#SEJSpotlight: Rick Weiss, Director, SciLine/AAAS
Meet SEJ member Rick Weiss! In 2017, Rick founded SciLine, a philanthropically funded, free, nonprofit service that connects journalists directly to scientists and science-based facts for news stories, on deadline. He founded the organization in response to changes in the journalism landscape that saw a loss of specialty science reporters from many local newsrooms and a need to help local and general assignment reporters integrate more research-backed evidence into their reporting.
![](https://www.sej.org/sites/default/files/spotlight81-rick-weiss90.png)