Society of Environmental Journalists

Society of Environmental Journalists
Name	Society of Environmental Journalists
Formation	1990
Type	Nonprofit professional association
Headquarters	United States
Region served	International

Contents

Society of Environmental Journalists The Society of Environmental Journalists is a nonprofit professional association founded in 1990 that supports journalists who cover environmental topics such as climate change, biodiversity, pollution, energy, and conservation. It provides networking, training, and resources linking reporters from outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Geographic, BBC News, and The Guardian with institutions including National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, United Nations Environment Programme, World Wildlife Fund, and Smithsonian Institution. Members include correspondents from Reuters, Associated Press, NPR, PBS NewsHour, Bloomberg, and freelance journalists affiliated with entities like ProPublica.

History

Founded in 1990 during a period marked by the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the organization emerged as part of broader media responses to high-profile events such as the Chernobyl disaster, Montreal Protocol, Rio Earth Summit, and rising attention to global warming. Early supporters and speakers included figures from Rachel Carson's legacy circles, scientists from NASA, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and advocates linked to Greenpeace, Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth, and World Resources Institute. The association grew amid journalistic coverage influenced by reporting on the Kalimantan forest fires, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and regulatory disputes involving agencies like the Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The group's stated mission emphasizes improving environmental reporting quality for audiences served by outlets such as Time (magazine), The Economist, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Scientific American; promoting accuracy informed by research from institutions like Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, National Academy of Sciences, and Royal Society; and fostering ethical standards resonant with awards such as the Pulitzer Prize and the Edward R. Murrow Awards. Objectives include facilitating access to sources at organizations like World Health Organization, International Union for Conservation of Nature, U.S. Geological Survey, and universities such as Harvard University, Stanford University, Yale University, and University of California, Berkeley.

Membership spans staff reporters at outlets including Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Al Jazeera, along with freelancers published in Vox (website), Mother Jones, and The Intercept. Governance follows a board structure with officers elected by membership and committees collaborating with partners like Columbia Journalism Review, Knight Foundation, Pulitzer Center, and academic centers including Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT. Regional chapters engage professionals in cities such as Washington, D.C., New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, and international hubs like London, Geneva, and Sydney.

The organization offers training programs drawing experts from NOAA, European Space Agency, World Bank, and universities such as Princeton University and University of Cambridge; fellowship programs linked with Knight Foundation and foundations like MacArthur Foundation; and collaborative projects with nonprofits including Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy. Activities include data journalism workshops using datasets from National Aeronautics and Space Administration, U.S. Census Bureau, and Global Carbon Project; investigative collaborations akin to projects by International Consortium of Investigative Journalists; and multimedia training that echoes initiatives at PBS and BBC.

The society administers grants and grants noticeboards that help finance reporting on issues covered by entities like Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, and United Nations Development Programme. Its awards and fellowship recipients have gone on to win broader honors such as the Pulitzer Prize, Heinz Awards, MacArthur Fellowship, and environmental journalism prizes from organizations like Society of Professional Journalists and Online News Association. Grant partners have included Smith Richardson Foundation, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and Environmental Defense Fund.

Annual conferences draw panels featuring experts from Columbia University, Yale School of the Environment, Harvard Kennedy School, Stanford Woods Institute, and international agencies including UNESCO and World Health Organization. Past conference topics reflected crises like the Hurricane Katrina response, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, and policy developments such as the Paris Agreement and the Clean Air Act debates. Events include site visits to locations studied by organizations like Nature Conservancy and Wildlife Conservation Society, and sessions co-hosted with media partners such as Reuters Institute and Knight Foundation.

The society provides resource guides, ethical codes, and tip sheets for members, referencing research published in journals like Nature (journal), Science (journal), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and reports from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and United Nations Environment Programme. Its newsletter and member directories help link journalists to archives at institutions such as Library of Congress, Biodiversity Heritage Library, and data repositories like Global Biodiversity Information Facility. The organization also curates webinars and podcasts with guests from National Geographic Society, Smithsonian Institution, World Resources Institute, and leading investigative units like ProPublica.

Category:Environmental journalism organizations