Could Social Journalism End Climate Change?
Ok so perhaps ending climate change is a bit of a jump, but I think social journalism is a different animal that can truly take on the beast of a rapidly changing climate.
First off, I’m a nerd. From astronomy to zoology, from Bill Nye to Marty McFly, I’ve been a pretty big science geek for just about my entire life.
As a child, I thought it was normal to like Star Wars, Jurassic Park and Back to the Future. I believed kids liked movies like Short Circuit and Batteries Not Included because of the science and technology. Apparently, it was the intergalactic laser fights, time-flying cars and giant dinosaurs that hooked ’em. I was so close.
As an undergrad at Hampton University, a historically black college in southeast Virginia, I spent a lot my junior and senior years and all of my summers interning at various science institutions and aquariums promoting education and communication on wildlife and marine life conservation.
Hands-on animal interactions with reptiles, insects and mammals was both educational and entertaining for aquarium visitors. It was fantastic to see kids light up at the sight of the fist-sized Algerian hedgehogs (aka little poop machines) or parents jump three-feet back when their eyes caught the spindly frames of the male Malaysian Stick Insect, all while learning about how avoiding plastic straws and eating less Atlantic Cod could help protect the ecosystems those featured creatures originated from.
A few years later (thirty came so quick, guys, I don’t know how this happened), I am finally using my degree for more than just random research binges and fact-checking my friends and family. This week marks my first time as a graduate student in the social journalism program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism in New York City.
Moving beyond my love of blockbuster films that depict a world swallowed by water, invaded by aliens or destroyed by giant Kaijus, I can finally say that I’ve fallen back in love with science education and communication.
I’ve maintained many of my connections with colleagues who are working on research projects within government agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or are working on Ph.Ds that are funded by private and public foundations. One common thread of concern I hear is how the science they research, the results they produce, makes it into the public eye.
Science tends to exist in a bubble; the research and theories revolve in one-dimensional communities of experts, geeks and nerds, with museums, aquariums and science institutions sharing a handful of memorable results as temporary exhibits and presentations.
Great start, yes, but science is more than geologic time scales, fossils and giant particle colliders. There are people directly affected by the research surrounding the sustainability of the northeast fisheries industry, for example, that may not receive, fully appreciate or even believe those results to make informed decisions.
These are the communities I want to focus on as a social journalist. People who live in areas where science can make a difference in their lives, and people who question the validity of the science they encounter.
The issue I’m seeing from a journalistic perspective is the accuracy and access the public has to actual science. How many people, kids and adults, find reliable sources to answer their curiosities after watching or reading science fiction? How many other people believe false information from misleading sources over peer-reviewed articles? Why is that?
Knowledge is power, and I am entering a field where it’s my responsibility to speak truth to power. How can we arm citizens with facts so they can make knowledgeable, conscious decisions that would have a positive impact in their local communities (like being selective with the fish they consume to lessen the damage on fishery populations)?
I believe there is a real opportunity to take popular and even unpopular topics in science and garner real discussion between the public and scientists.
Social Journalism focuses on listening in order to understand where the information gaps are, where the need is, and so forth, through the application of design thinking. If scientists and researchers in a specific residential area were able to share their data so citizens could make informed decisions about how their water is treated, for example, then I believe social journalism can and will have a monumental impact on the future of the news media industry.
So while it’s only my first week in the program, I’m optimistic about the ability to change the way science is leveraged in local communities. This will give our greater human community, in my opinion, a real chance at bringing an end to climate change.
