Climate change is still one of the most dire issues in the world, though reporting on such issues can be difficult for journalists to cover.
A study released on Monday found that temperatures are increasing and heat waves are becoming “more frequent, intense, and longer-lasting due to climate change.” With climate change deniers and skeptics on environmental issues occupying both the political and social space, reporters must be smart in covering these kinds of topics.
For Los Angeles Times environmental reporter Hayley Smith, one smart and impactful trait in stories when reporting on climate change is the people.
“Talk to the people who are impacted by whatever you are covering,” Smith said. “So if it’s a heat wave, try to get those real human stories in there as well, because I think that sharing the story of an individual whose home burned down can show the truth and help tell the broader story of climate change and the climate crisis.”
Smith covers climate change in California and found herself in environmental reporting because to her climate change is “the story of our lifetimes” and requires compassion.
“I think that you should approach environmental reporting just like any type of reporting with compassion because unfortunately, all these challenges have real consequences for human beings, but also ecosystems and biodiversity,” Smith said. “There are real losses here and there’s grief, and so just keeping your humanity about you as you cover these difficult topics will help you be a better reporter and tell the full story.”
It’s also important to remember that when telling the full story, reporters should know how to handle misconceptions and misinformation.
“This ‘both sides’ in climate change does not exist, because that’s like saying the ‘earth is flat’ has two sides,” said Brooke Staggs, environment reporter for the Orange County Register. “When it’s a gray area, then take time to dispute the misinformation. Just remember to never entertain things that are false for too long, because it can be harmful for the readers.”
Another tip that Staggs mentions is to not make everything about climate change when more reporting would point to a separate issue.
“A little word of caution in being aware of how prevalent climate change is within a situation being reported on — make sure you take the time to speak to experts and discover more information on a situation like a fire,” Staggs said. “Because if you keep making climate change the main cause of a problem, when it’s only a component, then readers will start to dismiss it.”
An example of this is the Maui fire, though outlets stated it was due to climate change, it was discovered to be compound disasters, both natural and human-caused.
Allison Agsten, the director of the Center for Climate Journalism and Communication at USC, aims to create programs for student journalists to better engage readers.
“It’s important to not solely tell doom and gloom stories when writing about climate change, but also write about solutions,” Agsten said. “That doesn’t mean writing about solutions without a critical eye towards those solutions but offering potential alternatives to create engagement with the public.”
Agsten said learning about climate change would be beneficial to student reporters, though courses are not required.
“I think it would be great if all students had a greater grounding of climate change, what it is, how it is now and what we can do,” Agsten said.
For journalists or anyone interested in learning more about reporting on climate change, the Center for Climate Journalism and Communication will host “Research to Reality: How to Refute Climate Change Misinformation,” on Nov. 7 at noon on Zoom.