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Reactions From Students Attending SEJ:
"It was a four day crash course of every important environmental issue, which side is fighting whom, what's at stake and how journalists can report it. The interplay between politicians, journalists, scientists and activists opened the door for discussion that is difficult to create otherwise," - Andy Balaskovitz
"When you gather 800 journalists from around the world, give them free coffee and tell them to simply talk to each other for five days, opportunities abound for teaching and learning. Anyone who left SEJ without some compelling story ideas, great contacts and wet shoes must not have found the coffee," - Andrew Norman
"I came away from the conference with greater environmental awareness, more journalistic skills and optimism that the environmental issues we are facing will be solved because of the commitment and passion I witnessed from journalists and scientists alike," - Matthew Cimitile
"I really enjoyed my second time attending the SEJ conference as I was able to hear experts talk about the state of the environment, and ways in which journalists could cover it better. Hiking the Appalacian Trail was an added bonus that I won't forget," - Anisa Abid
2008 Society of Environmental Journalists Conference
Roanoke, VA
Over 700 journalists filled the conference rooms of the Roanoke Hotel for the 18th annual Society of Environmental Journalists Conference. MSU Knight Center director Jim Detjen, associate director Dave Poulson and eight students attended this year's conference, which focused on the major environmental issues from the mountains to the oceans.
A common scene in Appalachia; mountaintop removal as seen by environmental journalists as they witnessed the process of removing coal from mountains.
Of particular interest was mountaintop removal coal mining, an ongoing process and fierce debate in the Appalachian region of Virginia and West Virginia. Much of the cheap coal used to energize houses and cities across America comes from removing moutain tops in Appalachia. Journalists toured a mountaintop removal site, heard arguments from the coal industry and environmental organizations and listened to politicians and representatives of both Presidential campaigns detail their positions on this issue and other energy related topics.
Where society derives and uses energy is at the heart of possibly the biggest environmental story, climate change. The chairman of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Rajendra Pachauri was a keynote speaker at the event. He described the current scientific data related to climate change and future projections. Pachauri concluded if action to reduce greenhouse emissions does not happen soon the Earth will become a drastically different place.
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Environmental journalists see a healthy food shed in Virginia and interview farmer Joel Salatin on his 550 acre sustainable farm |
The conference also held panel talks on a wide range of environmental topics, sessions on ways to present environmental stories and scheduled field trips throughout the state of Virginia, from seeing mountaintop coal miningtrail to canoeing down the New River. Scientists and journalists discussed reporting on population growth, animal trafficking, the danger to marine life in oceans and the potential of carbon sequestration. Participants hiked the Appalachian trail, canoed the New River, encountered nano technology, black bears and mussels and examined the process behind nuclear power. Journalists came away with knowledge of data mapping, ideas for stories and tons of sources.
My hope is that students take from this conference a recognition of immensely complex environmental issues that desperately need light shed upon them, that a group of dedicated, talented journalists are shedding that light and that journalism, while evolving, remains a worthy career, said Knight Center associate director Dave Poulson.
For many of the students involved, this was their first time at a SEJ conference. The conference provided them an indelible professional experience and firsthand knowledge of the field of environmental journalism.
"It's one thing to talk about an issue like mountaintop removal mining, but to talk with people who live with it every day is something else altogether, " said Knight Center graduate student Andy Mcglashen. "It's good to be reminded that behind all the complexities of environmental stories are real people who are affected in a very real way. It refreshes your sense of purpose."
Next year SEJ will hold its annual conference in Madison, Wis. from Oct. 7 to 11
Tip Sheets
Knight Center students attended many of the sessions at the SEJ conference. Below are tips from session panels for how to cover environmental stories:
Animal Business: Wildlife Trafficking and
International Law
Carbon Sequestration: Silver Bullet or
Black Hole?
