Best Practices in Environmental Journalism
Yellowstone - Natalie Pawelski-CNN
THE STORY: The battle over snowmobiling in Yellowstone is a natural for television-if you've got the time and resources to do it right. You've got stunning visuals-geysers and bison steaming in the snow. You've got great sound-the silence of a winter postcard, cut by the whine of snowmobiles and the throaty growl of a tailpipe as blue smoke spits into the air. And you've got good characters with passionate views: snowmobilers who are enthusiastic about this fun way to see the world's first national park; environmentalists horrified at air and noise pollution, and stress on the animals; and the people of West Yellowstone, self-declared Snowmobile Capital of the World, whose winter economy depends on visitors with snow machines.
THE APPROACH: For this piece, I had the luck to work with Montana-based shooter Bill Campbell, whose enthusiasm and knowledge of regional issues were invaluable. He rigged up a "helmet cam" to give a rider's-eye view of the snowmobiling experience, loaned me extra layers of serious footwear and thermal gear, and got beautiful shots and interviews during a very long, very cold day in the park.
ADVICE: The Yellowstone story is laced with broader themes: the nature of public lands, the role of wilderness, and the growing worry that Americans may be loving their national parks to death. I'd encourage anyone trying to cover this story to make sure to get substantive interviews with people on all sides of the issue. Leave plenty of time to get the shots that do the story justice. Ideally, spend a President's Day weekend day cruising the park on a snowmobile. A couple warnings: You will need serious warm-weather clothing-even if it the temperature doesn't seem extreme, after several hours cruising around in the open, believe me, you'll feel it. And in your jockeying for amazing shots, learn from a mistake I made: Don't play chicken with bison. If you find yourself in a snowmobile/bison traffic jam, remember: the buffalo are bigger than you are, and they don't understand the concept of a passing lane.
Japanese Knotweed Invasion - Vince Patton - KGW-TV
THE STORY: This story profiles a Nature Conservancy "weed team" out to do battle with an invasion of Japanese Knotweed on a local river. What made this team's work unique is their acceptance of chemical weed killer and their unbelievably careful application of it.
THE APPROACH: We followed the volunteers half a mile upstream, wading not only with camera, tripod and audio equipment, but also with an empty aquarium. The aquarium served as an amateur underwater housing for a clever shot in the story. The story was shot in the morning and written, edited and aired that afternoon.
ADVICE: To find people in your area, contact local conservation groups or your state department of agriculture to learn which invasive species pose the greatest threats in your region and how they're being addressed.
Corn or Concrete Series - Matt Hammill - WQAD-TV
THE STORY: CORN OR CONCRETE - LAND USE:
This look at urban sprawl in a community of barely a quarter million people follows the hopes and fears of land use and the dramatic changes realized by everyone from farmers to commuters to community leaders.
At its polar opposite you find mayors who feel they must expand their cities to attract jobs and build a tax base. Then there are the farmers who are losing their land to super-stores and industrial parks or are simply watching it be claimed by soaring property taxes as new developments surround their land. Caught in the middle are the rest of us who pay for the streets and sewers of a growing community, and we find ourselves stuck in traffic or perhaps miss the solitude of areas that were once farms and forests.
THE APPROACH: Sweeping shots of rows and rows of corn which now end in cement cul de sacs and entire farms surrounded by housing developments spoke louder than any words we could use. For a small station, renting a chopper for a day is a big expense - but well worth it for this story. We also relied on land use information from city and county planners, farm bureaus, local real estate agents and the RTNDF guide on urban sprawl reporting.
ADVICE: Reporting on urban sprawl is a great chance to put a face on an issue that's often hard to grasp. Further investigation finds that many diverse story lines from flooding to traffic jams to school expansion to inner city blight, all come under the same umbrella. But as a journalist it's so important to search for balance. Some people are conditioned to think of bulldozers and changes in the landscape as bad or disturbing. In reporting on urban sprawl it's critical to see the other side and the goals of developers and city leaders as well as farmers and environmentalists. There is also a downside to communities that become stagnant and never grow.
THE STORY: CORN OR CONCRETE - WILDLIFE
This segment of urban sprawl reporting focuses on a topic you seldom hear about - the impact of urban sprawl on wildlife. We found that the loss of habitat, as houses and businesses replace forests and fields, not only means the loss of some species but also the reality that some animals will try to move in with their new human neighbors. This story follows hawks that simply can't live without wild habitat and many other animals like raccoons that are very willing to move into your home if you've taken theirs.
THE APPROACH: Finding out that just ten years ago the position of wildlife rehabber or wildlife trapper was a hobby at best and is now a full-time job for several people in this area - gave us a beginning perspective. We followed some of these people from the basements of homes with cornered critters - to the treetops of swamps where some species of birds are just trying to hang on as developers move closer.
ADVICE: Historically, good journalism has always spoken for those without a voice and this is a classic example. It's a chance for reporters to show their viewers something they rarely see. They can watch wild animals on The Discovery Channel, but they seldom get to see what's going on in their own backyards. Those specialists, researchers and volunteers who know what's going on are there, you just need to track them down so they can speak for the furry and feathered who can't speak for themselves.
Tongass National Park - Guy Hand - Living On Earth
THE STORY: "The Tongass" is a two-part radio piece which aired on NPR's Living on Earth in May of 2001 and won first place for "Best Broadcast Feature Reporting" from the Society of Environmental Journalists. The piece focuses on "the delicate dance between fecundity and fragility" that defines Southeast Alaska's Tongass National Forest. The first eleven-minute segment explores the natural history of the Tongass-America's largest national forest, and one of the few temperate rain forests left in the world. The second fifteen-minute segment explores past and future threats to the Tongass, primarily fifty years of aggressive logging and its profound impact on the region.
THE APPROACH: As with all my assignments, I began this project with mountains of research-via the Internet, books, magazine and newspaper articles, followed by lots and lots of phone calls. Once I had interviews and a two-week travel schedule arranged, I began experimenting with ways to keep dry on a trip to one of the wettest places on earth. Since rain defines the Tongass, I didn't want to avoid it, and that meant Gore-Tex rain gear for me and water proof cases, zip-lock baggies, and crossed-fingers for my DAT recorders and microphones. I tried the old condom-over-the-microphone trick, but found it gave my audio a not altogether pleasant, slightly rubberized sound. Very furry windscreens repelled water just as well and required only an occasional shaggy-dog shake to keep microphones dry.
ADVICE: I believe the most important skill to take on the road, especially to rural places and remote landscapes, is the ability to listen. By that I don't mean the ability to collect sound bites, but to cultivate a kind of attentive passivity, a willingness to step back, to temper the journalistic impulse for pointed questions and instant answers. There's a quiet to places like the Tongass and it colors the cultures that live within them. An aggressive manner can startle as quickly as gunfire, sending both your interviewees and the real story running for cover. Instead, let the place do the talking. Build in time for sitting still. Learn the names of birds. Eat some local food. And simply listen.
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The Secret Arsenal - Don Wall - WFAA
Part 1 of 2 parts, originally aired, November 2, 1995
THE STORY: This is the inside story of Pantex-America's nuclear bomb factory, the top-secret plant in the Texas panhandle-where America's nuclear warheads are handled and stored. The piece discusses safety risks associated with transporting nuclear weapons over the nation's highways, the vulnerability of the plant to terrorism, or an accidental plane crash, exposure risks to workers, and potential ground and water contamination.
THE APPROACH: Traditional investigative reporting techniques were used. Interviews inside the plant, footage of workers in secure areas, and several documents became available. The U.S. Department of Energy had declassified a tremendous amount of information. The Cold War was over.
ADVICE: Trying to shoot in and around the Pantex plant proved very difficult. Armed security guards stopped us several times. Today, access would likely be denied, although stories about security risks at Pantex made the wires, after 9/11. The future of nuclear weapons remains a top environmental story.
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Sick Buildings - Don Wall - WFAA
Part one of two, which originally aired, May 1 & 2, 1997
THE STORY: This report began as a spot news story, the evacuation of a Fort Worth office tower. Odors inside the building were making people sick. When the office building was evacuated again, the next day, without explanation, we decided to stay with the story, and find out why. Reporting took us inside the expanding world of industrial hygienists, environmental cleanup crews, and indoor air problems.
THE APPROACH: The mystery proceeded like a detective story. Environmental investigators determined how noxious air was likely circulated through the ventilation system. We took the audience into crawl spaces and laboratories, joining scientists at work, looking under a microscope.
ADVICE: Indoor air quality has become a major national issue, for homeowners, insurance companies, builders, and health care professionals. New, harder looks at health risks, insurance claims, mold remediation crews, and construction practices will produce surprises, and a steady supply of environmental news stories.
Surviving Gridlock - Don Wall - WFAA
First of two parts, which originally aired, February 14 & 15, 1996
THE STORY: This urban sprawl piece combined a detailed look at existing roadways in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, with official growth projections to present a changing urban landscape. The two part series offered solutions, as well as problems. Part one reported how an increasing congestion problem affects the quality of life in one of America's fastest growing metropolitan areas. The series also examined technical solutions, like the virtual office and mass transit.
THE APPROACH: Two tools proved extremely useful. Interviews with drivers, stuck in traffic, done from the back of a pickup truck, brought immediacy to the viewer. And, computer animation illustrated an ominous projection of expected growth patterns.
ADVICE: New reporting techniques, using computer modeling, GPS technology, and population survey information can enhance stories about growth. Urban planners, professors and paid consultants compile volumes of data to influence decision-makers. Tracking America's changing communities remains an ongoing, important staple of environmental journalism.
Mallard Ducks - Lester Graham - Great Lakes Radio Consortium
THE STORY: This piece is about how urban sprawl and agriculture might be affecting the duck populations in the Great Lakes region. The hardest part in doing this piece was getting the editor to agree to let me travel and spend the time to gather the interviews and sound. I finally convinced him by including it as a side-trip for another set of stories in the region. After driving three hours, I arrived in the area an hour and a half earlier than the 7:00 a.m. meeting time (yeah, I got up at 2:00 a.m.). I was meeting the researchers on the property of a large hunting club. I checked out a few side roads to see if I could find a place that would offer some nice background sound when I did the follow-up interview. A swampy area near the woods offered the sound of bullfrogs and songbirds. Perfect.
THE APPROACH: I didn't use any special equipment. That's part of the reason I was so pleased with the piece. It wasn't necessary to use shotgun microphones or anything like that, just an ElectroVoice RE50 and a Sony D8 DAT recorder. I rolled tape most of the day, in the truck, in the field, on the go, just hoping for some useable sounds. We got lucky when a mallard hen wouldn't leave the nest and had to be flushed. The only thing out of the ordinary was crawling across a backyard on my belly, pushing the microphone in front of me to capture the sound of newly hatched ducklings without scaring the hen and her brood out of the nest.
ADVICE: The best advice I can offer is this; if you think the story is worth doing, fight for it. As far as sound gathering is concerned, you can never get enough tape. When you're back in the studio, be judicious in your tape selection. Be subtle in how you blend it all together. Write with the sound in mind, but don't fall in love with the sound. In other words, don't use tape for tape's sake. Use the sound only as a device to help tell the story.
Singing to Whales - Scott Miller- KING-TV
THE STORY: Sometimes you have to dare to be lucky. When we heard about a Seattle choir that sings to whales on the summer solstice each year we were full of skepticism. Still, it sounded like one of those quirky Northwest "people" stories. We pitched it on that basis, making it clear that we didn't actually expect the whales to cooperate.
THE APPROACH: The producers went for it, not so much because of the choir, but because orcas had been in the news a lot lately. The Puget Sound population was declining and no one knew exactly why. So one of the tips here is to look for unusual angles and ways to tell stories that are already on news management's radar screen. They are often more receptive to what they know, than something coming out of left field. It shouldn't be that way, but unfortunately TV managers aren't risk takers these days.
ADVICE: Of course as the story shows we did get lucky and stumbled on one of those magical television moments. It was hard to fumble that one. As I look back on the story, though, the thing that really strikes me is the use of sound. From the breath of the whales, to the hum of the boat engines, to the music of the choir; the natural sound is really what makes this piece for me. In TV, the natural sound is just as important as the interviews and the track, yet it often gets short shifted. This story aired in July 2001. Since the story aired the concern for Puget Sound orcas has only increased. The National Marine Fisheries Service is now considering listing these orcas under the Endangered Species Act
Computer Recycling - Scott Miller - KING-TV
THE STORY: When I was moved onto the Investigative Unit, I had to find a way to incorporate that rigid "gotcha" style of investigative reporting to environmental stories. When I got an email tip about a computer shop that was pocketing the recycling fees and then tossing computers in the dumpster, I knew I had an opportunity.
THE APPROACH: This one took some time. We watched this particular business for three months before the story aired in November 2001. We had to stake out this one dumpster for several nights until we got the "Money" shot. Producers loved the result. As a result the county is now rewriting the contracts with recycling vendors to reflect some of the problems we uncovered in our story.
ADVICE: Pitching environmental stories as investigative pieces is one way to get them on the air. Although, it limits you to catching somebody doing something, which is never as easy as it seems.
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