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Journalism fellowship and funding for special projects are opportunities to go beyond daily reporting and to have support and money to dig deeper into issues including environmental health.
Each year there are increasingly more fellowships and grants for extensive reporting, especially as newsrooms shrink and outlets close. Many are focused on climate change or public health while others are open to significant ideas including environmental health.
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As more journalists and organizations begin covering climate change, there is a need for information about how to cover this critical topic from a solutions perspective, according to Covering Climate Now.
Image via the UPROOT website
Evidence has shown that underserved neighborhoods and people of color are disproportionately affected by climate change, extreme heat and environmental inequalities.
However, mainstream climate and environmental news coverage often overlooks the most impacted communities. Now, a group of journalists of color is actively working to change the status quo through the Uproot Project, a growing network of journalists of color focused on the environment and climate change in communities hit hardest by the crisis.
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The impact of spills, runoff, emissions and soil contamination goes far beyond the environment and often affects the health of people who may live, work or travel in the vicinity.
Polluting activities that intersect with policy, science, accountability and access are a great nexus for reporting on environmental health, said Kris Husted, senior content editor of NPR’s Midwest Newsroom, who moderated the “Investigating local environmental health issues” session at Health Journalism 2023 in St. Louis.