Center for Environmental Journalism

Dry goods

Anonymous — Sun, 29 Oct 2023 05:05:30 +0000

Dry goods Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 10/28/2023 - 23:05

By Joe Arney
Photos by RJ Sangosti

Photographer RJ Sangosti carved out a niche in environmental journalism because crime stories had a way of following him home when he was working general assignment for The Denver Post.

“I want to stop people, make them think, and elevate how we are conserving water and planning our growth in the West.
—RJ Sangosti

He’s still doing great work—but it’s still following him home.

Sangosti has been documenting the Colorado River’s decline at the Post and through other channels, including a Scripps Environmental Journalism Fellowship at CU ��«��Ƶ. He also has received grants from CMCI’s Water Desk to travel and hire artists to showcase his work on the river.

That support emboldened him to approach the story of a local river as a national crisis—a key goal of the Water Desk, which is dedicated to improving journalism connected to the Colorado River, especially around changes driven by climate, population and politics.

“The fellowship made me aware that journalism is not just the one big story—it’s about helping people understand and tell stories about the river,” he said.

A Gunnison native who grew up fishing and playing in the Taylor River, Sangosti hopes his work creates a visual story of the river that inspires others, including widespread sharing of his photos through the Post and, one day, a comprehensive website with photos, charts, maps—even drawings from Indigenous people who live nearby.

“I want to stop people, make them think, and elevate how we are conserving water and planning our growth in the West,” he said.

RJ Sangosti grew up on the water. Now, he’s documenting the decline of the Colorado River as a photojournalist for The Denver Post.

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CU ��«��Ƶ Center for Environmental Journalism Welcomes 25th Class of Fellows

Anonymous — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 03:34:15 +0000

CU ��«��Ƶ Center for Environmental Journalism Welcomes 25th Class of Fellows Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/04/2021 - 21:34

The Center for Environmental Journalism is proud to welcome its 25th class of Ted Scripps Fellows, who will spend nine months at the ��«��Ƶ’s College of Media, Communication and Information working on long-term, in-depth journalistic projects and reflecting on critical questions.

Melissa Bailey
Sasha Chavkin
Marissa Ortega-Welch
Luke Runyon
Anna V. Smith

Learn more about the 2021-22 Class of Ted Scripps Fellows in Environmental Journalism »

The Center for Environmental Journalism is proud to welcome its 25th class of Ted Scripps Fellows, who will spend nine months at CU ��«��Ƶ and CMCI working on long-term, in-depth journalistic projects and reflecting on critical questions.

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CU ��«��Ƶ Center for Environmental Journalism Welcomes New Class of Fellows

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Jul 2020 23:13:19 +0000

CU ��«��Ƶ Center for Environmental Journalism Welcomes New Class of Fellows Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 07/22/2020 - 17:13

The Center for Environmental Journalism is proud to welcome its 24th class of Ted Scripps Fellows, who will spend nine months at the ��«��Ƶ’s College of Media, Communication and Information working on long-term, in-depth journalistic projects and reflecting on critical questions.

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Faculty Now: Fall 2019

Anonymous — Fri, 13 Dec 2019 19:55:34 +0000

Faculty Now: Fall 2019 Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 12/13/2019 - 12:55

Updates from our all-star professors, researchers and innovators.

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$2.47 million gift to CU ��«��Ƶ bolsters support for environmental journalism

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 22:28:32 +0000

$2.47 million gift to CU ��«��Ƶ bolsters support for environmental journalism Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/01/2018 - 16:28

Photos by Tom Yulsman

The Ted Scripps Fellowships in Environmental Journalism have equipped more than 100 journalists with the knowledge and skills needed to cover the complex and multidimensional environmental issues of the day.

Scripps fellow Chris Lett examines a carnivorous plant at the CU Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Greenhouse as Tess Additon, greenhouse manager, points out the plant’s unique features. Scripps fellow Elizabeth Royte looks on.

Now, the program’s competitiveness with the nation’s top fellowship programs, and its visibility, will be enhanced even further. This is thanks to a $2.47 million gift from Cindy Scripps, who has funded the program at the ��«��Ƶ since 1996.

“My father, Ted Scripps, was concerned about the environment before he passed,” Scripps says. “It is a passion I have carried with me throughout my life. I feel that the need for this type of program is more acute than ever before. The environment is imperiled, and journalism is under pressure, so I think it’s critically important that we continue to fight for both.”

For more than two decades, the fellowship program—housed in the College of Media, Communication and Information—has brought working journalists to campus for a full academic year. The new gift will fund the fellowships for five years, starting with the incoming 2018–19 class of fellows. Other enhancements include a pilot program to team students with fellows as research assistants.

Additon, Royte and Scripps fellow Stephen Miller examine one of the many plants at the greenhouse.

“Previous fellows’ work during and after the program has led to the preservation of public lands, government financial commitments, and even an entire investigative news network whose work has led to changes in multiple Colorado laws,” says the center’s director, Tom Yulsman. “With this generous support, we will be able to increase the stipend for fellows by more than 25 percent, helping keep the program competitive with the best such programs in the nation.”

The 2018–19 class of fellows consists of Peter Brannen, Chris Lett, Stephen R. Miller, Hillary Rosner and Elizabeth Royte. They are award-winning journalists who have written books, covered national stories for CNN, and written for national publications such as The Atlantic, National Geographic and The New York Times.

“The fellows need as many resources as possible in order to take full advantage of the opportunity offered by the program,” Scripps says. “I couldn’t imagine a better place for the fellowship program than ��«��Ƶ. There are just so many resources for students and fellows, great faculty, and a very supportive environmental community.”

The Ted Scripps Fellowships in Environmental Journalism have supported more than 100 journalists covering the most complex environmental issues of the day. Thanks to a $2.47 million gift, the program will continue for years to come.

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Racing to deadline

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 20:51:12 +0000

Racing to deadline Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 03/21/2018 - 14:51

Zoë Rom (MJour'18)

Bundled up against the frigid wind, I gripped the handlebars of the borrowed snow machine through thick gloves and steered it out onto the icy Yukon River. I shifted my weight on the seat, careful not to let my microphone and recorder fall out of my bibs where I had tucked them away to shield against the battery-killing cold.

My camera bumped against my chest as I accelerated along the frozen waterway, speeding by the Yukon's famous white bluffs and snow-covered forests. A large chunk of jumble-ice appeared in the otherwise glassy river, causing me to swerve and re-right myself on the snow machine. A fit of spontaneous, involuntary laughter shook my entire body. Journalism is really fun.

There are a few things specific to sub-Arctic reporting that I wish I had learned in grad school: for example, the basics of snowmachine steering and how to avoid frostbite when photographing sled dogs in temperatures 40 below zero. Even that pens, which freeze, are essentially useless for writing in such conditions. Perhaps a class in creative ways to hide recording equipment in ski bibs, or a course in canine interviewing could have made me feel more fully prepared.

Then again, some things are best learned in the field.

This winter, I traveled up to Alaska to follow the Yukon Quest sled dog race, a 1,000-mile event that traverses Alaska's interior into the Canadian Yukon. I was working as a reporter for KUAC radio in Fairbanks and filed twice-daily radio reports on everything from canine care to Canada's largest cinnamon rolls.

Working with dogs was a dream.

Alaskan huskies are so sweet, intelligent and playful. The only drawback? I wasn't allowed to pet them. This required a constant exercise in self-control.

"They're athletes," one musher reminded me, "you wouldn't try to pet Ussein Bolt, would you?"

That depends, Ussein Bolt is a lot less cuddly than the average sled dog.

Reporting on the race was very much trial by fire, or well, ice. With limited radio experience, I was expected to produce two pieces a day on deadline, and find some semblance of wireless internet to file stories. I was constantly on the move, following the race from Fairbanks into the Alaskan bush, taking aircrafts smaller and shakier than my decrepit sedan into the Canadian Yukon. I chased the pack leaders for 17 days on the trail, sleeping in public schools, my truck and kind strangers' cabins.

A lot of things I learned in grad school did come in handy. File management, naming conventions and backing things up saved the day more than a couple times.

And then there were the things I could have only learned through experience: I learned how to drive a snow machine, how to ride on the back of a sled and how to make caribou tacos. I figured out how to flag down a bush plane while standing on a frozen runway and spot roadside moose while driving at night--look for the eyes. I learned a lot about mushing; the strategy behind racing, sled set-ups, canine nutrition and innovative ways to use hand warmers.

I've spent two years in my master's program learning everything from multimedia and data journalism to media law and ethics. Now, two months out from graduation, it felt like the perfect time to find out, can I do this thing I've been studying? Will I like it? Will I be good at it?

The answer came to me in a bush plane as I was crossing the border from Alaska into Canada. The wobbly bush plane skirted thrillingly close to the tops of the forested mountain ranges, buffeted slightly by the wind. It was just me and the pilot, a gruff but polite Canadian.

"So, what do you do?" he asked as we soared over the frosted pines and expansive mountain ranges.

"Nothing yet," I said, "but I think I'm going to be a journalist."

The headsets that allowed us to communicate over the dull roar of the engine crackled as he responded, "Huh, it kind of seems that's what you're doing now."

Zoë Rom is a ��«��Ƶ-based writer and journalist and a second-year master’s student in the Department of Journalism at the College of Media, Communication and Information. When she's not running, she's climbing, and when she's not climbing she's cooking or eating.

Southern storyteller turned mountain-dweller, she starts every day with a cup of strong coffee and a good story. Her work has appeared in REI Co-op Journal, Discover, Rock & Ice, Trail Runner, Backpacker and Threshold.

Flagging down a bush plane in the middle of the Yukon, grad student Zoë Rom (MJour'18) discovers that in journalism, learning on the fly is half the fun.

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Wildfires

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Oct 2017 06:20:30 +0000

Wildfires Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 10/25/2017 - 00:20

As a journalist and a communication scholar discuss the growing issue of wildfires, they reveal there is more to firefighting than extinguishing flames.

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Journey to the top of the earth

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Oct 2017 05:06:40 +0000

Journey to the top of the earth Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 10/24/2017 - 23:06

CU and Norwegian participants in the Arctic Lenses climate journalism project navigate a glacier in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.

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Center for Environmental Journalism turns 25, celebrates 100 former fellows

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Aug 2017 23:51:30 +0000

Center for Environmental Journalism turns 25, celebrates 100 former fellows Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 08/16/2017 - 17:51

In 1997, just five years after CU ��«��Ƶ’s Center for Environmental Journalism was founded, the first class of Ted Scripps Environmental Journalism Fellows arrived on campus.

They were a group of mid-career journalists, eager for a chance to dig deep into environmental issues ranging from hydrology to endangered species to urban sprawl.

The fellowship, funded by the Scripps Howard Foundation, allowed them to do just that. Over the span of nine months, the fellows worked on long-ranging projects, audited courses across campus, and attended field trips to places like the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons facility. They became the first members of an enduring community of journalists, authors, filmmakers, communicators, educators and policymakers all working to bring environmental issues to the forefront of the public’s attention.

“That year provided an unparalleled opportunity for me to join a roving and enduring tribe that the fellowship created: of discerning journalists who know enough to care about the fate of our planet, and also care enough to fight with our words and pictures to sustain it,” says Dan Glick of his time as a fellow from 1999-2000.

As of this year, the community of former fellows is 100 strong. Together, their continued impact on environmental journalism, policy and law is immeasurable.

“The program has equipped 100 journalists with new knowledge and skills that have helped them illuminate myriad issues involving the environment, and others as well,” says the center’s director of 20 years, Tom Yulsman. “Their work during and after the fellowship has yielded numerous impactful stories, more than a dozen books, a Pulitzer prize—and even an entire investigative news network whose work has led to changes in multiple Colorado laws.”

This month, the center celebrates its 25th anniversary, as well as the 20th anniversary of the Ted Scripps Environmental Journalism Fellowship. During a series of public and private events over the weekend of Aug. 25-27, many of the former fellows will return to ��«��Ƶ to reunite and reflect on their time in the program.

The weekend will also serve to welcome the new class of 2017-18 fellows including: Sadie Babits, who recently served as the news director at Colorado Public Radio; Jeff Burnside, most recently the senior investigative reporter for KOMO TV Seattle; Lindsay Fendt, a freelance reporter who joins the program after spending five years based in San José, Costa Rica where she covered stories throughout Latin America; Jason Plautz, a Washington, D.C. based journalist who has covered energy and environment policy for National Journal and E&E Publishing and Lynette Wilson, who spent the last eight years covering human rights and social justice issues for the Episcopal News Service.

This month, the center celebrates its 25th anniversary, as well as the 20th anniversary of the Ted Scripps Environmental Journalism Fellowship.

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Center for Environmental Journalism

Dry goods

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CU ��«����Ƶ Center for Environmental Journalism Welcomes 25th Class of Fellows

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CU ��«����Ƶ Center for Environmental Journalism Welcomes New Class of Fellows

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Faculty Now: Fall 2019

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$2.47 million gift to CU ��«����Ƶ bolsters support for environmental journalism

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Racing to deadline

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Wildfires

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Journey to the top of the earth

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Center for Environmental Journalism turns 25, celebrates 100 former fellows

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CU ��«��Ƶ Center for Environmental Journalism Welcomes 25th Class of Fellows

CU ��«��Ƶ Center for Environmental Journalism Welcomes New Class of Fellows

$2.47 million gift to CU ��«��Ƶ bolsters support for environmental journalism