Eric Freedman
Eric Freedman is Knight Chair, director of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism and a professor in the School of Journalism. As director of MSU’s Capital News Service, he also writes and edits environmental news stories for the center’s Great Lakes Echo and carries Echo stories to its 25+ member publications across Michigan. He has headed the J-School’s Australia Media, Environment, Culture & Tourism study abroad program and MSU’s Scotland media and environment Freshman Seminar Abroad. As a Fulbright Scholar, he co-developed and taught the first university-level course on environmental and science journalism in Uzbekistan, and he conducts research about environmental journalism and coverage of environmental issues in the former Soviet Union. In fall 2018, he is conducting research and teaching about environmental journalism at Caucasus University in the Republic of Georgia. As a journalist, his interests include public lands, habitat and diversity, invasive species, eco-tourism, forests, international transborder environmental problems, fisheries, environmental enforcement and archaeology. His books include “Biodiversity, Conservation and Environmental Management in the Great Lakes Basin,” “Critical Perspectives on Journalistic Beliefs and Actions: Global Experiences,” “Environmental Crises in Central Asia: From Steppes to Seas, from Deserts to Glaciers,” “On the Water, Michigan” and “Great Lakes, Great National Forests: A Recreational Guide.” During his 20-year newspaper reporting career he covered public affairs and legal affairs in New York and Michigan, winning a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of a legislative corruption scandal.
David Poulson
David Poulson is the senior associate director of MSU’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism. He joined the center in 2003 after more than two decades as a professional reporter and editor, most of it covering the environment. For 12 years he was the environment reporter at the capital bureau of Michigan’s Booth Newspaper chain. He teaches environmental, investigative, public affairs and data analysis reporting, and organizes workshops in the U.S. and abroad to help journalists better report on the environment and researchers better explain their work. He has built three online environmental news servies, including the center’s Great Lakes Echo and The Food Fix at MSU’s Global Center for Food Systems Innovation. The International Association of Great Lakes Research recognized him in 2015 for “sustained efforts to inform and educate the public and policymakers.” His research interests include non-traditional story forms and reporting methods and mechanisms for reader engagement. He is a member of the board of directors of the Society of Environmental Journalists, of the advisory boards for Michigan Sea Grant and for MSU’s Environmental Science and Policy Program and a member of the university’s committee on the Global Water Initiative. Reach him at poulsondavid@gmail.com or 517 432 5417.
Bruno Takahashi
Bruno Takahashi, Ph.D. is the Knight Center research director and an assistant professor of environmental journalism and communication with a joint appoint in the School of Journalism and the Department of Communication at MSU. Dr. Takahashi received his Ph.D in environmental Science from SUNY ESF in 2012. His research interests include media coverage of environmental affairs, the discourse of nature, environmental behavior change, risk communication and the links between media and policy. He has conducted extensive research on climate change media coverage, with a particular interest in developing countries. Other recent research includes a visual analysis (with co-author Mark Meisner) of the representations of nature and environmental affairs on the covers of Time magazine. Also, together with co-author Edson Tandoc, Dr. Takahashi has recently completed a study comparing environmental journalists and bloggers in the US, which was awarded a top faculty award in 2013 by the Environmental Communication Interest Group of the International Communication Association. Phone: 517- 432-2454; email: btakahas@msu.edu
Barb Miller
Barb Miller has been the Knight Center’s administrative assistant since 1995. She received the Jack Breslin Distinguished Staff Award in 2002, in recognition of her contributions to the Knight Center. She has broad knowledge of Knight Center programs and projects and is an excellent place to start with questions. Contact her at mille384@msu.edu or 517-432-1415.