Reporting on Addiction is a collaboration between journalists, educators, addiction science experts, and experts through experience who are committed to improving the way addiction is portrayed in the news and reducing stigma. It all began as a conversation between two journalists, Ashton Marra and Kristen Uppercue of 100 Days in Appalachia, and an addiction science expert, Jonathan Stoltman and Mishka Terplan of Opioid Policy Institute, who observed the harms of inaccurate and stigmatizing stories about addiction and recovery, and wanted to be part of the solution. They believed that by making the media representation of addiction more accurate and empathetic, the public perception of addiction would shift, and people would more readily access the care they need for this chronic, treatable disease.  

​

Reporting on Addiction has built multiple programs to support professional journalists, journalism educators, student journalists, experts through experience and addiction science experts. They provide training, 1:1 support, and online tools to help spread evidence-based and human-centered stories of addiction and recovery. They also maintain a database of addiction experts that professional journalists can leverage while sourcing addiction stories.  Those who work with Reporting on Addiction say they have “an incredible trove of resources and good experts,” who are “working to make addiction science more translatable and relatable.” They are committed to helping journalists produce stories that use non-stigmatizing language and images, address the complexities of addiction and recovery, and present solutions.