Truthtelling is Risky Business

Many moons ago, while reporting on a series of controversial mining projects in Central India, I had to ditch my rented car and driver on the side of a road and walk several miles through a forest to a tribal village. Several villagers there had been killed in the conflict over the mines, allegedly by state actors.

When I returned to the roadside late that night, both driver and car were gone: seized by local authorities.

Maureen at work in rural India. Photo by Ian Umeda.

How the driver and I ultimately escaped unharmed is a long story, but I was reminded of the incident when I read a new United Nations report, Press and Planet in Danger, which highlights what a “perilous field” environmental journalism has become. Around the world, environmental journalists are maligned, threatened, or worse, at a time when our work is essential. In the face of such threats, we need your support.

The need for accurate, independent journalism that fosters public understanding of the diverse environmental challenges we face grows more critical by the day. Yet, the persecution of journalists who do this important work is on the rise worldwide.

• Between 2009 and 2023, about 70 percent of environmental journalists were "attacked, threatened, or pressured" on issues ranging from mining and deforestation, to climate protests and land grabs.

• Over 300 attacks occurred in just the past five years — a huge increase from the preceding five-year period.

• Forty-four journalists have been killed in 15 countries, and at least 24 survived murder attempts.

The report also mentions that the bulk of this critical environmental journalism is not being undertaken by big media outfits, but by small outlets and independent reporters.

In other words, by publications like the Journal and the journalists we work with.

Our small, but scrappy, publication has never shied away from exposing the abuses of the powerful and celebrating the power of individuals to make a difference in a world increasingly controlled by multinational corporations and undemocratic institutions.

The Journal is driven by mission, not money, but producing stories that center voices that might otherwise go unheard and speak truth to power does require financial backing. We get that backing from you, not corporations. You help us retain our independence and moral clarity.

I hope you will continue to have our back this year and make a tax-deductible gift to our Green Journalism Fund today.

Thank you for your ongoing support,