The hard work of a network of dedicated environmental journalists from around the world is highlighted by new features on the website of Internews’ Earth Journalism Network.
Since 2004, EJN has worked to support and build this community of reporters through capacity building programs and direct support to local organizations. This network has and continues to play a critical role in the quality and quantity of environmental news and information that local communities receive.
Over the past year membership in the network has grown dramatically, which presents exciting new opportunities for collaborative journalism. A series of new website features enables members to share their experiences, gain opportunities for professional development, find material support for their stories, and reach global audiences with local interpretations of wide-ranging environmental issues.
Introducing EJN Member Profiles
The network includes over 9,000 environmental journalists living in over 120 countries who are brought together by an affinity for reporting on the environment. Finding ways for individual members to benefit from an affiliation with EJN is pivotal to the success of the program and involves responding to the needs and understanding the abilities of this growing professional community.
To help integrate members into EJN, journalists can now create a profile for use as a professional reference by combining biographic, professional, contact, and program affiliation information. Profiles provide a means for introducing members into partners’ local networks as well as identifying quality candidates for fellowship and grants opportunities.
It must be stressed that no profile information will be posted publicly on the EJN site without the expressed consent of the journalist. By default only EJN staff will be able to view profile information and a member must opt-in to this feature.
A Global Network At a Glance
To be a truly global initiative, EJN relies on a broad network of partnerships with local non-governmental and media organizations. EJN is structured into three organizational levels: a small flexible core team focused on managing global initiatives; a Council of Partners that represents organizations from various countries and regions; and individual member journalists from over 120 countries. The network page highlights at a glance the professional associations that are organized through the network.
Showcasing the People of EJN’s Programs
EJN is composed of many small teams of talented people – journalists, designers, developers, editors, scientists (storytellers all) – creating rich and compelling news stories about some of the most important issues of our time. These stories and programs are now curated on the EJN Programs page.
Program Updates: News About the Network
Often, the most practical advice comes from our peers. To facilitate the sharing of peer-to-peer experiences, we’ve developed a Program Updates section for members actively engaged in work with EJN. A few hightlights of recent news are:
- Katiana Murillo reporting on comments from Christiana Figueres during a LatinClima webinar
- Ramesh Bhushal documenting his experience mentoring Nepali journalists on climate issues
- Erica Hagan sharing results from the DustDuino air quality sensor pilot in Sao Paulo, Brazil