The Gulf oil spill. The Japan nuclear disaster. Global warming. These topics all fall on the environmental/energy beat. In this class, students will learn how to report and write articles for the news media about complex environmental and energy issues _ so they can effectively  cover an environmental story, which can turn up on any beat (Trust me, I’ve written environmental stories for the sports page about mold on the roof of Houston’s Minute Maid Park). To do that, they will learn the basic science behind major environmental problems, get a primer on major environmental laws, and practice translating science for the lay public. We will examine how to cover environmental disasters _ which often require help from non-specialty reporters _ and how to communicate risk without falsely alarming the reader.

 

We will also mine publicly available environmental databases to find stories, and discuss how to cover perhaps the most far-reaching and complex environmental issue of our time: global warming. Lastly, we will talk about achieving balance in environmental reporting, and look at examples of environmental coverage that take a side.

 

This is a course that will teach students the basics of beat reporting _ for a beat that cannot be limited to Congress, federal agencies, or the like. The environmental beat can be found in the courthouse, in the state house, at the local garbage dump _  and in every person’s backyard.  It is local, regional and global. 

 

How will we do all this? Each student will select a beat that they will follow throughout the semester. They will be expected to produce one breaking, spot news story off that beat and one longer enterprise story. They will also select and track an environmental beat reporter for the semester, since the best way to learn journalism is to read and do journalism.