I'm running for a position on SEJ’s board because I've devoted my entire career to climate journalism, and I sincerely believe we aren't going to solve this crisis without inspiring our audiences to meaningfully participate in climate solutions. The fate of the planet depends on us getting this right. Dramatic, I know. But this is dramatic stuff!
I grew up in Southern California, where my community was forced to evacuate from wildfires more than once, where air pollution wasn't just seen but felt in our lungs, and where half my childhood was spent under drought-induced water restrictions. Now I am a public radio reporter, and I persistently covered climate until my employer, KCRW, formalized my role and created its first ever "Healthy Communities" beat reporter position. I am a member of Solution Journalism Network's first ever climate cohort of fellows, and I also regularly report stories for NPR and Marketplace. I started doing all that in an effort to quell my own climate anxiety, and now I’m fueled by the desire to do the same for my listeners.
In the years I’ve spent covering this beat, I’ve watched the beat adapt to the evolving crisis beautifully, and the work to continue adapting hasn’t finished. Audiences are becoming more educated and more afraid of the climate crisis every year, and that requires our beat to change again. Environmental reporting is no longer about getting people to care, or raising awareness about the climate impacts of our behaviors. Now coverage has to come with far more nuance, by continuing to inform audiences about arguably the greatest challenge it's ever faced, without forcing listeners, viewers and readers to bury their heads in the sand in an effort to save their own mental health. That requires solutions-oriented stories that empower audiences to participate in the fight against climate change, stories that hold businesses and agencies to account by questioning the solutions they have failed to provide or that have failed to work, stories that explain complicated science and tackle confusing messaging, and stories that highlight new efforts with context about scalability and economic viability. These stories provide hope, and hope keeps audiences engaged. As a member of this board I hope to help climate journalists with this transition in our coverage. That includes providing a space for peer support to build mental resilience in a beat that can be scary, physically taxing and emotionally exhausting. It also requires spotlighting examples of successful audience engagement and challenging coverage experiences so we can learn from our colleagues, and further strengthen our growing climate journalism community.
I sincerely believe in the work SEJ does. The community of people it has created is invaluable, and the opportunities it provides through grants and awards are so important in influencing how we handle this challenge. SEJ has made a remarkable team of journalists, and I’m ready to help this team.
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