Author Archives: Dave Poulson

Knight Center seeks MSU students for paid jobs

The Knight Center for Environmental Journalism has limited paid staff positions for graduate and undergraduate students at Michigan State University. The work includes

producing news stories for Great Lakes Echo, our award winning online regional environmental news service;
assisting faculty with research, including online and library research and proofreading of conference papers, journal articles and other material;
interviewing scientists about their environment-related research for podcasts and other public distribution;
helping “translate” research for lay audiences.

Other needs depend on the flow of projects, grants and Knight Center activities. Hours are flexible.
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Dawn of the wolf patrol: How I got the story

Holly Drankhan hiking in the Swiss alps.

Editor’s note: Michigan State University student Holly Drankhan recently landed an interview with a convicted arsonist and bombmaker for the Knight Center’s Great Lakes Echo.
Rod Coronado in 1992 burned down an MSU laboratory, destroying 32 years of animal research.
Subsequently the animal rights activist spent two years on the lam before serving a 57-month prison sentence. He told Drankhan that he now is a law-abiding advocate for Great Lakes wolves.
Drankhan, 22, of Clarkston, Michigan, took an environmental reporting class at the Knight Center before graduating with a degree in zoology last June. She continued to freelance for Great Lakes Echo through the summer and will enter the university’s College of Veterinary Medicine this fall.
The Knight Center asked her how she developed the story about the controversial activist. Here’s the scoop: Continue reading →

High schooler's prize-winning documentary features some Knight Center work

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4KoVkAZhJk
An eighth grader from New York created an award-winning documentary about Rachel Carson with a bit of help from Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism.
Nicole Chiang, a student entering Guilderland High School in Albany County this fall, became interested in the adverse effects of pesticides when she volunteered at the Farnsworth Middle School Pine Bush Butterfly Station. Last summer there weren’t any butterflies at the station, although there were plenty in previous years, she said.
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Local stories produce the megapicture of environmental issues

Eric Freedman

This column originally ran on Domemagazine.com.
By Eric Freedman
Earlier this summer, one of our MSU environmental journalism students, Kevin Duffy, wrote a Great Lakes Echo article about a new book on the history of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge as an illustration of a successful effort to bring conservation to cities.
Also this year, Great Lakes Echo ran an article by student Qing Zhang about volunteer stream quality monitors in the Huron River watershed. Eamon Devlin wrote about a gravel pit dispute in Plainfield Township, while Logan Clark told about the Upper Peninsula’s suitability for cougar habitat and Colleen Otte reported about proposals for new passenger train routes in Michigan.
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