|            BY THOMSON FOUNDATION

Environmental Journalism | Why local matters: Sources

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This course is designed to give journalists the skills required to investigate local environmental stories and recognise if and how they are linked to the biggest issue facing the planet: climate change.

Course Contents

About
Outcomes
Course Experts
Organisations
Welcome to Environmental journalism | Why local matters : Source which will guide you on how to expose the political and economic drivers behind many local environmental issues and where to turn for reliable data, sources and information. Interrogating the role of the journalist and treading the line between impartiality and activism is an important part of the course. You’ll be guided through some key terminology to help with understanding while expert data and environmental reporters will help you recognise the unique role local journalists have to play in changing the narrative around climate change. It’s a critical time for local reporters trying to explain environmental issues to their audiences. This course aims to give you the tools to do that job.

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

  • Be guided on best practice for sourcing accurate information on environmental stories and provided with a sourcing toolkit
  • Find out about the importance of data journalism to environmental and climate change stories and how to use data effectively and responsibly
  • Learn how to recognise the political and economic factors behind many environmental stories and why it’s important to find them
  • Be guided on treading the fine line between environmental journalism and environmental activism
  • Be introduced to ways you can use the law to your advantage when covering environmental stories and also learn how it can be used against you

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.

Pa Louis Thomasi –
IFJ, Africa 

Louis is the director of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Africa Office and chairs the Digital Platform on the Safety of Journalists in Africa.  In recent years he has overseen an extensive programme around environmental and climate reporting, training more than 400 journalists across the continent.

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.

Sven Egenter –
Clean Energy Wire 

SVEN is the editor-in-chief and executive director of Clean Energy Wire (CLEW). As well as writing about the energy transition in Germany and beyond, CLEW also trains journalists to help them understand and report on environmental and climate change solutions.

This course was created in collaboration with the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Carbon Brief, Clean Energy Wire and Periodistas por el Planeta