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.

Film festival showcases Journalism School water documentary

By Anna Barnes

An incomplete, 10-minute version of the documentary I’m co-directing, WealthWashed, was accepted into Skyfire Film Festival’s inaugural environmental film fest in Arizona.

The project received financial support from the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism.

WealthWashed is a documentary that traces Michigan’s complex relationship with its greatest asset: water. What begins as a story of recreation on the lakes shifts into a deeper look at access, equity and the pressures of climate migration.

Through voices from across the state, the film uncovers how climate gentrification is already taking shape in Michigan and why protecting our water is key to becoming a true model for climate resilience.

After the screening of WealthWashed, Anna Barnes, one of the documentary’s directors, participated in a Q&A session with the audience.

I was invited by the organizers of the Skyfire Film Festival in Arizona to participate in a March Q&A session about the film.

In addition to myself, the WealthWashed team consists of co-director Meg Vandermark, videographer Milo Lucas, videographer Yixuan Li and Lindsay Tague, the editor and producer.

WealthWashed was made possible by Professor of Practice Troy Hale’s Advanced Documentary Filmmaking course at Michigan State University.

You can check out our documentary website here and our instagram here. We will be announcing screenings in the East Lansing area on these platforms soon. Continue reading →

Echo writers win accolades

Two Great Lakes Echo writers have won awards in the latest Michigan Press Association College Better Newspaper Contest.

Master’s student Anna Barnes snared 1^st place in the Column, Review or Blog category for “Book gathers historic accounts of Michigan cougar encounters” and undergrad Isabella Figueroa Nogueira won honorable mention in the same category for “Picnics and Porcupines: Book explores history of eating outside in the U.P.”

Isabella Figueroa Nogueira

Anna Barnes

Knight Center crew attends Society of Environmental Journalists conference

Knight Center director Eric Freedman and research director Bruno Takahashi led a delegation of six students to the Society of Environmental Journalists annual conference at the University of Illinois Chicago.

This year’s theme was Health, Humanity and Climate Change: The Systems That Sustain Us.

Participating students were Iasmim Amiden dos Santos, Anna Ironside, Tori Witke, Cate Kim, Lily Williams and Akia Thrower. They’ll be writing articles for the Knight Center website drawn from the conference’s workshops, field visits, presentations and panel discussions.

Retired Knight Center director Jim Detjen, a cofounder and first president of SEJ, also attended.

MSU contingent at SEJ

This photo shows the Knight Center crew with MSU alumni Brian Bienkowski, Ruth Thornton, Joe Koenig, Chioma Lewis, Emelia Askari and Gabby Nelson.

From MSU student to media leader: Susan Goldberg returns to inspire future journalists

By Isabella Figueroa Nogueira

Award-winning journalist Susan Goldberg, the president and CEO of GBH and former editor-in-chief of National Geographic, returned to the MSU campus to speak with students, faculty and community members at the Neal Shine Ethics Lecture.

Susan Goldberg speaking on March 10th at MSU’s WKAR

Goldberg’s visit was part of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism’s commemoration of the 30th anniversary of environmental journalism at MSU.

Her talk at the WKAR TV studio focused on the power of storytelling and the responsibility journalists have to deliver accurate, meaningful information to the public.

“There is nothing more important than telling accurate, important, timely stories that shine a light into dark corners so problems can be fixed,” Goldberg told the audience.

The annual lecture honors the legacy of Neal Shine, a former publisher and editor of the Detroit Free Press who championed ethical journalism and public service reporting.

Goldberg’s talk, “Storytelling that Matters,” centered on how journalists can better communicate complicated issues such as science and climate change. She outlined principles for effective storytelling, including finding ways to make audiences care, sparking curiosity and focusing on solutions instead of only highlighting problems. Continue reading →