At the recent Association of Environmental Journalists conference in Philadelphia, experts discussed environmental journalism education. Panelists include (from left to right) Bernardo Motta, assistant professor of journalism at Roger Williams University and moderator; Karen Coates, Mongabay Fellowship Editor; Carla Mendez, Mongabay Fellow (based in Brazil) and Chair of Equity and Inclusion of the Environmental Journalists Association Board of Directors. and Lisa Palmer, professor of science communication studies at George Washington University. In attendance virtually were panelists Laura Moorhead (top left) and girlfriend Andrea Wenzel (bottom).Image: Shirin Paulis
Shirin Paulis
Environmental journalists and educators face institutional barriers that make it difficult to change the media sector and advance the profession.
Experts at the recent Association of Environmental Journalists conference in Philadelphia tackled some of these challenges to reimagine more sustainable systems.
Moderated by Bernardo Motta, assistant professor of journalism at Roger Williams University, the panel featured Karen Coates, Mongabay Fellowship Editor, and Carla, Mongabay Fellow and Chair of Equity and Inclusion at the Environmental Society. -It was made up of a journalist and an educator named Mendez. Board of Journalists and George Washington University Professor of Science Communication Studies Lisa Palmer; Joining the conversation virtually were Laura Moorhead, associate professor of journalism at San Francisco State University, and Andrea Wenzel, associate professor at Temple University.
Motta said that while there is a need for journalists, core issues in the education system create barriers to preparing aspiring journalists for these jobs. Such barriers include educational costs, access to media exposure and training, etc.
“I don't think the model we have right now is working. We have too many challenges,” he said.
Motta said the cost of education is just one of many obstacles that can create a veil of exclusivity surrounding professional journalism. Paying for education is difficult for many students, and training new journalists is expensive. This makes it difficult for some people to participate in the practice.
Coates said students need field experience and ongoing mentorship to best prepare them for careers as journalists.
One solution, Coates said, is fellowship programs like Mongabay's. This program helps educationally disadvantaged people train as journalists. This creates opportunities for people with little experience from marginalized communities and allows them to connect with outside experts.
“This is a relatively new program that focuses specifically on journalists from low-income tropical countries and early career journalists who have had little other education, training, or international publishing opportunities.” Coates said. “What we want to do is find people who want to be environmental journalists but don't have the opportunity.”
Panelist Andrea Wenzel said there are benefits to redesigning the early stages of journalism education to focus on harm reduction and solutions-based approaches. She says the media has a long history of harming communities both globally and locally.
“I think journalism education needs to rethink how it can play a part in addressing that harm,” Wenzel said.
The model being considered at Temple University focuses on more responsible methods of student journalism, which means reporters are accountable to the communities they serve, she said. This creates opportunities for students to connect with and understand the characters in the story to better represent the story.
There are solutions to some of the problems climate journalists and educators face, but not all are easy to address. Some systemic challenges pose major problems and require an assessment of journalism needs and education, Mott said.
People who live in areas without reliable, independent media will never have the opportunity or education to become journalists, he said. Even if they learn about the career and have a desire to pursue it, there is a severe lack of funding to train them. And once you get into a career, it's a competitive and exclusive field that often doesn't offer high pay or prestige.
“How do we create something more resilient, something that changes the system?” Motta said, “The panelists and I have a lot of ideas, but we want to start by talking openly about this every day.” I agree.”
Mr Motta said the methods and traditions of educating and developing climate and environmental journalists have failed.
“We are environmental journalists, we are climate journalists, but we failed to solve the climate and the environment. We failed,” Motta said.
Addressing this failure is key to creating a new system for educating journalists, he said.
“Because once we know we messed up, we can fix it. Once we accept that we didn't do it right, we can fix it.”
The need for change is clear, panelists said, as practitioners and educators continue to adapt to an evolving media landscape. Aspiring journalists need knowledge, guidance, and experience to best prepare them for the field. To improve, the education system needs to refocus on these values and emphasize, not just include, marginalized voices.
