Is Environmental Journalism Ready for the Path Ahead?

Special Report

As is often the case, patterns come into view over time and with many eyes. So as SEJournal editors started to put together seemingly disparate stories for this issue on climate change and energy policy, we began to see how deeply interconnected they actually were. To help our readers reflect on their interlocking facets, we’ve grouped a series of stories together in this special report to help make your reporting on energy and climate change more effective.

The resulting package includes two climate pieces: A thoughtful essay from veteran climate change/media observer Bud Ward asking how well journalism is poised to cover climate change, and a report from SEJ’s Jay Letto on workshops aimed at bridging the scientist-journalist gap in communicating about climate change.

The special report also includes two pieces on energy policy: Insights from an SEJ-organized panel that spotlighted developments and trends to watch for in the coming year, and the dos and don'ts of covering the energy beat from freelance energy reporter Jennifer Weeks.

We hope that the same way these trends came into focus for us, this coverage helps you make sense of and navigate what's ahead.

• What’s Coming in Energy? Veteran Reporters Look Ahead
• Covering Climate: Are Journalists up to the Task?
  By BUD WARD
• Changing the Language of Climate Change
  By JAY LETTO
• Elephant Wrangling on the Energy Beat
  By JENNIFER WEEKS

* From the quarterly newsletter SEJournal, Spring 2013. Each new issue of SEJournal is available to members and subscribers only; find subscription information here or learn how to join SEJ. Past issues are archived for the public here.