From the editor
Last week, a writer working on a piece for Nieman Reports sent me an email explaining why her story would not be arriving on time. “I wanted to drop a note while I have Wi-Fi to let you know this is going to be delayed due to the ongoing power outage here in Texas,” she wrote. “Currently day three without power over here!”
She was one of millions of Texans without electricity as an intense winter storm knocked out power stations, coated roads in ice, and burst water pipes throughout the state, where February temperatures rarely approach freezing, much less plunge below it. Our writer is safe and well, but the storm that paralyzed Texas highlights yet again how extreme weather events are exacerbated by the climate crisis.
Which makes our piece on environmental justice reporting even more timely.
As Rachel Ramirez argues in her story, coverage of the environment has to be about more than brutal winter freezes, more destructive hurricanes, and longer wildfire seasons. It must also be about how these climate catastrophes add to underlying environmental health hazards that disproportionately impact communities of color. Environmental justice reporting, she writes, is “journalism that holds polluting industries to account and reports on vulnerable communities impacted by climate or environmental disasters and policies.”
Environmental justice reporting is becoming more mainstream in part as a response to the coronavirus pandemic and renewed calls for racial justice in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd. As journalists work through how these issues impact our industry, we’ve added two new essays to our ongoing series "The Newsrooms We Need Now." Sara Luterman argues for more and better representation of disabled people, in newsrooms and on the pages of major outlets, and The Boston Globe’s Jason Tuohey explains the motives and method behind the paper’s “Fresh Start” initiative, which allows people named in older stories to appeal The Globe's coverage.
Tuohey acknowledges the unease felt by some about the precedent the Globe might be setting with “Fresh Start.” But he also states a truth that’s relevant to so many of the challenges journalism faces: “We can’t dogmatically hold on to outdated practices and standards … in the face of changing circumstances.”
Sincerely,
James Geary
Editor, Nieman Reports
Nieman Reports is looking for a senior editor to help shape our coverage of thought leadership in journalism. If you or someone you know is interested, you can find more information and apply here.
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