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.

Covering the waterfront: Workshop gives tips for reporting on water systems

Water expert Joan Rose, left, and journalists and Lansing's Board of Water and LIght treatment plant. The mural depicts the power of water. Image: Eric Freedman

Water expert Joan Rose, right, and journalists at a Lansing water treatment plant. The mural depicts the power of water. Image: Eric Freedman

By Amanda Proscia
Control panels shaped like Oldsmobile sedan grills, car door handles for controls and hubcaps used as light fixtures set the scene for a recent Knight Center workshop on how to report about drinking water.
More than a dozen Michigan journalists and environmental communicators met recently at the Lansing Board of Water & Light’s John F. Dye Water Plant for the daylong workshop, “Beyond Flint: Reporting the Unreported Water Stories in Your Community.”
It’s an unusual water plant with a design inspired by that city’s automotive history. And the walls feature murals depicting the beneficial and destructive potential of water, and another showing human control of nature and the importance of water that was painted by Charles Pollock, brother of the more famous artist Jackson Pollock. Continue reading →

The opportunities and challenges of using drones for gathering news

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 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

By 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.