Columbia University’s program in Earth & Environmental Science Journalism Kim Kastens ([email protected]) Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia

Columbia University’sprogram in

Earth & Environmental Science Journalism

Kim Kastens([email protected])

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

of Columbia University

Presentation to

SommerUSAademie 2005 Wissenschaftsjournalismus

6 September 2005

Columbia University’sprogram in

Earth & Environmental Science Journalism

(1) Dual masters degree program for Columbia students

(2) Environmental journalists of color project, in collaboration with Society of Environmental Journalists

Columbia E&ESJ Masters Program

Goal:

…. to train journalists who have both the scientific background and the communications skills to inform the public about discoveries, processes, insights, and controversies about the Earth and environment, in a manner that is

simultaneously interesting and accurate.

(Clue: articulate what you are trying to accomplish.)


Co-sponsored by:

• Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

• The Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences

• The Columbia Graduate School of Journalism

(Clue: work with excellent partners.)


Co-directed by:

• Kim Kastens (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory)

• Marguerite Holloway (Graduate School of Journalism)

(Clue: tap multiple expertises)

Columbia E&ESJ Masters Program Prerequisites: undergraduate background in science and demonstrated writing ability

Course of study:

• 2 semesters of coursework in Earth & environmental science anchored by “Case Studies in E&ESJ”

• science masters research project

• 2 semesters of coursework and practical training in journalism

• journalism masters project

Result:

• MA in Earth & Environmental Sciences

plus MS in Journalism

(Clue: Be tough. Set high standards)


What we look for in applicants:• Writing ability, via J-school writing test.

• Basic science prerequisites, one college year with grade of B or better in 4 out of 5 of:

- Geosciences, Biological Sciences

- Math, Physics, Chemistry

• Commitment to communicating across interface between science and society.

- worked at nature center, national park, science teacher

- undergraduate double major: science and language

- student journalism

• Avoid science wannabes

• Interesting interview; they ask us questions

(Clue: Put a lot of energy into admissions process. )


Case Studies in Earth & Environmental Science Journalism• read articles written for a technical audience about an issue, discovery or controversy

• read articles written for a popular audience on the same topic

• interview a scientist who worked on the topic

• from this primary material, construct understanding of journalistic strategies and devices

• 2004-2005: Sumatran tsunami, Teaching Creationism in public schools, Coral bleaching, Arsenic in groundwater of Bangladesh, Marine mammals & sonars, California energy crisis, etc.


What is a science research project doing in a journalism education program, anyway?

Columbia E&ESJ Masters Program Some of the learning objectives for the E&ESJ science research project:

• Students will experience the process of finding a research question which is (a) unanswered, but (b) answerable.

• Students will master skills or techniques of a subdiscipline of earth or

environmental science, thus gaining an appreciation of research as a craft. • Students will generate original data about the Earth or Environment, thus gaining some understanding of the ambiguities and complexities inherent in real data.

• Students will generate logically-defensible interpretations from their data, and thus strengthen their ability to build a chain of logic from observation to interpretation, and from cause to effect.

• Students will experience the state of mind that comes with total immersion in research, and thus come to recognize science as a creative endeavor.

• Students will become a member of an active research group, and will feel the human dynamics of such a group.

• Students will gain confidence in their ability to hold their own in the community of scientists.

2002 E&ESJ Research Projects

Student Research Project Research Advisors

VictoriaKauffmann

Resistance to mitigation of naturaldisasters

Art Lerner-Lam, DavidKrantz (psychology)

Ken Kostel Development of a low-cost tool forassessing in situ arsenic content ofground water during drilling of tubewells in Bangladesh

Lex VanGeen, SidneyHemming, GeorgeFlynn (Chemistry)

JohnRomano

Recovery of burned areas in the pinebarrens of New Jersey as recordedby dendrochronology

Gordon Jacoby, KevinGriffith

LauraWright

Use of remote sensing to detectpaleo- drainage systems at anarcheological site in Egypt

Jeff Weissel, PeterDeMenocal

Ke Xu The effect of elevated atmosphericCO2 on the mitochondria density ofC3 and C4 plants

Kevin Griffith, O.Roger Anderson



Columbia Graduate School of Journalism component Environmental Reporting

Advanced Reporting & Writing (RWI) Skills of the Journalist Masters' Project Critical issues in journalism Journalism, the law and society

Science Reporting and Writing Media Workshop Master's Project Journalism Elective


Where do the graduates work?– Science-oriented publications

• Scientific American, Geotimes, Discover

– Environment-oriented publications • On Earth, Audubon

– Mainstream Media• Houston Chronicle, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Albuquerque Journal, Albany Times-Union

– freelance

– out of journalism• environmental consulting

Columbia E&ESJ Masters Program Exemplary work: “In Harm’s Way” by Dina Cappiello, 1999 E&ESJ graduate, in Houston Chronicle, 2005


EnvironmentalReporting

Science

Law, policy

Environmentaladvocacy

Generalreporting


[science] Undergraduate [non-science]

work

PhD or MD

journalism

UC Santa Cruz

Columbia E&ESJ

mid-career(MBL, Metcalfe)


What I have learned about the overlapping values of scientists and journalists:

• curiosity• skepticism• ability to self-educate without a teacher• comfortable out of mainstream of society• search for truth

E&ESJ GeoDiversity Project

Goals:• To increase the quality, accuracy and visibility of environmental journalism in media reaching people of color.

• To increase knowledge of, and interest in, the Earth and environment among minorities underrepresented in the Geoscience workforce.*

______* Funded by National Science Foundation, Opportunities for the

Enhancement of Diversity in the Geosciences program (2001-2005)


Hurricane Katrina victims, NY Times website

Hurricane Katrina victims were disproportionately African-American.

• because African-Americans in New Orleans are more likely to live in poverty, and lack cars

• because African-Americans were less well-informed about natural hazards and environmental risks???


Did the warnings in the press miss them?

If so, what could journalists, journalism organizations, or media organizations do?


• Collaboration between Columbia/E&ESJ and:

• Society of Environmental Journalists

• National Association of Black Journalists

• Native American Journalists Association

• National Hispanic Journalists Association


• Fellowships for minority journalists to attend SEJ meetings

• Co-organized sessions and field trips on environmental topics at NABJ, NAJA, and NAHJ meetings

• Environmental category in journalism awards programs of minority journalism organizations

Brenda Box of WTOP-AM radio, Washington DC, ran a conference mini-tour on the Bayou Savage National Wildlife Refuge at the 2003 SEJ New Orleans conference.



But maybe not as knowledgeable:

In a survey of 808 undergraduates enrolled in an introductory environmental literacy course, Battles (2003) found

• 38% of African-American/Blacks vs

• 51% of Caucasians/Whites

agreed with the statement “in general, I had a good understanding of environmental issues before I took this course,”

African-Americans are as concerned about environmental issues as European-Americans (Mohai, 2003).


SEJ Minority Fellows tell us:• Editors consider the environment a “suburban” or “white” beat and don’t tend to assign journalists of color to cover environmental stories.• Editors think minority readers/viewers aren’t interested in environmental topics.• They work on tight deadlines without the time for investigations that environmental stories require.• They write for publications with small staffs, environment beat is rare, science beat unknown.

“Miami’s Hispanic community…live in an information desert with respect to the environmental problems that affect their neighborhoods” (Swafford, 1996).

For further information:

Earth & Environmental Science Journalism program:

http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/eesj/

Diversity in Environmental Journalism program:

http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/edu/eesj/sejweb/

Documents

Columbia University’s program in Earth & Environmental Science Journalism Kim Kastens ([email protected]) Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia