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November 6, 2024 — I watched the sun rise above the Washington Monument across the Potomac River this morning on my bike ride into my office, just hours after the Associated Press called the 2024 election for Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Washington was quiet on this warm spring-like November morning, almost serene, as the red and orange oak leaves scattered themselves along the shore.
I thought of Barry Lopez, who wrote before he passed away in 2020, “To survive what’s headed our way — global climate disruption, a new pandemic, additional authoritarian governments — and to endure, we will have to stretch our imaginations. We will need to trust each other, because today, it’s as if every safe place has melted into the sameness of water. We are searching for the boats we forgot to build.”
Enormous challenges lie ahead for journalists as we combat threats to press freedom, personal safety and open government — all amid widespread misinformation, distrust in the press and ongoing uncertainty about the future of journalism itself. We’ll have to stretch our imaginations to thrive amid these challenges.
The Society of Environmental Journalists is here to help support you and your ability to report on our increasingly urgent environmental challenges and find your way in this new era. We’re here to help you tell the stories of the most vulnerable, shine light on environmental injustices and fight for government access. Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is stronger now than ever before, as we expand opportunities for Indigenous journalists and journalists of color to lead in our profession. All of us need a safe place to connect to other journalists, sources and newsmakers. SEJ aspires to be that place for you.
At this moment, we’ll need to trust each other and work ever harder to bolster trust in our work. Independent journalism that fiercely provides trustworthy, verifiable information remains as important and necessary as ever. Without our work, we can’t anchor ourselves in reality and make informed decisions about the solutions to the environmental challenges we face in a warming world. SEJ and our team, including Executive Director Aparna Mukherjee, are here to support you in that mission.
I invite each of you to join SEJ’s Board of Directors meeting (log-in required) at 10 am CST on Sun., Nov. 17, during which we’ll elect new board officers, and begin to chart a course for SEJ in this new era.
Sincerely,
Bobby Magill
SEJ Board of Directors, Interim President
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