A diverse group of journalists arrives in Boulder in August to spend an academic year at the University of Colorado as Ted Scripps Fellows in Environmental Journalism. The fellowships, now in their sixth year, are sponsored by the university’s Center for Environmental Journalism and funded through a grant from the Scripps Howard Foundation. The program offers mid-career journalists an opportunity to deepen their understanding of environmental issues through academic study, seminars and field trips in the Boulder region, home to more than 300 environmental science Ph.Ds.
The five new Fellows hail from around the country, from a variety of media backgrounds. Elizabeth Bluemink, an environmental reporter with The Anniston Star in Anniston, Ala., covers environmental health concerns, two Superfund sites, and regional pollution. Through exhaustive investigative work she has broken a number of stories on PCB, lead and mercury contamination by the Monsanto corporation in Anniston, becoming an expert on the ongoing multi-million-dollar litigation case against the company. The winner of a first-place award for feature writing in 2000 from the Alabama Associated Press Managing Editors, Bluemink previously worked for The Virginian Pilot. She has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Virginia. Her fellowship project will focus on environmental health research, including social responses to environmental catastrophes.
John Flesher is the Traverse City, Mich., correspondent for the Associated Press. He covers news and features in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula region, as well as environmental and agricultural issues statewide. Previously he was the AP’s Michigan regional reporter in the Washington bureau and began his AP career in the North Carolina statehouse in Raleigh. Flesher was AP’s Michigan Staffer of the Year in 1995 and a Great Lakes Environmental Issues Fellow at the Michigan State University School of Journalism in 1997. He has a bachelor's degree in English from North Carolina State University. His fellowship project will investigate the challenges and impact of growth in small towns and rural areas, concentrating on northern Michigan.
Douglas MacPherson is a senior reporter for New Hampshire Public Radio in Concord. He specializes in science and natural resource issues. His stories have appeared on NPR’s Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, and Public Radio International’s Marketplace. He has also held a variety of positions, from statehouse reporter to producer, at NPR’s Boston affiliate, WBUR. MacPherson’s bachelor's degree is in Literary Studies from Middlebury College in Vermont. His project will concentrate on climate change and its potential impacts for the Northeast.
Alaska is home to Natalie Phillips, a senior staff writer at the Anchorage Daily News, where her assignments focus on science and environmental issues. As the paper’s former federal court reporter, she covered the class action Exxon Valdez oil spill trial. Before moving north Phillips was a reporter and assistant managing editor at the Bozeman (MT) Daily Chronicle, and a staff writer at the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph and The Vail Trail in Vail, Colo. A recipient of numerous state, regional and national journalism awards, she has also freelanced for a range of publications including TIME magazine, The New York Times and The Washington Post. She has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Montana and has studied in language programs at the University of Salamanca, Spain, and Colegio de Mexico in Mexico City. Phillips’ fellowship project will explore the culture and evolution of social attitudes and practices about hunting.
New Fellow David Wilson won’t have to pull up stakes to pursue his fellowship: he lives in Boulder, where he is a freelance radio producer focusing on science and environmental issues. His more than 100 news stories and documentaries have appeared on programs such as Soundprint, Marketplace, Living on Earth, High Plains News and Pacifica Network News. He was previously managing producer at Alternative Radio after several years as news and public affairs director for Boulder-based public radio station KGNU. His “Exploring the Universe” program was awarded the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Whitaker Award for best radio documentary series in 2000. Wilson holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Colorado and earned a master's in physics from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar. His project will examine the future of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex in the American West.
Saturday, June 1, 2002
New Environmental Database Debuts on the Web
You’re a journalist covering a hot environmental story. You need solid, credible background information on your topic in a hurry. Where do you turn? A comprehensive new online database for environmental information may be your best first choice. Check out “Environmental Resources on the Web.”
The project is a joint venture between the Center for Environmental Journalism and the University Libraries at the University of Colorado at Boulder. It is motivated by the idea that a well-informed public is the basis of democracy, and the site is thus designed to help students, journalists, experts and the general public stay informed about environmental issues.
The site features a directory with more than 80 key environmental subjects, from acid rain to endangered species, population growth to waste management, and many others. A simple click on a category links the user to relevant Web sites and databases containing information on that subject. The range of topics covers scientific, political, economic and social aspects of environmental issues. Linked sources have been produced by research institutions, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and other authoritative sources carefully selected for the value and credibility of the information they offer. The database is also fully searchable, employing independent users’ terms.
Journalists who attended the Scripps Howard Institute on the Environment at CU in May received a hands-on orientation to the new site, which received rave reviews. One reporter said, “This information will be a huge boon for the work I do and want to pursue.” Another commented that the resources on the site had provided numerous story ideas.
A handout for new users called “Internet Snapshots” is also available in Adobe Acrobat.pdf format.
The database was produced by a team of graduate students at CU’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication under the direction of Professors Margaret Jobe and Tom Yulsman. Jobe is Acting Faculty Director of the Lester Math Physics Library. Yulsman is an associate professor in the School of Journalism and deputy director of the Center for Environmental Journalism. He also serves on the faculty of the Environmental Studies program.
The project is a joint venture between the Center for Environmental Journalism and the University Libraries at the University of Colorado at Boulder. It is motivated by the idea that a well-informed public is the basis of democracy, and the site is thus designed to help students, journalists, experts and the general public stay informed about environmental issues.
The site features a directory with more than 80 key environmental subjects, from acid rain to endangered species, population growth to waste management, and many others. A simple click on a category links the user to relevant Web sites and databases containing information on that subject. The range of topics covers scientific, political, economic and social aspects of environmental issues. Linked sources have been produced by research institutions, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and other authoritative sources carefully selected for the value and credibility of the information they offer. The database is also fully searchable, employing independent users’ terms.
Journalists who attended the Scripps Howard Institute on the Environment at CU in May received a hands-on orientation to the new site, which received rave reviews. One reporter said, “This information will be a huge boon for the work I do and want to pursue.” Another commented that the resources on the site had provided numerous story ideas.
A handout for new users called “Internet Snapshots” is also available in Adobe Acrobat.pdf format.
The database was produced by a team of graduate students at CU’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication under the direction of Professors Margaret Jobe and Tom Yulsman. Jobe is Acting Faculty Director of the Lester Math Physics Library. Yulsman is an associate professor in the School of Journalism and deputy director of the Center for Environmental Journalism. He also serves on the faculty of the Environmental Studies program.
Institute on the Environment Covers Wide Range of Issues
How soon can the United States rely on wind power for a significant portion of its energy needs? What debates exist over how best to manage wildfire risk on national forest lands? How are scientists attempting to measure global warming more accurately? What happens when free trade agreements such as NAFTA leave loopholes for environmental degradation that the public is unaware of?
Twenty-five journalists who attended the third annual Scripps Howard Institute on the Environment at the University of Colorado at Boulder from May 13-18 addressed these questions and others during the intensive week-long event designed to increase their knowledge about a range of crucial environmental issues. The institute covered key current topics such as climate change, energy policy, public lands management, environmental toxins, and the environmental impacts of global trade agreements. Participants heard from a range of experts including top scientists, academics and policy analysts.
Journalists also got a hands-on session with the university’s new environmental information database, an online resource developed as a joint project by the University Libraries at CU and Center for Environmental Journalism. The site is called “Environmental Resources on the Web.”
Dr. Susan Avery, director of CU’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, served as institute director for the third year. Her lively opening address aimed to help journalists interpret scientific information more effectively. Avery used a case-study format, as if she were a scientist talking to the press about drought conditions in the West, and asked journalists to identify the headline and focus for the story based on the data she presented.
In addition to sessions on the CU-Boulder campus, participants took three field trips. At the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, journalists learned about the latest developments in photovoltaics, wind power and biofuels. Climate change topped the agenda during visits to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration laboratories and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, where journalists conversed with leading scientists.
A third field trip focused on public lands issues. Journalists visited the alpine reaches of Rocky Mountain National Park, stopping en route at one of city of Boulder’s vast Open Space tracts to examine an ecosystem at the urban-rural interface. The group made a final stop at a water diversion tunnel near Estes Park, which moves water from the Colorado River drainage on the Rockies’ Western Slope across the Continental Divide to the heavily populated Front Range on the east side. Presentations by scientists along the way focused on the impact of growth on biodiversity, national forest policy debates, elk management issues in Rocky Mountain National Park, and problems with water availability and usage in a dry yet rapidly growing region.
Institute participants came from a variety of geographic locales and media settings including the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Albuquerque Tribune and High Country News papers, several magazines including Audubon and U.S. Water News, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and various freelance backgrounds.
Institute participant Robert Braile, senior fellow with the Institutes on Journalism and Natural Resources and former environment correspondent for the Boston Globe, had high praise for the program: “You gathered an intelligent group of journalists and speakers, put them in one interesting and informative arena after another, and allowed our conversation to evolve through the week, becoming deeper and richer with each passing day.”
The Institute, hosted by CU’s Center for Environmental Journalism, is funded by a grant from the Scripps Howard Foundation. Application information for the 2003 Institute on the Environment will be available on this web site later in the fall.
Twenty-five journalists who attended the third annual Scripps Howard Institute on the Environment at the University of Colorado at Boulder from May 13-18 addressed these questions and others during the intensive week-long event designed to increase their knowledge about a range of crucial environmental issues. The institute covered key current topics such as climate change, energy policy, public lands management, environmental toxins, and the environmental impacts of global trade agreements. Participants heard from a range of experts including top scientists, academics and policy analysts.
Journalists also got a hands-on session with the university’s new environmental information database, an online resource developed as a joint project by the University Libraries at CU and Center for Environmental Journalism. The site is called “Environmental Resources on the Web.”
Dr. Susan Avery, director of CU’s Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, served as institute director for the third year. Her lively opening address aimed to help journalists interpret scientific information more effectively. Avery used a case-study format, as if she were a scientist talking to the press about drought conditions in the West, and asked journalists to identify the headline and focus for the story based on the data she presented.
In addition to sessions on the CU-Boulder campus, participants took three field trips. At the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, journalists learned about the latest developments in photovoltaics, wind power and biofuels. Climate change topped the agenda during visits to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration laboratories and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, where journalists conversed with leading scientists.
A third field trip focused on public lands issues. Journalists visited the alpine reaches of Rocky Mountain National Park, stopping en route at one of city of Boulder’s vast Open Space tracts to examine an ecosystem at the urban-rural interface. The group made a final stop at a water diversion tunnel near Estes Park, which moves water from the Colorado River drainage on the Rockies’ Western Slope across the Continental Divide to the heavily populated Front Range on the east side. Presentations by scientists along the way focused on the impact of growth on biodiversity, national forest policy debates, elk management issues in Rocky Mountain National Park, and problems with water availability and usage in a dry yet rapidly growing region.
Institute participants came from a variety of geographic locales and media settings including the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Albuquerque Tribune and High Country News papers, several magazines including Audubon and U.S. Water News, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and various freelance backgrounds.
Institute participant Robert Braile, senior fellow with the Institutes on Journalism and Natural Resources and former environment correspondent for the Boston Globe, had high praise for the program: “You gathered an intelligent group of journalists and speakers, put them in one interesting and informative arena after another, and allowed our conversation to evolve through the week, becoming deeper and richer with each passing day.”
The Institute, hosted by CU’s Center for Environmental Journalism, is funded by a grant from the Scripps Howard Foundation. Application information for the 2003 Institute on the Environment will be available on this web site later in the fall.
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