The Great Lakes Environmental Journalism Training Institute
The Knight Center for Environmental Journalism regularly offers a Great Lakes Environmental Journalism Training Institute that brings together outstanding environmental journalists for a weeklong seminar. Participants learn about environmental issues, attend skills workshops and enjoy outdoor activities such as sailing on the Great Lakes.
The Knight Center accepted applications for 2007 GLEJTI, held June 26-June 30.
The GLEJTI focus:
During an intense 4 1/2-day workshop, 25 selected journalists learn about some of the most important environmental issues facing the Great Lakes—the largest body of fresh water in the world—and its surroundings. Journalists receive training from some of the nation's top environmental journalists, scientists, policymakers and other experts.
The program trains journalists from the Great Lakes states (New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota) and Ontario, Canada.
Participants learn about regional environmental like water and land use, exotic invaders, shoreline property rights, fish contaminants. They also learn advanced skills in computer-assisted reporting.
But there is plenty of time to get outdoors to examine environmental issues up close. Past field trips have included canoeing, hiking and fossil-hunting. Participants have flown to Canada's boreal forest to study conservation efforts and have sailed Lake Huron aboard an 85-foot double-masted schooner.
Perhaps the greatest value of the program is meeting like-minded colleagues to discuss the challenges of covering some of the most complex and important issues facing the region.
Speakers:
Past speakers have included Dennis Dimick, a senior editor on environment and technology for National Geographic Magazine; Margaret Kriz, an energy and environmental writer for the Washington D.C.-based National Journal; Andrew Revkin, environment writer for the New York Times; Casey Bukro, an environmental writer at The Chicago Tribune; Deborah Potter, former environmental and political writer for CBS-TV and CNN; Rae Tyson, former president of the Society of Environmental Journalists; Russ Clemings, an expert on computer-assisted reporting at The Fresno Bee.
Others include top officials at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory and other agencies, universities and conservation groups.
Eligibility:
Participants must cover the environment in any of the eight Great Lakes states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania or Wisconsin) or Ontario, Canada. The program is open to full-time journalists working in print, broadcast or online.
Please watch for updates on the next GLEJTI. Contact the Knight Center with any questions.
