|            BY THOMSON FOUNDATION

Environmental Journalism | Why local matters: Storytelling

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This course is designed to help journalists cover environmental stories and address the impact of climate change in a way that engages their audience.

Course Contents

About
Outcomes
Course Experts
Organisations
Welcome to Environmental journalism | Why local Matters : Storytelling which will explain how environmental factors influence so many news stories which, at first glance, appear unrelated. Exposing the links can bring context, explanations and surprises to the audience as to why certain things are happening where they live.
The course will explore storytelling techniques to keep these stories relevant and engaging. You’ll be helped to understand how issues at a local level are connected to the global picture on the state of the environment and climate change, whether it’s children being unable to get to school or homes being flooded. 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: Sources
Environmental Journalism | Why local matters: Safety
By the end of this course you will:

  • Know how to recognise the environment and climate change in every beat in the newsroom
  • Know how to understand your audience’s habits; the platforms they use and when
  • Learn storytelling techniques to engage your local and the wider audience
  • Understand the importance of seeing the bigger picture and recognising the local angle in national and international stories
  • Appreciate the important role of solutions-focused journalism in explaining environmental issues and climate change.

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.

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