Agenda

Coverage

Travel/Lodging

Sponsors / Exhibitors

About Philly

 

SEJ's 33rd annual conference takes place April 3-7, 2024, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania. Below, you'll find multimedia coverage provided by SEJ, UPenn, our multischool Student Newsroom, volunteers and conference attendees.

All available video and audio recordings are posted below. Note: Some recordings had poor audio quality due to technical issues or speakers not using the microphones.

Additional coverage:

• SEJournal's #SEJ2024 Live Coverage
• SEJ's public Facebook page.
• SEJ's members-only Facebook discussion group.
• Follow the @SEJournalists account on Instagram. #SEJ2024 Instagram highlights.
• Follow @sejorg on X.
• Please use the hashtag #SEJ2024 for Instagram, Twitter, etc.
• Public SEJ #SEJ2024 Philadelphia Flickr conference photo group, where you can upload/share your own conference photos.
• See a list of all the coverage stories.

It's critically important to SEJ to gather evidence on the impact of our work. So we're tracking stories inspired by or informed by our conference in Philadelphia. The stories don't have to be about Philly or Pennsylvania; they can be based on sources or ideas you got from being at the conference. Please help us to keep SEJ strong and share links, photos, copies of reporting generated or informed by this conference. Send your story links to Cindy MacDonald, SEJ's Web content manager. It's never too late. Please send yours! Moderators, speakers, tour leaders: We also welcome resources, tipsheets, etc., from sessions or tours that you wish to share.

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Panel Moderators, Tour Leaders and Speakers: Translate your hard work for #SEJ2024 into a short report and reach thousands through the SEJournal Online! Fill out this brief form and we’ll be in touch to explain how.

Page Menu

Wednesday, April 3
Thursday, April 4
Friday, April 5
Saturday, April 6
Sunday, April 7
Miscellaneous conference coverage (includes pre-conference and multi-session stories)

 

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Wednesday, April 3

 

Workshop 1. Policy at a Watershed Scale: Local Lessons, Collective Solutions

• Audio recording (Part 1 / 01:05:09 / 26.2MB)
• Audio recording (Part 2 / 02:01:02 / 34.7MB)
• "Covering Watershed Policy and Identity," Great Lakes Echo (Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University), April 22, 2024, by Kayla Nelsen.
• "SEJ Workshop: Watersheds — Local Lessons, Collective Solutions," #SEJ2024 Live Coverage, April 13, 2024, by R.J. Franceschini.
• Event description

 

Workshop 2. Combating Climate and Science Disinformation

Disinformation workshop lunchtime discussion with Michael Mann, author of “The New Climate War” and one of the climate scientists at the center of the trumped-up “ClimateGate” scandal, and Kathleen Hall Jamieson, author of “Cyberwar,” “Creating Conspiracy Beliefs,” “Democracy Amid Crisis” and numerous other books. © Dale Willman.

• Audio recording (Part 1 / 02:45:03 / 37.8MB)
• Audio recording (Part 2 / 01:48:56 / 37.5MB)
• Audio recording (Part 3 / 00:44:00 / 15.2MB)
• Audio recording (Part 4 / 00:47:31 / 27.3MB)
• "Opinion: We Must Face Down the Expanding Anti-Reality Industry," Scientific American, May 24, 2024, by Bryn Nelson.
• "SEJ Workshop: Combating Climate and Science Disinformation," #SEJ2024 Live Coverage, April 14, 2024, by Lindsay Bowen.
• "Big Oil Is Quietly Paying State Legal Officials To Kill Climate Litigation," Heated, April 11, 2024, by Arielle Samuelson and Emily Atkin.
• Floodlight's album of photos
• Event description

 

Workshop 3. Covering the Energy Transition: Who Wins, Who Loses?

• Audio recording (Part 1 / 01:27:44 / 20.1MB)
• Audio recording (Part 2 / 02:15:28 / 38.8MB)
• Audio recording (Part 3 / 02:02:32 / 35.1MB)
• "Americans’ Top Concern About Renewable Energy Projects," Heatmap News, August 12, 2024, by Jael Holzman.
• Event description

 

Opening Program: Welcome to Philly!

• Release: "Experiencing Extreme Weather Predicts Support for Policies To Mitigate Effects of Climate Change," Reports and Proceedings, Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, EurekAlert! April 3, 2024 — announced during the Opening Program.
• Event description and video recording

 

Thursday, April 4

 

All-Day Tour 3. Delaware Water Gap: Taken Land, Water Wars and an Uncertain Future

• "SEJ Tour: Gap Over Future of Delaware Water Gap," #SEJ2024 Live Coverage, April 8, 2024, by Anna Barnes and Shealyn Paulis.
• Event description

 

All-Day Tour 4. Delaware’s Holy Trinity: Balancing Environmental Justice in Cities, Farms & Beaches

• "SEJ Tour: Delaware's ‘Holy Trinity’," #SEJ2024 Live Coverage, April 9, 2024, by Joshua Geaughan.
• Event description

 

All-Day Tour 5. Revolutionary Raptors: Hawk Mountain’s Role in Equity and Ecology

• "SEJ Tour: Revolutionary Raptors — Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Takes Journalists Birding Along the Appalachian Trail," #SEJ2024 Live Coverage, April 6, 2024, by Daniel Schoenherr. Also posted on Great Lakes Echo.
• Event description

 

All-Day Tour 6. From Farmbelt to Pinelands: The Hidden Rural Lands (and Stories) of New Jersey

• "SEJ Tour: From Farmbelt to Pinelands," #SEJ2024 Live Coverage, April 5, 2024, by Astrid Code and Ava Chatlosh.
• Event description

 

All-Day Tour 7. Stay or Go? Development vs. Open Space on New Jersey’s Ecological Jewel, the Delaware Bayshore

• "SEJ Tour: Unearthing Climate Change Challenges Along Delaware Bayshore," #SEJ2024 Live Coverage, April 6, 2024, by Christa Young. Also posted on Great Lakes Echo.
• Event description

 

All-Day Tour 9. Energy in the East: Offshore Wind, LNG and Who Gets To Say “No” to Development

• "Offshore Wind, a Potential Clean Energy Source for the East Coast, Slowly Takes Shape," The Allegheny Front, April 22, 2024, by Reid Frazier.
• Event description

 

All-Day Tour 10. Fighting for Clean Water: From Benjamin Franklin to Water Woman

• "Inventor, Publisher, Celebrity, Diplomat. Environmentalist? Inside Ben Franklin’s Battle Over Philadelphia Pollution," Hidden City Philadelphia, June 6, 2024, by Kyle Bagenstose.
• Event description

 

Afternoon Tour 11. The Energy Underneath Your Feet — Princeton’s Massive Geo-Exchange System and Transition to Net-Zero

• "The Future of Artificial Intelligence and Its Impact on Electric Grids: Debunking the Concerns," elblog.pl, April 5, 2024, by Kevin Topolsky.
• "AI’s Power Needs Not as Bad as Feared, Princeton Professor Says," Bloomberg News, April 4, 2024, by Michelle Ma.
• Event description

 

Friday, April 5

 

U.S. EPA Administrator Michael Regan Keynote and Q&A

Jennifer Hijazi, Senior Reporter, Bloomberg Law and U.S. EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. Copyright: © Dale Willman. See more photos of this event on our public Flickr page.

• Audio recording (00:48:56 / 22.5MB)
• Event description and video recording
• "23 States Ask EPA To Halt Civil Rights Rules Regulating Pollution," Floodlight, April 17, 2024, by Mario Alejandro Ariza.
• "EPA Chief and Region 3 Administrator Talk Biofuels and Farm Visits," Lancaster Farming, April 9, 2024, by Dan Sullivan.
• "The First All-Electric Tugboat in the US Is About To Launch," Canary Media, April 9, 2024, by Maria Gallucci.
• "Federal Water Tap," Circle of Blue, April 8, 2024, by Brett Walton.
• "GREET Decision in 'Very Near Future'," Red River Farm Network, April 7, 2024.
• "Regan Pledges ‘Robust’ EPA Rules Despite Legal Challenges, GOP Attacks," POLITICO, April 5, 2024, by Kelsey Tamborrino.
• "Five Major Issues for EPA and Farmers," Progressive Farmer / DTN, April 5, 2024, by Chris Clayton.
• "'Really Strong' Pollution Reduction Measure Planned for Louisiana, EPA Head Says," The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com, April 5, 2024, by Mark Schleifstein.
• "Regan Touts Strides Made With Journalists," Greenwire, April 5, 2024, by Kevin Bogardus.
• "EPA Head Regan Defends $20B Green Bank: 'I Feel Really Good About This Program'," The Associated Press, April 5, 2024, by Matthew Daly.
• "EPA’s Regan Sees Urgency in New Rules Despite Legal Headwinds," Bloomberg Law, April 5, 2024, by Bobby Magill.

 

Concurrent Sessions 1. Making Obscure Animals and Ecosystems Compelling Main Characters

• Audio recording (01:14:31 / 34.2MB)
• Video recording (audible starting ~09:20)
• "Making Obscure Animals and Ecosystems Compelling Characters," Great Lakes Echo (Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University), April 23, 2024, by Ruth Thornton.
• "SEJ Session: Making Obscure Animals and Ecosystems Compelling Main Characters," #SEJ2024 Live Coverage, April 13, 2024, by Anna Pellegrini.
• Event description

 

Concurrent Sessions 1. A Just Transition for Oil Towns

• Audio recording (01:07:11 / 23.1MB)
• Video recording
• "SEJ Session: A Just Transition for Oil Towns — Community Knowledge and Collaboration Is Key," #SEJ2024 Live Coverage, April 13, 2024, by Allison Beck.
• Event description

 

Concurrent Sessions 1. Communicate, Don’t (Just) Infuriate: Strengthening How Climate Journalism Converses With the World

• Audio recording (01:10:02 / 32.1MB)
• "Experts Give Insights on Effective, Ethical Environmental Reporting," Great Lakes Echo (Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University), April 30, 2024, by Shanelle Khalasawi.
• Event description

 

Concurrent Sessions 1. Eat Local, Just Transition and the Search for Holistic Food System Solutions

• Audio recording (01:17:46 / 35.7MB). Note: Portions of this audio are heavily impaired.
• "Reporting on Local Food Systems," Great Lakes Echo (Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University), April 26, 2024, by Vladislava Sukhanovskaya.
• "SEJ Session: Navigating the Path to Sustainable Food Systems," #SEJ2024 Live Coverage, April 13, 2024, by Claire Kelley.
• Event description

 

Concurrent Sessions 1. Using Emerging Data and Climate Science to Better Cover Wildfire Smoke’s Effects

• Audio recording (01:18:50 / 36.2MB).
• Event description

 

Concurrent Sessions 1. Working With Whistleblowers

• "How To Be a Responsible Watchdog," Great Lakes Echo (Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University), April 17, 2024, by Anna Barnes.
• "SEJ Session: Making Whistleblower Stories Happen," #SEJ2024 Live Coverage, April 14, 2024, by Wajeeha Kamal.
• Event description

 

Concurrent Sessions 1. Hydrogen: Climate Solution Or Climate Distraction?

• Audio recording (01:09:35 / 31.9MB)
• Event description

 

Concurrent Sessions 1. Unpacking Rural Reporting: How Can Environmental Journalists More Fairly Represent Rural Communities?

• Audio recording (01:14:45 / 34.3MB)
• "Rethinking Rural Reporting — How To Get Past the Cliches," SEJournal, June 19, 2024, by Claire Carlson.
• "Rural Reporting Needs Trust, Common Ground," Great Lakes Echo (Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University), May 1, 2024, by Amalia Medina.
• "SEJ Session: Rural Reporting Depends on Trust, Finding Common Ground," #SEJ2024 Live Coverage, April 14, 2024, by Amalia Medina.
• Event description

 

Concurrent Sessions 2. On the Move

• "SEJ Session: Panelists Call for Human-Centered Climate Migration Reporting," #SEJ2024 Live Coverage, April 15, 2024, by Allison Beck.
• Event description

 

Concurrent Sessions 2. How the Essential, Dirty Steel Industry Is Going ‘Green’

• Audio recording (01:12:24 / 33.2MB)
• "How the Essential, Dirty Steel Industry Is Going Green," Canary Media, April 10, 2024, by Maria Gallucci.
• Event description

 

Concurrent Sessions 2. What Type of Dataviz for What Type of Information?

• Audio recording (01:16:21 / 35.0MB). Note: Portions of this audio are heavily impaired.
• Event description

 

Concurrent Sessions 2. Cutting Through Carbon Capture Greenwash

• Audio recording (01:13:21 / 33.7MB).
• Event description

 

Concurrent Sessions 2. Big Costs, Sweeping Changes: What To Know About the IRA and IIJA

• Audio recording (01:16:37 / 35.1MB)
• "Shah Defends DOE Support for Carbon Capture, Hydrogen," POLITICO, April 5, 2024, by Gloria Gonzalez.
• Event description

 

Concurrent Sessions 2. From the Margins to the Mainstream: Rethinking Environmental Justice Coverage

• Audio recording (01:11:31 / 32.8MB)
• "Reporting on Climate Change Impacts on Marginalized Communities," Great Lakes Echo (Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University), May 2, 2024, by Wajeeha Kamal.
• Event description

 

Concurrent Sessions 2. Care and Community As a Climate Solution

• Audio recording (00:50:48 / 23.3MB). Portions of this audio are missing.
• "SEJ Session: Climate Storytellers Need Care and Community," #SEJ2024 Live Coverage, April 18, 2024, by Joshua Geaughan.
• Event description

 

Concurrent Sessions 2. Covering the Environmental Impact of War

• Audio recording (01:14:21 / 34.1MB)
• "Reporting the Environmental Impact of War," Great Lakes Echo (Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University), April 16, 2024, by Gabrielle Nelson.
• "SEJ Session: How To Cover Environmental Consequences of War: Humans First," #SEJ2024 Live Coverage, April 15, 2024, by Anna Barnes.
• Event description

 

Lunch Breakout 1. Rethinking Environmental and Climate Journalism Education

• "Rethinking Environmental Journalism Education," Great Lakes Echo (Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University), April 24, 2024, by Shealyn Paulis.
• Event description

 

Lunch Breakout 2. DEI Green 2.0 Report

• Audio recording (01:11:24 / 32.8MB)
• Video recording
• Event description

 

Opening Plenary. Election 2024: How Will Climate Change Matter?

• Audio recording (01:25:24 / 39.2MB)
• Event description and video recording

 

Sponsored Beat Dinner. At Your Doorstep: Covering and Attributing Climate Impacts in Your Community

• "Activists Helped Shut Down This Oil Refinery In Philadelphia. Now Locals Wonder What’s Next," CNN, April 15, 2024, by Rachel Ramirez.
• Event description

 

Saturday, April 6

 

Mini-Workshop 1. Next-Level Community Engagement: Tools and Strategies for Growing Environmental News Audiences

• Audio recording (00:40:20 / 11.6MB)
• Event description.

 

Mini-Workshop 2. Crafting Impactful Environmental Narratives: Leveraging Communication Science, Visuals and Technology in Storytelling

• Audio recording (01:47:12 / 30.7MB)
• Event description.

 

Mini-Workshop 3. Beyond Climate Change: Reporting on the Global Polycrisis, Its Roots and Solutions

• Audio recording (02:21:08 / 32.4MB)
• Event description.

 

Mini-Workshop 4. Nearby and Far Away: What Local Reporting and Global Investigative Collaborations Can Learn From One Another

• Audio recording (02:03:46 / 35.5MB)
• Event description.

 

Mini-Workshop 5. Covering Plastics: At the Tipping Point

• Audio recording (02:08:29 / 36.8MB)
• "Earth Week Underway As UN Committee Debates Plastics and Microplastics. Here's Why," USA TODAY, April 23, 2024, by Dinah Pulver.
• "Global Plastics Treaty Reaches Pivotal Moment With 4th Round of Talks," Gas Outlook, April 22, 2024, by Nicholas Cunningham.
• "As Plastic Treaty Delegates Head to Canada, a Plea From the Arctic: Don’t Forget Vulnerable Indigenous Peoples," Inside Climate News, April 16, 2024, by James Bruggers.
• Event description.

 

Mini-Workshop 6. How To Turn Environmental and Disaster Data Into Stories

• Audio recording (02:07:42 / 36.6MB)
• Event description.

 

Mini-Workshop 7. Using Public Records To Follow the Money in Environmental Stories

• Audio recording (02:14:37 / 38.6MB).
• Event description.

 

Mini-Workshop 8. Decarbonizing Transportation: A Reporter’s Guide

• Audio recording of Panel 1. How to Cover Electric Vehicles in Your Community (01:05:23 / 30.0MB).
• Audio recording of Panel 2. The Rise of Walkable Cities: Covering Public Transit and Micromobility as Climate Solutions (01:04:44 / 29.7MB).
• Event description.

 

Lunch Breakout 2. Decarbonizing Transportation: A Reporter’s Guide (continued)

• Audio recording of Panel 3. Policy Deep Dive: New York’s Implementation of Congestion Pricing (01:14:24 / 29.9MB)
• "Congestion Pricing Architect Explains Thinking Behind Toll Structure," Crain's New York Business, April 8, 2024, by Caroline Spivack.
• Event description.

 

Closing Plenary. Battling Disinformation, Fending Off Despair and Staying Relevant: What’s the Future for Environmental Journalism?

• Audio recording (01:27:26 / 35.1MB)
• Event description and video recording

 

Mini-Tour 2. Urban Hiking: Explore Wissahickon Valley Park

• "SEJ Mini-Tour: Journalists Hike Urban Wilderness on Wissahickon Valley Park Mini-Tour," #SEJ2024 Live Coverage, April 18, 2024, by Shealyn Paulis. A version of this story was also posted on Great Lakes Echo.
• Event description.

 

Mini-Tour 5. Sniffer Dogs, Invasives and Rare Plants

• "Feature: Sniffing Out Invasive Plant Species — Conservation Canines in Action," SEJournal, July 24, 2024, by Nancy Castaldo.
• Event description.

 

Mini-Tour 8. The Philly Heat Pump Lab: Electrification, Efficiency and the Home Energy Transition

• "Heat Pumps Are Key to Home Electrification — But Will Americans Buy In?" Agence France-Presse (AFP), September 7, 2024, by Becca Milfeld. En Français. Links not working? See the English version on the Wayback Machine.
• "Problems With Heat Pumps Often Due To Poor Installation, Maintenance Issues," The Maine Monitor, April 12, 2024, by Annie Ropeik.
• Event description.

 

Sunday, April 7

 

Breakfast, Books and Birds

• "SEJ Session/Tour: Breakfast, Books and Birds Brunch Closes Conference," #SEJ2024 Live Coverage, April 18, 2024, by Sebastiana Lopez.
• Event description

 

Miscellaneous conference coverage (includes multi-session and 'informed-by-the-conference' stories)

• "National Group Rails To Trails Conservancy Visits Milwaukee, Sees a Lot of Rec Trail Promise," WUWM 89.7 FM, June 14, 2024, by Chuck Quirmbach. This story was informed by Mini-Tour 6. Biking the Circuit: Trail Networks As a Green and Healthier Option?
• "Luis Joel Méndez González’s Field Notes," The Uproot Project, April 24, 2024.
• "How’m I Doin’?" Delaware Currents, April 20, 2024, by Meg McGuire.
• "'What Are You Doing Now?' Finding Answers in a Year of Freelance Journalism," Kyle Bagenstose, April 19, 2024.
• "The EPA’s Efforts in Climate Action, Public Engagement and Earth Month Initiatives," Green Philly, April 18, 2024, by Julie Hancher.
• "Philly Steaks Out New Ground," SEJournal, April 17, 2024, by David Helvarg.
• "Allendale Reporter Represents Local Community at Environmental Journalism Conference," The People-Sentinel, April 16, 2024, by Elijah de Castro.
• "Coalescing: Environmental Journalists of Color," Richard Prince’s Journal-isms, April 11, 2024.
• "Opinion: It’s Way Too Hard To Install This Climate-Friendly Appliance," Los Angeles Times, April 10, 2024, by Tony Barboza.
• "Managing Watersheds As Communal Systems & More From #SEJ2024 in Philly," Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, April 9, 2024.
• "Penn Hosts Five-Day Conference For Environmental Journalists on Climate Change, Disinformation," The Daily Pennsylvanian, April 8, 2024, by Gabriel Huang.
• "Hundreds of Environmental Journalists Are Coming to Philly To Learn How To Do Their Jobs Better," WHYY (Philadelphia), April 2, 2024, by Sophia Schmidt.