point of view. This can include your opinion, speculation and personal experience. Essays can:</li><li>highlight a controversy in the field,</li><li>identify a new trend or a barrier to progress,</li><li>make a call to action, </li><li>tell a personal story that reflects a broader issue in the field, </li><li>describe a case study outlining how you overcame a challenge or developed a community resource. </li><li>We do NOT accept essays that simply summarize your own work. In essays about a broader issue, feel free to reference your work in the piece and use it as an example to illustrate a broader point. </li></ul></div><div><br></div><div><b>Length:</b> ~1,000-1,200 words</div><div><br></div><div><b>Style: </b>These pieces should be written in simple, clear language that is understandable to neuroscientists across the field. This is substantially different from the typical academic style and level of a journal paper or review.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Honorarium: </b>Scientist-written essays come with a $1,000 honorarium.</div>

The Transmitter

Highlights

About

Featured Call

Writing news stories, trends, explainers and features: call for journalists

Appears in collections