The Guardian has announced the appointment of Michelle R Smith as a senior science investigative reporter for its US investigations team. She starts on 28 October and will report to Stephanie Kirchgaessner, deputy head of US investigations, and Michael Hudson, head of US investigations.
In her new role, the Guardian says Smith will report on the challenges facing science and scientific institutions in the US and beyond, including efforts to undermine and delegitimize science and public health. She will be based in Providence, Rhode Island.
Smith is well-known for her agenda-setting reporting on the public health system, the Covid-19 pandemic and the anti-vaccine movement, and the efforts of Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, to build a Christian nationalist movement, added the publisher.
Smith shared Peabody and Scripps Howard awards for her reporting on Flynn. Her work has also been recognized with an Online News Association Award for investigative data journalism and the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Gold Award. She was named New England Journalist of the Year in 2015.
During her time at the AP from 2000 to 2025, she served as TV editor in San Francisco, a correspondent in Rhode Island and as a national correspondent and an investigative reporter.
Michelle R Smith, senior science investigative reporter, said: “It’s a critical time for science and public health in the US, and I’m grateful that the Guardian has committed to covering this important beat. The anti-science current running through American politics has real-world impact, and I am excited to dig in to show who that benefits – and who it hurts.”
Michael Hudson, head of US investigations, said: “Michelle has built a reputation as a smart and relentless reporter who’s always working to get to the bottom of a story – no matter what resistance and cover-ups she might face. I’m thrilled that she will be leading the US investigations team’s reporting on attacks on science and scientific institutions at such a crucial time in American history.”
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