|            BY THOMSON FOUNDATION

Environmental Journalism | Why local matters: Safety

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“Informing is not a crime”
(António Guterres, UN Secretary-General)

Environmental journalism is now considered one of the most dangerous beats to cover. This course is designed to help media workers stay safe when facing not only physical and digital threats, but also natural disasters.

Course Contents

About
Outcomes
Course Experts
Organisations
Welcome to Environmental journalism | Why local matters : Safety. 

Between 2000 and November 2025, 2103 journalists and media workers were killed around the world for doing their job*. Thousands more have been harassed, attacked or detained on spurious charges without their legal rights being respected during that time. It’s clear that in order to protect their stories, journalists need to protect themselves.  This course is designed to help journalists and media workers who are covering environmental stories to stay safe. You will be guided by experts about your legal rights and what to do if and when they are threatened. Being in a situation where you are physically at risk can take its toll on mental wellbeing. The course will also help you address the possible emotional impact of doing the job.

*According to the Committee to Protect Journalists

There are two other courses in this series available on Journalism Now:
Environmental Journalism | Why local matters: Sources
Environmental Journalism | Why local matters: Storytelling
By the end of this course you will:

  • Learn about risk assessment and how to do it effectively before you start any job
  • Be guided through the digital risks you might face and how you can counter them
  • Explore the legal risks you might encounter and learn your legal rights
  • Address the possible emotional consequences of the job and how you might deal with them

Catherine Mackie –
Thomson Foundation 

Catherine Mackie is the training and communications editor for Thomson Foundation and the course instructor. She’s a former BBC senior journalist with almost 30 years' experience in front of and behind the camera. She’s a recipient of a Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellowship at the University of Michigan.

Patrick Greenfield –
Guardian News & Media 

Patrick is a biodiversity and environment reporter for the Guardian and the Observer. He is a former producer with CNN holds a master’s degree in International and Development Economics from Yale University in the USA.

Leo Hickman –
Carbon Brief 

Leo is the director and editor of Carbon Brief, a UK-based website covering the latest developments in climate science, climate and energy policy. They specialise in data-driven articles to help improve understanding of climate change. He is a former Editor of the Year by the Association of British Science Writers.

Laura Rocha –
Journalists for the Planet 

Laura is the president of Periodistas por el Planeta (Journalists for the Planet), an organisation of environmental journalists across Latin America who try to bring environmental and climate change stories to the attention of politicians and economists. She’s currently a freelance journalist at Infobae in Argentina.

Dr Richard Danbury –
City, University of London 

Richard is an academic lawyer, journalist and former practicing barrister who directs the master’s course in investigative journalism at City, University of London. He has previously worked as the BBC’s advanced law trainer and coordinated Channel 4’s investigative journalism training scheme.

Gavin Rees – Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma

Gavin is the former director of Dart Centre Europe, running workshops and discussion groups on trauma awareness, resilience and interviewing skills for working journalists and journalism students in a range of countries around the world. Prior to working at the Dart Centre, Gavin produced business and political news for US, British and Japanese news channels.

Hisham – 
Free Press Unlimited 

Hisham is a digital security expert working for Free Press Unlimited based in Amsterdam. He has asked us to protect his identity to protect him and the journalists he advises on cyber safety.  

This course was created in collaboration with the Dart Center, Free Press Unlimited, International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Carbon Brief and Periodistas por el Planeta