Category: Journalism

Geographic information systems: a use case for journalists

Read the full story at DataJournalism.com.

A strong understanding of GIS principles is a must for data journalists in a world where location data drives so many aspects of our daily lives.

Time, The FT, Vox and other publishers see ad dollars flow to sustainability content after increasing climate coverage

Read the full story at Digiday.

Publishers that have grown their teams covering climate change and sustainability are starting to see those strategies pay off with an increase in ad dollars.

Time, The Financial Times, BBC, The Economist, Vox Media and The Washington Post have expanded their sustainability coverage areas in the last two years and each told Digiday anecdotally that they’ve seen ad growth — and not just around this year’s Earth Day.

And some strategies are recommitting to the investment.

A photojournalist’s eye: Taking photos to accompany science stories

Read the full story at The Open Notebook.

Taking quick snaps while reporting a story is a great trick for fact-checking or to recall visual details while writing. But what if you want to take good photographs that could actually run with your piece and add a visual storytelling element?

Science Journalism Master Classes

Wherever you are in your career—novice, developing, or established—The Open Notebook’s Science Journalism Master Classes will help you sharpen your ability to find and vet story ideas, craft effective pitches, report and write impactful stories, spot scientific hype, collaborate with editors, and more. To create their Master Classes series, they’ve teamed up with Emily Laber-Warren, who heads the Health and Science Reporting program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York. Emily’s lessons draw not only on her classroom experience but on insights from the many science journalists who have shared their work processes with The Open Notebook over the years through hundreds of articles on craft, writer interviews, annotations of notable stories, and our Ask TON advice column.

The classes are free, thanks to a generous grant from The Kavli Foundation.

Guide to tracking source diversity

Read the full story at the Open Notebook.

Tracking the diversity of sources included in media stories is one key tool in journalists’ work to make sure that their stories reflect the communities they cover, particularly with respect to including communities that have historically been underrepresented and marginalized. At its core, source diversity tracking can be quite simple; it’s the process of collecting information about sources’ race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexuality, disability status, or other identities. This information, when aggregated, gives newsrooms or individual journalists a fuller picture of who they are including in their stories.

The prospect of beginning to track demographic information about one’s sources, whether as an individual reporter or as part of a whole-newsroom effort, can seem daunting. What aspects of diversity should you track, and what is the goal? How should you gather the information? Will sources be offended if they are asked to disclose information about their race, gender, or other aspects of their identity? Does asking for such information violate any privacy laws? How do you avoid tokenism in setting goals for source diversity?

Finding diverse sources for science stories

Read the full post at The Open Notebook.

Here, we compile detailed and specific resources and strategies that reporters can use to make that goal a reality, drawing on the wealth of information available from many U.S.-based organizations and scientists. Strategies for finding diverse sources can include drawing on publicly available scientist databases, social media accounts and hashtags, affinity organizations in STEM, sources, colleagues, public information officers, expert-referral services, and online discussion groups. We also suggest ways for editors to support reporters’ efforts to include more diverse sources, including by creating a newsroom culture that welcomes collaborative discussion about diversity (in sourcing and other respects), by setting and tracking goals, and by encouraging and concretely supporting reporters’ sourcing efforts.

Ruth Olurounbi and Kelechukwu Iruoma report on the health and environmental devastation wrought by oil operations in Nigeria

Read the full story at The Open Notebook.

Crude oil has been a major resource of the Nigerian state since it was discovered in the Niger Delta area in 1956 by a joint venture between Shell and British Petroleum. To this day, oil and gas account for over 80 percent of Nigeria’s total exports and about 65 percent of national revenue.

Shell and other multinational oil companies make billions of dollars in profits annually off the region—at great expense to the host communities. The Ogoni communities in Rivers State in the Niger Delta area have endured decades of oil spills and gas-instigated fires that have led to ecological destabilization and destruction, loss of livelihoods, migration, health hazards, biodiversity loss, and preventable deaths. Nigeria leads the world in volume of oil spilled; between 1976 and 1991, over 2 million barrels of oil polluted Ogoniland in 2,976 separate spills. The people of Ogoniland, to date, are still denied justice as it relates to their damaged environment (including farmland), health, and financial reparations. The Nigerian government has supported resuming oil exploration in the region despite years of protests and justice movements, which have been met with military brutality, court cases that have dragged on for generations, and further destruction of the environment in the form of pipeline vandalism and militancy.

In an award-winning, six-month-long investigation published in Ripples Nigeria and republished in three other outlets, Nigerian journalists Kelechukwu Iruoma and Ruth Olurounbi chronicled the devastating effects of oil development on the health and safety of the people of Ogoniland. Their investigation led them to several communities in the region whose residents spoke about their heart-rending plight living in a place where they can no longer plant crops, fish, breathe clean air, get justice, raise a family, or have a say in their communities as Indigenous people.

The reporters also obtained blood samples from area residents to test for medical evidence of oil spill–related diseases. The analysis revealed unhealthy changes in people’s livers and kidneys, which medical experts that Olurounbi and Iruoma consulted agreed were likely from exposure to oil-associated contaminants in their environment.

Nigerian journalist Amir Sadiq spoke to Olurounbi and Iruoma on the strategies, experiences, and research behind their investigation, which led to improvements in affected communities, including oil cleanup and provision of potable water, and even served as a source of evidence for communities suing the oil companies in court. (This interview has been edited for length and clarity.)

Journalist’s Toolbox science resources

This collection, part of the Journalist’s Toolbox, includes links to a variety of science resources for journalists, including articles about the basics of science reporting, as well as links to science news sites and organizations of experts. See also their collection of links to environmental topics.

Job announcement: Sustainability communications and engagement manager, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Salary: Minimum $65,000 annual (12 months)
Applications due: January 3, 2023 and must be submitted online.
This position is partial remote.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Office of Sustainability seeks a Sustainability Communications and Engagement Manager to play a central role in designing and implementing strategic communications efforts, as well as maintaining the institution’s sustainability designations, providing support for Office of Sustainability project managers, working closely with students, and assisting with administrative tasks as needed.

The Office of Sustainability is the hub for sustainability news, events, and engagement opportunities at the University of Wisconsin Madison. It is part of the the Division of Facilities Planning & Management (FP&M), a full-spectrum service organization that builds, maintains, and operates the physical environment of the UW-Madison campus in support of the university’s education, research, and outreach activities. FP&M works behind the scenes to coordinate campus planning, manage design and construction, maintain and operate buildings and grounds, supply utility services, ensure health and safety, and provide parking and transportation services.

Responsibilities

Develops and supervises the execution of communication programs and may supervise personnel and/or other resources in support of institutional or unit communication goals.

  • 15% Manages the day-to-day operational unit plans to align with strategic initiatives and to meet established objectives
  • 30% Plans, writes, and edits content for various internal and external stakeholders
  • 5% Plans and directs unit programs and/or projects to ensure adherence to deadlines and budgets
  • 5% Identifies, proposes, and implements new or revised unit operational policies and procedures
  • 30% Develops, implements, and delivers communication materials through various mediums to designated audiences
  • 5% Assists with supervising of student interns on the communications and podcast teams, in collaboration with the Student Intern Program Manager
  • 5% Develops the institution’s sustainability brand by identifying, pursuing, and maintaining
    certifications, designations, and other accolades that recognize the breadth of the university’s
    sustainability efforts.
  • 5% Supports subject matter experts and others at the Office of Sustainability in project and program
    management.

Required qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, sustainability, environmental studies, psychology, sociology, or similar field.
  • Minimum of three (3) years of professional experience in communications, marketing, editing, or similar field.
  • Demonstrated experience in writing and publishing for a variety of media channels and platforms, such as web, e-news, social media, video scriptwriting, and/or print publications.
  • Excellent editorial skills and attention to detail.
  • Demonstrated experience in developing and curating visual content, such as graphics and branding collateral, for print, digital, web, and/or social media.
  • Demonstrated experience with project management, including ability to be self-motivated and to work collaboratively under tight deadlines.
  • Facility with social media and other information technology tools, such as e-marketing tools, web editing (WordPress), and/or CRM.
  • Demonstrated ability to work independently and as part of a team in a complex, fast-paced setting.

Preferred qualifications

  • Advanced degree in communications, marketing, sustainability, environmental studies, or similar field.
  • Professional experience working in a sustainability-related field.
  • Experience working in an academic environment.
  • Experience in event planning and execution.
  • Experience dealing with challenges through influence rather than authority.
  • Knowledge of, and experience with, content strategy, user interface/user experience best practices and methods, and web accessibility best practices.
  • Experience in photography and videography, including production and editing.
  • Experience with audio editing and production, preferably in a podcast context.

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background – people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

For more information on diversity and inclusion on campus, please visit: Diversity and Inclusion

Reporter’s Toolbox: New Climate Trace emissions database unveiled at COP27

Read the full story from the Society of Environmental Journalists.

Sure, there’s a lot of hype at climate change COP meetings. But the new data tool hyped by climate maven Al Gore at the recent COP27 may actually help shed light on the darkening global climate picture.

The effort is ambitious but credible: It seeks to offer quantitative estimates (or measurements) of most of the biggest greenhouse gas emissions in the world.

But is it useful for journalists?

Probably yes, and it probably will keep getting bigger and better all the time. More importantly, it may provide solid(-ish) data in a way that cuts through a lot of the greenwashing.

Where the data come from

The project is called Climate Trace and it’s a huge joint effort. Some may be relieved to learn that the data did not come from Gore himself. And skeptical journalists may be even more pleased to learn that the data did not come from companies or emitters.

Instead, more than 100 collaborators have compiled the data from some 300 satellites and 11,000 sensors. The funders and collaborators are all clearly listed. There are no oil companies among them.