Category Archives: Workshops

The Knight Center for Environmental Journalism organizes workshops to help journalists better report on the environment in the U.S. and abroad. Information about recent and upcoming conferences is posted here.

The opportunities and challenges of using drones for gathering news

David Poulson explains the use of drones in journalism.

David Poulson explains the use of drones in journalism. At right is Bruno Basso, an MSU professor of geological sciences who uses drones for agricultural research. Image: Karessa Weir


Drones are a low cost way of getting news video and photographs to illustrate environmental stories, but journalists need to tread carefully through legal and ethical considerations, a Knight Center faculty member said.
David Poulson, the senior associate director of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, was a panelist for a recent discussion on the opportunities and challenges of using the aircraft in a variety of ways. The session was sponsored by Michigan State University’s Environmental Science and Policy Program.
“I can’t write a sentence with that kind of impact,” Poulson said, as he showed aerial images of a controlled prairie fire. Continue reading →

Knight Center director speaks in Finland

Knight Center Director Eric Freedman lecturing at University of Turku in Finland.

Knight Center Director Eric Freedman lecturing at University of Turku in Finland.


Knight Center director Eric Freedman recently gave two guest lectures at the University of Turku in Finland, sponsored by its Centre for East Asia Studies.
One lecture explored government efforts, primarily in Asia, to suppress cyber-dissent, including the imprisonment of bloggers and online dissidents, censorship, violation of international human rights, monitoring of blogs and websites, surveillance laws and blocking of oppositional websites.
Continue reading →

Knight Center offers workshop on reporting about drinking water

FlintwatersignBy Kayla Smith
Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism and the university’s Water Science Network are hosting a free workshop about reporting on drinking water on April 16.
“Beyond Flint: Reporting the unreported water stories in your communities” is a half-day workshop for journalists and other environmental communicators.  It features experts in journalism, water restoration, utility infrastructure, drinking water and environmental advocacy.
The session is slated for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  at the Lansing Board of Water & Light’s John F. Dye Water Plant. Lunch is provided.
There is no fee, but enrollment is limited and registration required.
To reserve a slot, register before April 11 by emailing  mille384@msu.edu.
Questions? Contact Barb Miller,  517-432-1415.

Innovative workshop communication challenge


By David Poulson
This video represents an intriguing challenge: How do you engage people with an unusual workshop that they didn’t attend?
It’s one of the communication projects that grew out of the Knight Center’s work with Michigan State University’s Global Center for Food Systems Innovation (GCFSI). The challenge of that work is to translate research into methods of better feeding the world in ways that engages the public.
In January GCFSI brought together food researchers from throughout the world to discuss not only their innovative ideas, but innovative mechanisms for fostering and then implementing such ideas.
This video distills and captures that effort.