Category Archives: Students

 
Journalism and non-journalism students at Michigan State University explore how to better report environmental issues to the public at the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism.
 

Environmental journalism courses can help students meet the School of Journalism’s elective requirements. They can also be used as part of an environmental theme to complete the school’s concentration requirement by combining them with environment-related courses outside the journalism program. See your academic adviser or contact the Knight Center.
 
Non-journalism students interested in environmental issues are encouraged to contact instructors to discuss waiver of pre-requisites. Often a journalism environmental course may meet communication course requirements of other departments.
 

 
Undergraduates are also encouraged to join the student Environmental Journalism Association and write for Great Lakes Echo to gain resume-building experience and clips.
 
Undergraduate students are eligible for several awards and scholarships in environmental journalism.
 
They are encouraged to augment their study with environment classes and programs elsewhere at MSU such as the Residential Initiative on the Study of the Environment.
 
 

WILDLIFE OBSERVATION

Research highlights role of wildlife observations in encouraging wildlife-friendly gardening

This is the 5th in a series of articles by Knight Center students who attended the 2026 annual convention of the Society of Environmental Journalists.

By Iasmim Amiden dos Santos

Research presented at the Society of Environmental Journalists annual conference in Chicago highlighted the role residential yards can play in supporting wildlife and explored what scientists know — and still do not know — about the factors that influence wildlife-friendly gardening.

“The future of biodiversity can start when we just notice a bird in our yard,” Emily Minor, a professor and director of graduate studies in biological sciences at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), said at the beginning of her presentation, “The Extinction of Experience.”

Emily Minor speaks at the SEJ annual conference in Chicago. Credit: Giacomo Cain

Minor presented research conducted with her advisee, Nikolas Ballut, a graduate student in biological sciences, and Andrés M. Urcuqui-Bustamante, an assistant professor in the Department of Urban Planning and Policy at the university.

Their study reviewed existing scientific literature on wildlife gardening, a term used to describe landscaping practices intended to support wildlife in residential spaces. These practices include planting native vegetation, providing food and habitat resources, and managing yards in ways that benefit birds, pollinators and other species.

Residential yards and gardens provide a variety of benefits for people, including access to nature, green infrastructure and improved well-being. At the same time, they can provide important resources for wildlife, particularly in urban areas where natural habitat is limited.

According to their research, previous studies have shown that people manage their yards in different ways to attract or discourage wildlife. Studies have also suggested that seeing wildlife can influence how people think about nature and conservation. Continue reading →

INVESTIGATIVE TOOLS

Journalists need to know, use, Freedom of Information laws and other investigative tools

This is the 4th in a series of articles by Knight Center students who attended the 2026 annual convention of the Society of Environmental Journalists.

By Victoria Witke

All journalists, regardless of the size or power of their outlet, should be building investigative techniques and culture into everything they produce. That’s an attainable goal and essential in improving news credibility and readership, Adam Rhodes said during the Society of Environmental Journalists’ 35th annual conference in Chicago.

Rhodes is an investigative journalist covering queer people in the legal system. Rhodes also doubles as the editor and training director at Investigative Reporters and Editors.

During the conference, Rhodes led a learning session titled “How to Be an Everyday Investigative Watchdog,” an hour-long crash course on incorporating investigative work into daily newsgathering to create beefier stories. The room was packed with dozens of attendees equipped with notebooks, recorders and pens.

“Our chief job as the press is to hold people accountable,” Rhodes said at the beginning of the session. “What else?”

“Uncover stories that matter to readers that aren’t just being a stenographer,” one audience member replied.

Adam Rhodes. Credit: Missouri School of Journalism/University of Missouri

“Yes, absolutely,” Rhodes agreed. “Think of everything that we would not know about our nation, the government, the way that the world really works and moves without journalists asking extra questions.”

Rhodes said public records – things like databases, reports and documents – are rich in investigative story ideas and a matter of filing a Freedom of Information Act request. But, Rhodes said, the majority of investigative work is about a reporter’s mindset – not the easy-to-teach skills like filing a FOIA or finding a dataset on a government website.

“The most important thing is the desire, interest and commitment to do this work well,” Rhodes said.

Yet, there’s a lot of pressure, especially on small newsroom reporters, to turn out stories quickly. Journalists might have limited time to sift through troves of numbers or jargon-filled legal reports. Outlets may not subscribe to services like LexisNexis. Continue reading →

Environmental journalists discuss how to better cover marginalized communities

This is the 3rd in a series of articles by Knight Center students who attended the 2026 annual convention of the Society of Environmental Journalists.

By Iasmim Amiden dos Santos

Journalists covering environmental justice communities should focus on building long-term relationships, understanding historical context and recognizing community members as partners in knowledge production, speakers said during the Society of Environmental Journalists’ 35th annual conference in Chicago.

As climate change and other environmental crises continue to disproportionately affect low-income, Black, Brown and Indigenous communities across the United States, journalists at the conference discussed how newsrooms can improve trust with communities that have often felt misrepresented or ignored by the media.

The session, titled “Building Trust in Marginalized Communities,” focused on practical ways reporters can move beyond transactional reporting and produce stories that center on lived experiences while acknowledging systemic inequalities.

One approach highlighted during the discussion was bringing journalists and grassroots environmental justice advocates together outside the traditional reporting process to create space for dialogue and mutual understanding.

Nina Ignaczak, founder and executive editor of Planet Detroit. Credit: Giacomo Cain

Nina Ignaczak, the founder and executive editor of Planet Detroit, described how her nonprofit newsroom partnered with the Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources to convene climate justice advocates and journalists in September 2025.

According to Ignaczak, the initiative brought together 14 advocates and 14 journalists to design a set of principles for reporting on environmental justice communities. The conversations focused on accountability, context, vulnerability and resilience.

Ignaczak explained that the gathering was designed to create a non-transactional environment where journalists and advocates could openly discuss issues surrounding trust, media harm and newsroom constraints. The discussions also helped the advocates better understand the realities journalists work with, including tight deadlines, limited staffing and the pressures of digital publishing. Continue reading →

STEEL MILLS

Steel pollution still plagues Northwest Indiana

By Lillian Williams

This is the 2nd in a series of articles by Knight Center students who attended the 2026 annual convention of the Society of Environmental Journalists.

Water and air pollution caused by steel production has been negatively affecting residents of Northwest Indiana for over a century.

Terry Steagall works with Gary Advocates for Responsible Development. He said he witnessed significant water pollution during his 41 years working in steel mills.

“Our shop was right off the Indiana Harbor Ship Canal, one of the most polluted bodies of water on the Great Lakes,” Steagall said. “They’ve had to basically dredge it so the boats going through wouldn’t drag up the PCBs and other chemicals.”

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, PCBs (or polychlorinated biphenyls) were used in plastics, electrical equipment and motor oil. PCB production was banned in 1979 because of possible health risks.

Terry Steagall.
Photo by Matthew Kaplan

Pollution also adversely affects the Indiana economy, according to Steagall.

“This place at one time used to flourish with perch, and there used to be commercial fishing out here that no longer is happening,” Steagall said during a recent Society of Environmental Journalists field visit to Gary.

According to Industrious Labs, an organization that works to reduce pollution caused by industries, steel production causes significant air pollution, releasing chemicals like benzene, lead, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide.

Gary is home to the steel mill Gary Works. The city’s population has dropped from over 150,000 in 1980 to under 70,000 during the 2020 census. Continue reading →