By David Poulson
It’s almost a cliche that while covering a local election someone in the newsroom yells out, “How do you figure millages?”
Inevitably they are answered with a chorus of “I don’t know. That’s why I chose journalism. I hate math.”
Well…that’s just poor journalism. And contrary to the best interests of your career. And easily fixed.
So fix it now and make yourself a much more powerful journalist. And employable.
Here’s how:
Continue reading
Author Archives: Dave Poulson
…if possible please suggest me content idea…
By David Poulson
I sometimes get emails from people I don’t know who offer to contribute free content to Great Lakes Echo, the Knight Center’s environmental news service.
I usually ignore them. But something prompted me to respond recently, setting off an exchange that left me wondering at the value people place on writing. Here is how it began:
Continue reading
Russian students enthused about environment face reporting challenges
By Eric Freedman
I recently spent a week in Russia, lecturing at three universities about environmental journalism. The students in Saint Petersburg and Chelyabinsk sounded enthusiastic about journalism as a profession, and covering environmental issues.
The U.S. State Department sponsored my lectures and gave me a chance to speak with some of Russia’s brightest future journalists on these themes:
- Environmental Journalism: The Challenges Ahead
Вызовы экологи ческой журналистки - “Real People” Make Environmental Stories Real
«Реальные люди» – делаем «экологические» истории настоящими - Finding the Environmental Stories Nobody Else Covers
Поиск «экологичного» – эксклюзивные истории
However, it’s a tough time in both spheres in Russia: Environmentalism and journalism.
Continue reading
Alum promoted to managing editor/senior content producer at Earthjustice
Knight Center graduate Jessica A. Knoblauch (MA ’08) was recently promoted to Managing Editor/Senior Content Producer at Earthjustice, an environmental nonprofit organization that uses the law to protect people’s health and the environment.
Based in San Francisco, with offices around the country, Jessica manages and writes for the Earthjustice’s blog, monthly newsletter and quarterly magazine.
In her new role, Jessica will direct an expanding editorial team in creating engaging stories about Earthjustice’s work. During her five-year tenure there, Jessica has covered a range of environmental issues, from fracking concerns in Cooperstown, New York (home of the baseball hall of fame), to pesticide issues created by the unfettered use of genetically engineered crops in Hawaii.
Jessica credits her time at the Knight Center, specifically managing and writing for EJ Magazine, as a major factor in influencing her career trajectory. The ability to tell great stories and explain complex environmental issues, just two skills she picked up at the Knight Center, are critical for any communications job, she said.
Prior to Earthjustice, Jessica wrote for a number of online and print publications, including Plenty, Grist, Audubon, Environmental Health News and Earth Island Journal. She moved from New York to the Bay Area in 2009 and now lives in Berkeley with her husband, MSU journalism alum Wes Holing (MA ’08), and two dogs. She enjoys cycling the area’s many scenic bike routes.