Environmental coverage declining

By Amanda Katili-Niode

CEBU CITY, Philippines (JP): "`Environmental journalist' is a lonely profession," so says Eugene Linden. Linden should know, he is the number one person behind impressive environmental articles in Time magazine. Linden is often praised for putting the "Earth" on the cover of Time as Planet of the Year in 1989.

Environmental news today does not make the front page as often as it did in the late 1980s. In the United States, Europe and Asia, environmental coverage is declining. Some may disagree, since there is rarely a story that does not have an environmental component in it. In Reporting on the Environment, a handbook for journalists, it was stated that people's interaction with the living and non-living components of their environment constitutes a topic for environmental reporting. Environmental news, therefore, covers health, economics, politics, commerce, development, physical resources and a wide variety of scientific research.

"The declining coverage of environmental news does not mean that the public has changed. The editors have," Linden said. Participants who attended a four-day conference of the International Federation of Environmental Journalists (IFEJ) in Cebu City, Philippines last month, shared Linden's observation. IFEJ is a networking organization for environmental journalists, writers and information officers. Its mission is to improve public understanding of environmental issues worldwide by supporting environmental journalists internationally through networking and education, and fostering access to environmental information. In 1995, IFEJ had a network of environmental journalists in 89 countries.

According to an international survey of 86 journalists conducted in 1995 for the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF), perceived news value is the most important factor affecting environmental coverage. Included in this value are newsworthiness, relevance to readers, human dimension, exclusivity of story, public opinion and editorial policy.

A survey of American journalists revealed several factors as not favorable to environmental coverage. These are: deficiencies of adequate resources for research and travel, lack of time, insufficient space, editors' lack of interest and difficulties in finding unbiased sources. This survey of almost 500 journalists was carried out between April and September 1996 by Jim Detjen, Fred Fico, and Xigen Li from Michigan State University.

Detjen was very influential in the establishment of the Society of Environmental Journalists in the U.S.. The Society currently has 1200 paying members, including those from USA Today, CNN, National Geographic, Business Week, independent journalists, academics and related organizations. Detjen is also one of the international journalists who launched IFEJ. An award- winning journalist from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Detjen was so successful in whatever program he initiated that Michigan State University hired him as a full-time professor and as the Knight Chair in environmental journalism.

"In a way, one has to have an entrepreneurial streak," Detjen said, in regards to his ability to get things done. He pointed to Manuel Satorre Jr. from the Philippines as having the same characteristics as he does. Satorre has been a champion in organizing activities with minimum funding. As an environmental journalist and practicing attorney, Satorre is also the program director of the Asia-Pacific Forum of Environmental Journalists. "It is just a matter of time management" Satorre answered, when asked how he deals with several demanding jobs. "But I am a little bit frustrated by the lack of attention from some Asian journalists. They slowly reply to requests of articles or meeting announcements. How could we network successfully if people are not responding?", he said.

In relation to challenges, there seems to be a certain career path for environmental journalists. Several communications directors at environmental organizations began their careers as journalists. Haroldo Castro from Conservation International confirmed this perception. "In the last 20 years, I have visited 99 countries as a photo journalist. In the end, I felt that editors restricted my efforts to serve nature. By being senior director of international communications, I have more freedom and access to do the work that I love." Robert San George, the director of communications for WWF, has 13 years of experience as an international journalist. Douglass Lea, the Director of Information and Communications for the United States-Asia Environmental Partnership started the environmental division of Time magazine.

Money is a necessity in traveling and doing research for good articles. Education is equally important. Linden graduated from Yale University, Lea has a Ph.D. in anthropology. Darryl D'Monte, a syndicated columnist who chairs the Forum of Environmental Journalists of India, was trained in Cambridge, England. D'Monte agrees that education is important, but he was adamant that money is not the issue. "The most important thing is to write as many environmental articles as possible," he said. Adlai Amor, a former environmental journalist who now holds a position as director of training at the International Center for Journalists in Washington D.C., however, argued that "with so little benefit, especially in developing countries, it is difficult to care about the quantity or even the quality of the articles."

What are the aspects that constitute a good environmental article? Eugene Linden likes articles that open out into larger issues. The "Planet of the Year" edition of Time, for example, has triggered hundreds of environmental articles and initiatives.

Science and statistics will not be as interesting without a human dimension. To use Linden's terms, "journalists should put 'flesh' in their stories." Along this line, WWF produced a video clip portraying a community affected by climate change.

Linden also warned about some pitfalls in environmental journalism. Environmentalists tend to exaggerate. Furthermore, a story may be a good one, but it could also be a marketing story. "Everybody should be a bit unhappy with your story," Linden added. Nevertheless, "a bit unhappy" for some could mean disaster for others. Xhemal Matte, an Albanian TV reporter, found his son missing after he reported on illegal hotel building in a national park. Mohammed Rebah, an environmental journalist from Algeria, could not get a visa to enter the Philippines. Marites Vitug, an independent journalist who writes for Newsweek, was sued US$20 million for her investigative article concerning logging in the Philippines.

Environmental journalists who attended the meeting in Cebu nevertheless did not delve too deeply into the issue of danger in their profession. Among their aims are being good journalists, having credible scientific information and writing compelling stories. For this, the IFEJ organizing group made sure that there were balanced sessions filled by scientists, information officers from international environmental organizations, government officials and senior reporters. The conference, however, was too focused on conservation issues. Missing was an insight from private sectors, especially from multinational companies, which are often accused of polluting the environment. Also lacking were discussions on environmental technology.

The four-day IFEJ meeting in the Philippines was very enlightening for environmental scientists. Journalists discussed environmental matters, relating the issues to public needs. They also shared a camaraderie not seen in other professional meetings.

Although environmental news is a hard sell, all agreed that sensationalism is out, fairness is in. Eugene Linden is optimistic: "The 21st century belongs to environmental journalists."

The writer is an environmental specialist at the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology, and a faculty member of the Graduate Program in Environmental Science at the University of Indonesia.