Environment, Health & Science Publications
Doom and Gloom: The Role of the Media in Public Disengagement on Climate Change
May 29, 2018, 9:00 pmBy Elizabeth Arnold, Joan Shorenstein Fellow, Spring 2018, and Associate Professor of Journalism, University of Alaska
Photo credits: Diane Haeker and Cold Climate Housing Research Center (CCHRC) Introduction In July of 2008, as a national broadcast correspondent, I reported on environmental conditions in Newtok, a remote community of roughly 400 Yup’ik people in Northwest Alaska. Newtok…
Environmental Justice? Unjust Coverage of the Flint Water Crisis
July 11, 2017, 8:30 amBy Derrick Z. Jackson, Joan Shorenstein Fellow (fall 2016), Boston Globe essayist, climate and energy writer for the Union of Concerned Scientists
A new paper by Derrick Z. Jackson, Joan Shorenstein Fellow (fall 2016), Boston Globe essayist, and a climate and energy writer for the Union of Concerned Scientists, examines the failure of national media outlets to respond to the Flint water crisis…
Nature’s Prophet: Bill McKibben as Journalist, Public Intellectual and Activist
March 7, 2013, 9:58 amBy Matthew C. Nisbet
A paper by Fall 2012 Fellow Matthew C. Nisbet examines the impact of “knowledge journalism” on the climate change debate.
Stories of Climate Change: Competing Narratives, the Media, and U.S. Public Opinion 2001–2010
February 1, 2012, 12:34 amBy Frederick W. Mayer
Frederick W. Mayer Shorenstein Center Fellow, Fall 2011 Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University Read the full paper (PDF). Excerpt: A decade that began with optimism for those advocating action to combat climate change ended in 2010 with dashed…
Modern Citizenship or Policy Dead End? Evaluating the Need for Public Participation in Science Policy Making, and Why Public Meetings May Not Be the Answer
January 3, 2011, 2:01 pmBy Dietram A. Scheufele
A paper by Dietram A. Scheufele, fall 2010 fellow, analyzes the recent renaissance that consensus conferences and public meetings have experienced regarding the discussion of controversial emerging technologies. First, it outlines the policy history of consensus conferences and other forms of…
The American Public and the Next Phase of the Health Care Reform Debate
November 4, 2009, 2:38 pmBy Robert J. Blendon
A paper by Robert J. Blendon, Sc.D., Shorenstein Center faculty affiliate, and John M. Benson, M.A. analyzes public opinion about the Affordable Care Act, by comparing the public’s response to the Clinton health plan in the final months of the…
Getting it for Free: When Foundations Provide the News on Health
June 1, 2009, 3:23 pmBy Maralee Schwartz
A paper by Maralee Schwartz, spring 2009 fellow, analyzes the implications of using health news provided by non-profit organizations. Departure of experienced journalists and shrinking budgets for reporting have resulted in a decline in the variety of content newspapers produce…
How Much Would You Pay to Save the Planet? The American Press and the Economics of Climate Change
January 1, 2009, 2:56 pmBy Eric Pooley
A paper by Eric Pooley, fall 2008 fellow, examines how the media has covered the economics of climate change. This paper follows coverage of the economic debate over Senate Bill 2191, the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2008, which called…
Journalism and Global Health
June 1, 2008, 3:32 pmBy Philip J. Hilts
A paper by Philip J. Hilts, spring 2008 fellow, explores the growth and future of global health news coverage. Hilts found that although newspapers have suffered an overall decline in reporting, global health coverage of topics such as new diseases, the…
Covering Controversial Science: Improving Reporting on Science and Public Policy
January 1, 2006, 3:59 pmBy Cristine Russell
A paper by Cristine Russell, spring 2006 fellow, surveys the state of science journalism, and finds that as the pace of new developments in science and technology quickens, journalists are increasingly confronted with covering complicated technical information as well as…
