Terms like peer review, impact factor, open access, pre-print, and predatory journals are just a few elements defining the complex world of scientific publishing. This process, which should ensure the quality, impartiality, and neutrality of science, is now at the center of heated debate. Many argue that it is undergoing a crisis, influenced by financial interests, prestige, careers, and trust in science, raising questions about the very value of research and its impact on society. From medicine to physics, our session will explore the lights and shadows of this crucial issue, offering perspectives and solutions that concern not only the research community but all of us.
Event in Italian with simultaneous translation into English

Luca De Fiore is the director of Pensiero Scientifico Editore. He is the editor-in-chief of the journal «Recenti progressi in medicina», which is indexed in Medline, Scopus, and Embase, and he serves as a reviewer for the «BMJ» on issues related to the integrity of scientific communication. He is the author of Sul pubblicare in medicina (2024) and co-author of Conflitti di interesse e salute (2018). From 2012 to 2018, he was president of the Associazione Liberati – Cochrane Affiliate Centre, and he is vice chair of the Italian chapter of the European Association of Science Editors. 

Elisa De Ranieri is the founding Editor-in-Chief «Newton». She has a PhD in physics from the University of Cambridge, UK, and post-doc experience at the Hitachi Cambridge Laboratory. She has extensive editorial and publishing experience having worked at the «Nature» journals for 9 years, as Editor for «Nature Nanotechnology», «Nature Energy», Head of Editorial Process and Data Analytics and Editor in Chief for «Nature Communications». She joined Cell Press in 2021 as Head of Research Integrity and Author Experience, and was the Director of Author Experience from 2023 to 2024, before taking the helm of «Newton». 

Licia Verde is a ICREA professor at the Instituto de Ciencias del Cosmos of the University of Barcelona. Her research is focussed in Cosmology: origin, structure, composition and evolution of the Universe. She is also scientific director «Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics (JCAP)».   After studying in Padova and in Edinburgh, she has carried out her research at the Universities of Princeton, Rutgers and Pennsylvania, before moving to Barcelona in 2009.

Letizia Gabaglio, scientific journalist, co-founder of the media company Galileo Servizi Editoriali. Since 1996 she has been working in the editorial staff of «Galileo», the first Italian scientific e-zine. She writes also for «Repubblica» and «Le Scienze». Since 2013 she is lecturer at Master in Comunicazione Scientifica “Franco Prattico”, International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Trieste. She works as a consultant for several public relation agencies.  

Satellite journalism is a new discipline. What has so far been used for military, intelligence, and research purposes can now offer unprecedented opportunities for those seeking to practice journalism based on investigation and data analysis through this original approach. From deforestation to the disappearance of wetlands, from the destruction of urban areas in war zones to unexpected connections with our daily lives, there are many stories that can be told, complete with evidence, from a truly unique perspective: space.

Event in English

Michael Anthony is a social entrepreneur from Hamburg. He also worked as a journalist for several years and founded journalists-network, the Institute for Foreign Journalism. From 2002 to 2015, he built the microinsurance business for Allianz and introduced satellite technology in agricultural insurance. In 2018, he co-founded Earth Analytics India in Mumbai with the Swiss high tech company sarmap. With Vertical, he aims to leverage his experience in remote sensing for investigative research.

Elisabetta Tola is a science journalist, host of Radio3Scienza, and chief editor of Il «BO Live» magazine published by the University of Padova. Founder of Facta.eu and CEO of Formicablu. Author and voice of the podcast She, green (Chora Media and Il BO Live). Co-author of Semi ritrovati – un viaggio alla scoperta della biodiversità agricola (Codice, 2020). Author of several cross-border environmental investigations such as Wasted wetlands (supported by Journalism Fund and ILAS Sissa, 2024) and Under the surface (2024).

Marta Frigerio is a freelance, award-winning investigative journalist, reporting on environmental and social-related topics. She also works as international journalism trainer and mentor. As a multiple projects fellow and the recipient of several grants, she is dedicated to uncovering hard-hitting stories that require time to investigate.   

Innovation, objectivity, rigor, and informative potential: these are the qualities demanded of journalism in a democracy. But how can we ensure the work of a profession with a fundamental social role, while operating in a context of increasingly scarce resources? Positive examples, new funding sources, uncharted paths, cutting-edge initiatives, and virtuous projects intersect with complex events, open questions, disintermediation, and ethical issues. In our session, we will explore stories and experiences from both a national and international perspective to understand what is happening and where we are headed.  

Leighton Kille is one of the founders of The Conversation France, launched in 2015. There he oversees all French- and English-language content, and also serves as international coordinator with the larger Conversation network. He previously co-founded Journalists Resource, a project of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; was film editor and critic at the «Boston Globe» and served in numerous capacities at the weekly «San Francisco Bay Guardian».

Holger Wormer is professor for Science Journalism at TU Dortmund University where he has established the first consecutive bachelor and master courses in science journalism at a German University. Previously he has been science editor for the nationwide broadsheet «Süddeutsche Zeitung» for nine years. He was one of the founders of the Rhine Ruhr Center for Science Communication Research and member of three expert groups of the German Academies of Sciences about the future of science communication.

Cristina Tagliabue is an editorialist for «Sole 24 Ore», in 2021 she founded and directed «La Svolta», an online publication dedicated to ecology, rights, and innovation. Despite excellent results, the newspaper was unexpectedly closed by the publisher in the summer of 2024, following reports of investigations involving it. She is a voice on Radio Rai Uno, covering economic and sustainability issues.  Her books focus on women’s rights and civic education: Appena ho 18 anni mi rifaccio (2009, Bompiani), Alfabeto Bonino (2011, Bompiani), Non è un paese per donne (various authors, 2012, Mondadori). Together with Maria Scoglio, she launched a children’s fiction series: Missione Democrazia (2021, Garzanti) and Missione Parità (2022, Garzanti).

Valerio Bassan is a journalist, author and strategist. He is an expert on the future of media, journalism and technology and has worked on the digital strategies of companies such as Feltrinelli, «Sole 24 Ore», «Vice», «Forbes», Will and many others. He is the author of Ellissi, a popular newsletter, and the co-director of DIG, an Italian non-profit association that organizes DIG Festival, Europe’s leading event dedicated to investigative journalism.