Cover the Planet

By David Poulson

Dan Egan at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel just won a National Headliner Award with his series Great Lakes, Great Peril.

That’s just the latest national accolade in a career that has produced some remarkable environmental reporting from a guy who modestly characterizes himself as a feature writer with curiosity.

Not that we’re claiming there is a direct correlation, but I will note that Dan is a graduate of the Great Lakes Environmental Journalism Training Institute. You might want to check out how to apply for this year’s upcoming institute which is taught by the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism.

Again, we don’t promise that attending the institute will result in receiving national recognition for environmental reporting. But maybe we can push you in the right direction.

Perhaps most impressive is that Dan isn’t the only one churning out environmental stories with impact over at the Sentinel. Reporters Susanne Rust and Meg Kissenger have received a boatload of national recognition this year - Meeman, Oakes, Polk - for their aggressive reporting on the health effects and poor regulation of a plastic additive.

This list is not inclusive of all the recognition these fine journalists have received. But wow. There must be more than invasive species and Bisphenol A in the water over in Milwaukee. Whatever it is we need to bottle it and distribute it to news organizations nationwide.

Alas, you cannot bottle institutional commitment. Here’s to the Journal Sentinel for recognizing the importance of environmental issues.

By David Poulson

The Knight Center for Environmental Journalism has set this year’s Great Lakes Environmental Journalism Training Institute for June 9 through June 13.

The details are here.

This is our 10th such regional workshop. Each is different. One year we went to the boreal forest in Canada. Another year we stayed at a scientific research station in northern Michigan. Another year we stayed close to home but still went canoeing, rock climbing AND fossil-hunting.

And the year the field trip was rained out we took everyone to see The Day After Tomorrow, just to make fun of the faulty climate change science in the film.

But to make it clear, our workshops are not Outward Bound for journalists. Often, like this year, we host them right here in East Lansing at Michigan State University. We expose participants to scientists, policymakers, journalists. They pick up story ideas. They learn from each other.

And sometimes they gripe and moan to each other about editors and the state of journalism. That’s OK. Because once they get that out of their system they always agree on the importance of fighting for strong environmental reporting. Perhaps the best part of these workshops is that they get a group of like-minded people into the same room to discuss the hottest beat going.

This year’s session will continue to provide those story idea, source development and networking opportunities. But the state of journalism has prompted us to emphasize skills-building sessions. That’s in recognition of the need to hone new ways of reporting. Lab activities will again include Computer-Assisted Reporting. But fellows will also learn to produce video for the Web, edit audio, use social media, produce soundslides, shoot images.

And in a quirky twist, we’re looking to explore the concept of journalistic entrepreneurship in the face of a troubled industry.

We still have a few open sessions that we reserve for last minute ideas. Feel free to suggest some here on CoverThePlanet or e-mail them directly to me at poulson@msu.edu.

Meanwhile, if you’re covering the environment in the Great Lakes region at least part time, consider applying. Information is here. The deadline is April 17.