Environment reporters and U.S. journalists: A comparative analysis

This study provides baseline data regarding environment reporters in the twenty-first century, and then compares this baseline information about a specialized journalism beat to existing studies of U.S. journalists in general. This comparison between 652 environmental journalists working at daily newspapers and television stations and more than 1,000 U.S. journalists in general found that these reporters share many individual and work-related characteristics, perhaps due in part to their similar backgrounds and to the basic professional training received by most journalists. The authors propose a uniform theory of journalism education, arguing that journalists are journalists first because they are linked by their studies, training, and experience, and that differences among reporters may be related to variations in their education. The researchers also found that newspapers employ more specialized reporters than do television stations, and that the bigger the newspaper, the more specialists, suggesting that bigger is better for specialized reporting

Wrestling with objectivity and fairness: U.S. environment reporters and the business community

Environment reporters have been criticized for allegedly having an antibusiness bias. This study, based on a series of regional surveys including 364 U.S. environment reporters, found the journalists commonly used a business or economics framework for their stories. The reporters used some business organizations as sources more often than some environmental groups. They acknowledged the need to be fair to both corporations and environmental activists. Nevertheless, a substantial minority of these environment reporters said they struggled with the issue of whether their peers are “too green.

Environment Reporters in the 21st Century

Book description: Environment Reporters in the 21st Century is the story of specialized journalists who, because of their expertise, their experience, or their willingness, regularly write about environmental issues. This is the story of a relatively new journalistic beat, one that developed during the lifetime of the authors. This book provides a view of American journalism in the first decade of the new century, when newspapers and television were the major source of news in America. The authors have divided the work into three parts. The first, Environment Reporting, includes a review of the literature and a detailed explanation of the methodology of the current study. Part II, The Environment Reporters of the 21st Century, describes the results of the present research. Part III, The Craft: Telling the Environment Story, provides in-depth accounts of environment reporters at work. Was the first decade of the 21st century a golden age of environmental reporting? The final chapter puts this research in historical perspective, viewing it in terms of the economic decline of the newspaper business and of local television news. Environment reporters and their sources are eager to get news out, but not always in the same way, or at the same time. There is a constant struggle among the thousands of environmental activists, corporate public relations people, government officials, and scientists to frame the message in a way that is advantageous to their point of view. This has been called the great ecological communication war, the war between conflicting public relations forces to influence public policy. These competing interests need to understand how journalists think and function. This volume tells the story of environmental reporting imaginatively and innovatively.https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/english-books/1045/thumbnail.jp

Lincoln mediated: The president and the press through nineteenth–century media

© 2015 by Taylor & Francis. All rights reserved. Lincoln Mediated provides new information about a historical figure everyone thinks they know. It describes how Abraham Lincoln worked with the press throughout his political career, beginning with his service in Congress in the late 1840s, and detailing how his ties to newspapers in Illinois, New York, and Washington played a central role in the success of his presidency. Gregory A. Borchard and David W. Bulla study how Lincoln used the press to deliver his written and spoken messages, how editors reacted to the president, and how Lincoln responded to their criticism. Reviewing his public persona through the lens of international media and visually based sources, a fascinating profile emerges.The authors cite the papers of Lincoln, the letters of influential figures, and content from leading newspapers. The book also features nineteenth–century illustrations and photographs. Lincoln Mediated ties the president’s story directly to the press, illuminating his role as a writer and as a participant in making the news. Lincoln’s legacy cannot be understood without understanding the role the press played in helping shape how he was viewed. As the authors show, Lincoln was a man, not just a political figure. Lincoln Mediated is a worthy addition to Transaction\u27s Journalism series

Risk and the environment reporters: A four-region analysis

Who are the environment reporters who explain the science of the environment to the general public? Do they consider risk when writing environmental stories? How often do they say they use a risk assessment angle compared to other issues? Are they concerned that they may be exaggerating environmental risks, excessively frightening their readers and viewers? This study used a census approach to interview 354 environment reporters in four regions of the United States. The majority of environment reporters in all four regions said they used risk angles at least sometimes, many more than might have been true in the past. However, the journalists said they more frequently framed their stories using government, human-interest, business, nature, pollution, politics, science, and health angles, and some reporters, ranging from 28.3 percent in New England to 41.8 percent in the Pacific Northwest, said they rarely or never included risk assessment in their environmental stories. Although most journalists in the four regions did not believe that news reports generally sensationalized environmental risks, some reporters (16.9–25.0 percent) said that environmental journalists generally have overblown environmental risks, unduly alarming the public

Regional issues, national norms: A four-region analysis of U.S. environment reporters

Does a national norm exist for environment reporters, or do they differ by region? This study used a census approach to examine environmental journalists in four regions of the United States. Across all four regions, these reporters spent much of their time covering nonenvironment stories. They relied more often on local and state sources than on national sources and used a variety of story frames and angles to construct their reporting. In discussing barriers to reporting, they were more likely to cite such issues as time constraints or the size of the news hole rather than interference by editors or advertisers. Most felt the need to remain objective, rejecting calls for advocacy or a civic-journalism approach. The study found more similarities across the regions than differences, suggesting that there is a national norm for covering the environment

The environment reporters of New England

Who are the reporters covering environmental issues in the United States? As the first step in a nationwide series of regional studies of environment reporters conducted over time, the researchers identified and interviewed 55 environment reporters working for New England daily newspapers and television stations in winter and spring 2000. The study found environment reporters working at half the region\u27s newspapers and only four of the television stations. The New England environment reporters ranked everyday, practical journalistic process concerns such as time constraints and the size of the news hole as the most frequent barriers to reporting on the environment. They also said their sources most often came from government, and their stories often contained a variety of factors, including a human-interest angle, a government angle, and a pollution angle. Many wished to aid the environment while still remaining objective in their reporting