JENKINTOWN, Pa., Feb. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- As the climate change story
heats up, environmental reporters across the country are writing about it
-- how it affects their audience, what's causing it, and what can be done
about it. Few subjects are subject to more distortion, misinformation, and
manipulation by political and economic interest groups.
At times like this, a good source you can trust to tell unbiased truth
is worth their weight in gold. A Rolodex full of them -- well, that's like
Fort Knox, especially when you need a quote from an expert on deadline.
SEJ's Web site is unveiling a special reporters' resource section
devoted to climate -- "Climate Change: A Guide to the Information and
Disinformation." It is drawn from the Rolodexes, notebooks, and background
files of some of the top reporters in the business. You can see it at
http://www.sej.org/resource/index18.htm.
Already it has drawn praise from media gurus. Poynter Online's Al
Tompkins, who writes "Al's Morning Meeting," picked tomorrow's release of
the big IPCC report in Paris as a top story, and added: "The Society of
Environmental Journalists has a great site full of resources to help you
report this story."
This climate information guide is, and will remain, a work in progress,
to be updated, improved, and corrected as events unfold over the coming
year or more. We have tried to make it as good as we can and will keep
working to make it better. Please e-mail any suggestions or feedback to
jdavis@sej.org.
SEJ reserves the right to make decisions on its content.
Not all "information" about climate is created equal, and not all
claims about climate science are soundly based on scientific methods,
reasoning, and evidence. In fact, interest groups on many sides of the
issue have tried to confuse the public about scientific findings, in order
to advance their own agendas.
Our list of scientist-sources gravitates toward those who are currently
very active as researchers in fields directly related to climate change,
who have been recognized as prominent experts by their peers, who do not
have ties to groups with financial or ideological stakes in climate issues,
who can explain climate findings to a lay audience, and who are likely to
be willing to talk to reporters.
We feel that, when journalists cite a source, they can serve their
audiences by transparently giving as much information about the source as
practical -- information bearing on the affiliation, background,
qualifications, and possible bias of that source. SEJ's climate information
guide will keep trying to include as much of this kind of information as
possible. When available, for example, we will give links to a scientist's
curriculum vita and list of publications.
The so-called "disinformation" campaign is part of this story, and we
have included links telling the story of efforts to manipulate public
opinion, and the media, by spreading false or misleading information and
suppressing accurate and reliable information. It is our effort to help
environmental reporters avoid unthinkingly accepting "wooden nickels" --
and there are a lot of them in circulation.
We've included not only the phone numbers of scientists, but a very
good collection of some of the best institutional sources of information.
We have grouped these in categories we hope will help users understand the
strengths and limitations of each source.
SEJ offers several other resources to help you keep up with the climate
story. For example:
-- Go to the EJToday news digest page
http://www.sej.org/news/index2.htm , and do a search on the term "climate.
"It's a good way to get the backstory from leading media outlets...or local
outlets in your area. It's updated every morning.
-- Go to SEJ's TipSheet page http://members.sej.org/pub/index1.htm ,
and try a similar search on the term "climate."
-- Go to SEJ's online Resources database
http://www.sej.org/resource/index4.htm , and click on "Climate." You will
get yet another boatload of information sources and resources.
-- Go to SEJ's Calendar page http://members.sej.org/pub/index3.htm and
do a similar search on "climate." You will get a long list of upcoming
events likely to include some news about climate.
Improving the Quality, Accuracy and Visibility of Environmental
Reporting
SOURCE Society of Environmental Journalists
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Related links:
http://www.sej.org
http://www.sej.org/resource/index18.htm/
CONTACT:
Beth Parke, Executive Director of SEJ,
+1-215-884-8174, or bparke@sej.org
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