Journalists have a unique role to play in changing the narrative around the worlds environmental breakdown and becoming an essential part of the solution. Hear from the course instructor of our series of free environmental journalism courses, Catherine Mackie, on why were all environmental journalists now.
I can remember the exact date I became an environmental journalist. It was 20 July 2007, the day I found myself quite literally up to my knees in the biggest environmental disaster to hit my city in a lifetime.
The torrential rain that day was relentless and unforgiving. It forced hundreds of families out of their homes as rivers burst their banks and floodwaters rose. Thousands of motorists spent a terrifying, cold night trapped in their cars watching the roads around them disappear under water.
I never acquired the job title of environmental journalist' but discovered, probably earlier than most that the environment was seeping into pretty much every story in my patch.
The great flood is an obvious environmental story but its ripples have been felt in so many stories since: anything from where to build homes to an increase in mental health problems. These aren't just local' stories anymore or disconnected issues about infrastructure and psychological trauma. They're linked to similar struggles facing communities around the UK and around the world. For reporters that means there is no such thing as just a local environmental story. Like wildfires, it's a global issue and you're reporting to the world.
What does that mean for local reporters on the ground? It means it's time to see the bigger picture. Climate change in particular is a global issue. Politicians will gather for Cop26, the next annual UN climate change conference in Glasgow in November 2021. For every reporter from Tirana to Skopje, it's your story.
If you think you're just a political, sport or general news journalist, it's time to think again. Stories from across the news spectrum are linked to environmental changes locally and the impact of climate change globally.
So, whenever a story lands on your desk, it's time to start asking, what's the environmental link? What you'll find is there is usually a much bigger narrative at work; from football pitches drying out as climate changes, or polluting factories escaping censure because of political corruption. Exposing those links will educate your audience on the biggest issue facing the planet, and help put into context why certain things are happening where you live.
So, whenever a story lands on your desk, it's time to start asking, what's the environmental link?
Catherine Mackie, editorial associate, Thomson Foundation
So welcome to the environmental beat. It can be dangerous, particularly if you're exposing corruption. It can be challenging if you're explaining climate science, but it can be rewarding when you're able to engage and educate your audience.
My one tip is don't forget to pack your wet weather gear. Back in the flood of July 2007, I spent a very wet night trapped in a caravan, with a camera operator and a sound engineer. But that's a story for another day.
#TFEnvironment
-- Play
-- --
How to become a better environmental journalist: Catherine was in conversation with The Third Pole on Twitter Spaces on 20th September, 2021, sharing insights, resources and tools to help journalists. This was followed by a Q&A with listeners. Listen to the conversation here. Follow @thomfound for more.
Related content
Environmental journalism | Why local matters: Sources Investigate local environmental stories and their possible links to climate change.
Environmental journalism | Why local matters: Storytelling Cover environmental stories and address climate change in a way that engages audiences.
Environmental journalism | Why local matters: Safety and security Learn how to stay safe online and when facing physical threats and intimidation.
Catherine Mackie Editorial Associate
About: Catherine is responsible for designing training programmes for Thomson Foundation and has been a senior journalist for more than 30 years.
Explore our projects across the globe
Most recent headlines
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
22/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Neerav Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
22/12/2025
Hitting the bullseye: Sky Sports readies itself for the biggest PDC World Darts ...
22/12/2025
Unique skillset: Bringing new directors to the world of darts at The Worlds with...
22/12/2025
Gravity Media prepares for a flight of fancy with the PDC World Darts Championsh...
22/12/2025
One hundred and eighty: Gravity Media on hitting the production bullseye at the ...
22/12/2025
The Famous Group's Jon Slusser on Fascinating Fans Through Immersive Content...
22/12/2025
ESPN's Meg Aronowitz on Continuing High-Quality Broadcasts of Collegiate Spo...
22/12/2025
ESPN Takes Data-Driven Storytelling to New Heights with MNF Playbook with Next ...
22/12/2025
For a decade, popular German podcast Fest & Flauschig has hosted an annual Chris...
22/12/2025
Paramount Scores Largest Share Increase Among Distributors as Paramount and CBS...
22/12/2025
New multi-year deal integrates Roku's data to fuel Nielsen's measurement suite
Roku gains access to Nielsen's streaming ratings, showing The Roku C...
22/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
22/12/2025
Berklee Wrapped 2025: Our Top News and Stories A look back at a year highlighted by faculty milestones, major film and television projects, Bob Dylan's ho...
22/12/2025
The works of Plato state that when humans have an experience, some level of change occurs in their brain, which is powered by memory - specifically long-term me...
22/12/2025
Partnership integrates complementary satellite data and AI analytics to enhance security, infrastructure, and environmental monitoring solutions for global cust...
22/12/2025
Workflows allow you to create a sequence of planned events which may be added to your template(s) or inserted directly into your sequential or background playli...
22/12/2025
Monday 22 December 2025
Sky extends PGA TOUR partnership until 2029, as Sky Spo...
22/12/2025
Back to All News
Global Anime Hits and New Releases Take Center Stage at Jump Festa 2026
Entertainment
22 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied to clipboar...
22/12/2025
Siobh n McSweeney, Rory McIlroy, Elon Musk, Catherine Connolly, Jim Gavin, Ivan Yates and Traitor Paudie Moloney lead new characters for Callan Kicks the Year 2...
22/12/2025
Winner announced in the picturesque surroundings of Wicklow's Avondale Tower and Treetop Walk
Andrew Trimble wins the show in his first series as coach
Th...
22/12/2025
The 2025 winners have been announced today, Sunday 21 December, for Ireland's largest choral competition Choirs for Christmas hosted by RT lyric fm.
Ove...
21/12/2025
Back to All News
Legoshi and Haru's Story Reaches Its Finale: BEASTARS Fin...
21/12/2025
John Shortt named Young Sportsperson of the Year Kerry are the Team of the Year
...
20/12/2025
Atomos announced the immediate availability of a new firmware update for its Ninja TX GO and Ninja TX monitor-recorders, unlocking ProRes RAW recording from the...
20/12/2025
CJP Broadcast has completed the digitisation of the European Gymnastics tape archive, converting 328 tapes containing more than forty years of recorded material...
20/12/2025
Bitmovin, the leading provider of video streaming solutions, today announced the launch of the Stream Lab MCP Server, to give AI agents and large language model...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/12/2025
Barack Obama Includes Laufey on His 2025 Favorite Music List The former presidents roundup of books, music, and movies includes a song from the Berklee alums ...
20/12/2025
Study reveals a key hormonal circuit in the kidneys Scripps Research scientists identify the protein that helps kidney cells regulate renin, providing foundatio...
19/12/2025
With Playout Release 2025.4, ToolsOnAir continues to push professional playout w...
19/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Diversified's Jared Timmins on AI for Broadcast Sports and Cre...
19/12/2025
2025 SVG Summit Audio Recap: Say What?The Audio Production and Distribution Workshop at the SVG Summit 20 took on issues including speech intelligibility, Next-...
19/12/2025
Gamified fun: Channel 5 on its NFL Big Game Night ambitions with Hungry Bear Med...
19/12/2025
College Football Playoff Preview: For ESPN, Round 1 is a Fantastic Yet Familia...
19/12/2025
AWS's Jason Dvorkin on Developing Partnerships With the NBA and PGA Tour, Em...
19/12/2025
Netflix Kicks Off Packed Sports Week with Paul-Joshua Fight Before Shifting to N...
19/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Presidio's Nareev Shah on the Role of Its Captiva...
19/12/2025
Mounted to the pylon of an AH-1Z Viper helicopter, a Red Wolf vehicle successful...
Journalists have a unique role to play in changing the narrative around the worlds environmental breakdown and becoming an essential part of the solution. Hear from the course instructor of our series of free environmental journalism courses, Catherine Mackie, on why were all environmental journalists now.
