When STAT launched more than a decade ago, it set out to provide “trusted, tough-minded journalism.” Over time, the newsroom has found that trust in science is central to its work and to readers’ needs. The Covid-19 pandemic drove tens of millions of readers to STAT for deeply sourced, science-based coverage, and it also exposed and intensified a broader crisis of trust.
STAT identifies several forces that have shaken public confidence in science and health institutions: the varied responses to the pandemic, high-profile instances of scientific misconduct, the politicization and demonization of health agencies and their leaders, and the rapid spread of misinformation and disinformation. The newsroom also acknowledges that distrust is not always irrational; in many instances it reflects real institutional failures — including lapses in transparency, inclusion, and accountability. STAT explicitly recognizes that the press can share responsibility for those failures.
To tackle distrust in science directly, STAT has created two new newsroom roles: a trust-in-science reporter and an editor. These positions are intended to drive focused reporting and editorial work on how trust is built, eroded, and restored across the scientific and medical landscape.
The search for the reporter drew more applicants than any newsroom position in STAT’s history, reflecting both the salience of the topic and the newsroom’s commitment to dedicating resources to it.
STAT has hired Nicholas Florko to fill the trust-in-science reporter role. Florko worked at STAT for six years as an award-winning reporter before spending the last two years as a staff writer at The Atlantic.
Florko’s reporting record includes coverage of systemic failures, such as shortcomings in America’s food safety system, and a high-profile, deeply sourced STAT investigation documenting the deaths of hundreds of incarcerated people from hepatitis C despite the existence of effective treatments.
About his new beat, Florko said he plans to investigate the origins of misinformation, how misinformation spreads, and what can be done to counter it. He emphasized a compassionate approach, noting that much coverage of declining trust — particularly around anti-vaccine movements — often assumes adherents are “either stupid or crazy.” Florko argued that many people in those communities are concerned parents trying to protect their children, and he intends to bring that empathy to his reporting. He said he aims to produce stories that will inform, entertain, and challenge readers.
Beyond Florko’s reporting, STAT will publish additional stories and First Opinion essays that examine issues of trust in science. As an immediate example, STAT published a profile of an immunologist who grew up in an anti-vaccine family and has become a leading voice against misinformation, illustrating the kind of nuanced, human-centered narratives the newsroom intends to pursue.
The trust-in-science work will span explanatory reporting on misinformation dynamics, investigations into institutional failures, profiles of communicators and scientists, and opinion pieces that interrogate where trust has been lost and how it might be rebuilt.
STAT’s trust-in-science initiative is supported by philanthropic partners: the Dana, Greenwall, John Templeton, and Boston foundations. STAT notes these foundations are backing the project, while the newsroom remains responsible for producing the journalism.
Trust in science will also be an important theme at STAT’s flagship STAT Summit. The Summit will take place in Boston — with virtual participation available — on Oct. 14–15. Nicholas Florko and many other STAT reporters will appear onstage at the event, interviewing executives, policymakers, scientists, patient advocates, and others behind the year’s major headlines.
Rick Berke, STAT’s co-founder and executive editor, closed the announcement by thanking readers and encouraging them to subscribe to STAT+. He described a current promotional offer for new subscribers and noted that STAT+ provides exclusive reporting, email alerts, and discounts for STAT events.
Berke invited readers to send questions or suggestions to his email and signed the letter personally. He also noted that STAT+ subscribers receive timely exclusive reporting on a range of topics, illustrating the broader value proposition for readers who wish to support STAT’s journalism and access subscriber-only content.