Information on last year’s Environmental Journalism Conference:
Join ETSPJ for a mini-conference about environmental journalism Friday, March 27, 2009, in the banquet hall above Calhoun’s On the River. The day-long conference will address many of the difficulties journalists face when covering the environmental beat such as understanding and translating legal, technical and scientific issues; finding sources; using different angles and approaches; dealing with ethical problems; packaging stories for today’s media market, and more. The objective is to prepare present and future journalists to handle the massive amount of information related to environmental topics. Panelists will also include discussion of media coverage during the TVA coal ash spill in Roane Co, Tenn.
Keynote lunch speaker Jim Detjen, director of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University, will discuss the history of environmental journalism and what journalists on the “environmental beat” have to look forward to in the future. More information about the Jim Detjen and the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism click here.
Panel sessions include:
Session I: Introduction to Environmental Issues in Southern Appalachia (9 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.) This session will provide journalists with basic information about environmental issues in Southern Appalachia. Panelists will focus on water and air quality and provide journalists with tools to understand safe levels for drinking water and air quality when discussing heavy metals and toxins. Other issue covered in the session include transportation and energy, including what issues exist and what implications they have on the region. Panelists will also share tips on how to determine credible sources, evaluate independent research and how journalists can interpret technical jargon for their readers, specifically as it pertains to the TVA coal ash spill.
Session II: Environmental Law and Policy (10:45 a.m. – 12 p.m.) This session will focus on environmental law and policy in Southern Appalachia. Panelists will provide journalists with the tools necessary to wade through the massive amount of law and policy, including current policy issues under review and how to interpret them. Panelists will also share with journalists the relationship between federal and state regulatory agencies, interpreting data and evaluating independent research.
Lunch with Keynote speaker Jim Detjen, director of Knight Center for Environmental Journalism (12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.) Have you ever wondered how the environmental beat started? Or what issues journalists face along the way? Jim Detjen, professor of journalism and director of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University, will answer these questions and more over lunch.
Session III: The Energy Beat – Coal in Appalachia (1:45 p.m. – 3 p.m.) This panel will focus on coal in Appalachia and how journalists can be better prepared to cover the energy beat. Panelists will discuss impacts and affects of using coal as an energy source in Appalachia. ORNL research T.J. Blasing will talk about research in the Carbon Dioxide Analysis Center and what impact it has on energy use in Southern Applachia. Panelists will also discuss media coverage of the TVA coal ash spill in Roane Co., Tenn.
Session IV: Working the Beat – Packaging a story for print, broadcast and Web (3:15 p.m. – 5 p.m.) The final session will put it altogether. Seasoned journalists will discuss how to interpret data and technical jargon for readers. They will share information about the environmental beat, including what issues or roadblocks journalists may face along the way. Panel members will discuss how to package the story for different mediums and evaluate coverage of the TVA coal ash spill.
For a complete list of speakers click here.
Conference Details:
The day-long conference, which includes lunch, will take place in the banquet hall above Calhoun’s On the River, off Neyland Drive in Knoxville, Tenn. Click here for a map to Calhoun’s.
Conference pre-registration is $15 for SPJ members and $20 for non-SPJ members. Student registration is $15 with valid ID. Registration fees include lunch and all conference materials. The deadline for pre-registration has been extended until March 25, 2009, and registration after that date and at the door will be $30.
Registration fees may be paid by check made payable to ETSPJ and mailed with downloaded registration form to Amanda Womac, PO Box 1101, Knoxville, TN 37901.
If you wish to pay by credit card, please click HERE. Be sure to check the box on the e-mail registration form that you have paid via the PayPal button. (You may use major credit cards via PayPal.)
For more information about the conference or sponsorship opportunities, e-mail Amanda Womac (Amanda@hellbenderpress.com).
[Updated 12/4/09]
