Category Archives: All

Why small parks matter

By Eric Freedman
Ask natural scientists why small parks matter and you’ll hear about habitats, biodiversity, carbon sequestration and buffer zones between developments. Ask the same question to social scientists and you’ll hear about maintaining human connections with nature, centers of community concern, neighborhood identity and healthy outdoor activities.
Small parks can even serve a public policy purpose as a political rallying point. That happened last

Taksim Gezi Park in Istanbul. Imaget: Wikipedia Commons

Taksim Gezi Park in Istanbul. Imaget: Wikipedia Commons


year in Turkey when government plans to develop 9-acre Taksim Gezi Park – one of Istanbul’s smallest parks and among the few remaining green spaces in the city’s Beyoğlu district– triggered sit-ins and national demonstrations.
From a humanist as well as scientific perspective, poet-environmental activist Wendell Berry has written that we need not cherish just the great public wildernesses” but small ones as well.
But ask my 4-year-old grandson why small parks matter and the answer is simpler: fun.
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When environment and culture intersect

Eric Freedman

Eric Freedman


By Eric Freedman
When journalists report on environmental issues, our stories and photos usually concern natural resources – lakes, forests, oil, oceans.
Or things we have built – cities, power plants, dams, bridges.
Or natural disasters – tsunamis, earthquakes, hurricanes.
Or mega-issues – alternative energy, air quality, climate change.
Unfortunately, we often overlook interesting and important stories that highlight the cross-over between culture and environment.
Here’s some information about two programs – one international, one in Michigan – that recognize that cross-over, that intersection of people and nature by highlighting, honoring and protecting cultural heritages that, in many cases, connect with the environment.
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MSU physics project seeks student communications intern

FRIB
Beginning Jan. 6, the FRIB Project at MSU will have an opening for a Spring communications student/intern. Applicants should have excellent writing, organizational, and communication skills and be independent, motivated workers. A working knowledge of scientific research and MS Office programs is required.
Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and will begin being accepted immediately. Positions may last the entire semester (with exact dates and times to be negotiated) and may be for credit with the proper paperwork. If you are interested in working/interning at the FRIB Project, please see the details below.

  • Work on various communications projects that involve strategy and generation of material for:
    1. the internal newsletter “FRIB Project Update”
    2. a newsletter for users (scientists) with ~1,300 readers “Update for Users”
    3. the Website news section
    4. other publications
  • Take part in the editing process for all publications
  • Attend events to gather news and photos
  • Journalism experience, knowledge of AP style, and interviewing skills are required
  • Experience with photography, Adobe Creative Suite, and social media is desired, but not required; students with experience in science communication are strongly encouraged

To apply, contact Matt Hund, Communications Coordinator, by email at hund@frib.msu.edu.
“The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) will be a new national user facility for nuclear science, funded by the Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC), Michigan State University (MSU), and the State of Michigan. Located on campus and operated by MSU, FRIB will provide intense beams of rare isotopes (that is, short-lived nuclei not normally found on Earth). FRIB will enable scientists to make discoveries about the properties of these rare isotopes in order to better understand the physics of nuclei, nuclear astrophysics, fundamental interactions, and applications for society.”

Research director presents environmental study of Hispanic media

Bruno Takahashi

Bruno Takahashi


Knight Center Research Director Bruno Takahashi recently presented environmental journalism research at the Hispanic Communication Conference organized by Florida International University.
The November conference gathered some of the most important academics and professionals working in communication and media issues that concern Hispanic audiences in the U.S.
Takahashi’s presentation, Challenges and Opportunities for Hispanic Media in Reporting Environmental Issues, included a general overview of the state of environmental journalism in the U.S. and recent research on the state of environmental reporting in Spanish language media.
Some of the results, based on in-depth interviews with journalists and news decision-makers, show important organizational, cultural, and journalistic limitations of Hispanic media – factors that constrain the salience of environmental issues.
Some of this work is in collaboration with MSU journalism professor Manuel Chavez and two colleagues at Florida International University, Juliet Pinto and Mercedes Vigon.
The researchers plan additional studies on the content of environmental news in Spanish language media and on Hispanic audience’s perceptions of environmental issues.