Episode 17: Environmental Journalism with Nick Aster (TriplePundit)
Environmental journalism is about way more than drawing ornate landscapes in your diary (although we're sure they're beautiful!). The field covers everything from John Muir's prolific writing of the American West to the stories we hear about climate change on the news. Nick Aster of TriplePundit joins us on the second episode of our Net Impact National Conference series to explain trends in environmental journalism and how he got his start with his renowned blog.
Learn more about environmental awareness here!
Episode Intro Notes
what we’ll cover
What is environmental journalism?
How did it come about?
How has environmental journalism evolved?
Why should we care about it?
How to participate in environmental journalism
Nick Aster Intro
What is Environmental Journalism?
Environmental Journalism evolved from a tradition of nature writing, spearheaded by prominent writers including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau in the late 19th century, John Burroughs and John Muir in the early 20th century, and then Aldo Leopold in the 1940’s. Environmental journalism can be defined as “the collection, verification, production, distribution and exhibition of information regarding current events, trends, issues and people that are associated with the non-human world with which humans necessarily interact.” Thanks Wikipedia!
Environmental journalism falls within the context of other facets of environmental writing, including:
Environmental Communication: Learning how to communicate with trees. Not really. “All of the forms of communication that are engaged with the social debate about environmental issues and problems”
Nature Writing: “Natural history information, personal responses to nature, and philosophical interpretation of nature” (as described by Thomas J. Lyon)
Science Writing: “Writing that focuses specifically on topics of scientific study, generally translating jargon that is difficult for those outside a particular scientific field to understand into language that is easily digestible. This genre can be narrative or informative.”
Environmental Advocacy: “Presenting information on nature and environmental issues that is decidedly opinionated and encourages its audience to adopt more environmentally sensitive attitudes, often more biocentric worldviews”
How Did Environmental Journalism Come About?
The growth of Environmental Journalism, which started becoming a distinct field in the 1960’s, roughly mirrors the growth of the environmental movement. The publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in 1962, and then the passage of the Wilderness act in 1964, which created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected 9.1 million acres of federal land, turned the environmental movement into a mainstream cultural movement.
Grassroots environmental organizations became prominent in the political scene of the 1960’s and 1970s’, raising awareness for what many people believed to be a looming environmental crisis. These organizations helped to influence environmental policy decisions, and strengthened the environmental movement’s place in mainstream culture. The mass media, through the field of environmental journalism, has covered environmental issues ever since, helping to generate public interest for these issues.
In 1990, the creation of the Society of Environmental Journalists, a trade organization for environmental journalists, further legitimized the field. Today, SEJ's membership includes more than 1,200 journalists and academics working in every type of news media in the United States, Canada, Mexico and 27 other countries.”
How has environmental journalism evolved?
Having started predominantly in the mainstream press, the quality and quantity of environmental journalism has received some criticism of late. In 2013, the nonprofit Project for Improved Environmental Coverage found that environmental stories make up just 1 percent of headlines in the US media. Last year, though, a PIEC report found that for the first time since 2010, mention of environmental topics in media stories increased, by a solid 17 percent.
Big media conglomerates see war and the economy getting more eyeballs. And as media companies got smaller and restructured, environment and science reporters were often the first to go. The reason The New York Times has a half-dozen blogs about cars and one about the environment is that lots of people love reading about cars and not that many love reading about the horrible stuff human beings are doing to ecosystems.”
The news isn’t all bad, though. A poll commissioned by the PIEC shows that 79 percent of Americans want better environmental coverage, including the 18 to 24 age demographic often coveted by advertisers.
Coverage of environmental issues has been evolving with technology, however. Overall, the trend seems to show that as mainstream publication like NYT and Washington Post have cut back on environmental journalism, independent blogs and websites/social media outlets like TriplePundit have gained larger audiences. This may explain the impressive readership that regularly visits TriplePundit each month (nearly half a million!).
Why should we care about it?
Because this is so often how we hear about the stories we find so important. The manner in which environmental journalism evolves has a direct impact to our exposure to it. Environmental journalism might not be the most effective way to influence government policy, but it’s important for the public to be well informed so they make more sustainable life choices and consider it when voting.
How to participate?
If you’re interested in becoming an environmental journalist yourself, we think you’ll really enjoy this conversation with Nick Aster of TriplePundit, who took full advantage of the evolving landscape of journalism as blogs and internet sites became more popular. But first things first - just get started! Scott and I are in some respects environmental journalists, and the best thing we did was simply starting this thing. It will naturally grow and change over time, but the start was the key.
Stay abreast of current happenings in environmental news .
About TriplePundit and Nick Aster
TriplePundit is a global media platform covering the intersection of three Ps - people, planet, and profit. With over 10 million unique annual page views, the site cover topics ranging from global water and energy challenges to social justice and economic equality, sustainable food to corporate social responsibility, among others.
Nick Aster is the founder of TriplePundit, which he started after stints at Mother Jones, Treehugger.com, and Gawker.