Five journalists selected for 2016-17 Ted Scripps Fellowship
Each year, the gives five exceptional journalists an opportunity to deepen their knowledge of environmental science and report on topics of their choosing. The fellows will spend nine months at the «Ƶ auditing classes, working on long-term, in-depth journalistic projects and reflecting on critical questions—all without the pressures of deadlines.
The journalists selected for the 2016-17 Ted Scripps Fellowship—Jenny Barchfield, Scott Carney, Amy Martin, Joanna B. Pinneo and Autumn Spanne—bring a diverse set of experiences and interests to CU «Ƶ and the , which hosts the fellowship. They have photographed the impacts of climate change, investigated human tissue smugglers, reported from the front lines of environmental change, explored issues facing indigenous people and examined water challenges in the developing world, among many other topics.
“This year’s crew shows the multiple levels of diversity we strive to bring to the program, including a range of reporting and storytelling forms, under-reported issues, and new business models that will help improve coverage of pressing environmental concerns,” said Michael Kodas, associate director of the Center for Environmental Journalism. “The fellows' broad range of backgrounds and experience also supports the kind of collaboration that make for a fun and exciting year in the Center for Environmental Journalism.”
Learn more about the 2016-17 Scripps Fellows below.
In 2012, she was named AP’s Rio de Janeiro correspondent and moved to Brazil to chronicle the country’s tumultuous preparations for the 2014 World Cup and this year’s Olympics. Her focus shifted to environmental stories, and her yearlong coverage of the un-kept promises to clean up the city’s sewage-polluted waterways led to an ongoing project testing Rio’s recreational waters for sewage-borne viruses and bacteria. The testing results story won the 2016 Headliner Award for the top environmental story and also the AP Sports Editors’ story of the year. As a Scripps Fellow, Barchfield plans to continue to examine water-related challenges facing the developing world.
Martin is a musician as well as a journalist. She has released eight albums of original songs, performed in venues around the country, and created community music programs for people of all ages. In 2015, she was selected to give a TEDx talk on the concept of listening as a survival tool. Raised on an Iowa farm, Martin has lived in Montana since 1999.
Spanne has traveled and reported widely in Latin America, Europe and the United States. As a Scripps fellow, she will study environmental and American Indian law, public health, climate science and data journalism to produce deeply reported stories pertaining to Native American water rights and tribal water contamination.