Climate journalism for climate-affected communities
What I learned at the Entrepreneurial Journalism Creators Program
“We know climate change is happening. The apple yield is going down because of the heat. But nobody is telling us what to do about it. Or for that matter, water in the springs is going down every year. But is there a way to sustain what is left? I don’t read or hear about it anywhere.” This is what Bahadur Singh Ginwal said to me when we sat down to talk about the sources of climate related news in his region, in Nainital, in the Kumaon hills of the Indian Himalayas. At 2200 meters above sea level, this is where loss and damage from climate change occurs every day. There is a crisis every season — from extreme rain events, landslides, forest fires to a worsening water, agriculture and biodiversity crisis.
Climate science is clear. Warming will be more pronounced in the mountains. The climate impacts are already in motion, many of them are irreversible. Mountain communities will need more help. Are they well-informed and prepared to deal with this life-changing phenomenon? Among all the actors, is journalism doing its job in serving these communities?
To be fair, climate reportage in India has increased over the years. There are many dedicated platforms writing on climate change for the public. But there is one problem. They cater to one kind of public — mostly digitally smart, English-speaking audiences. In this insightful piece from Newslaundry, the author pulls out interesting data from the Media and Climate Change Observatory which monitors news sources across 38 countries. The coverage of the four Indian newspapers monitored by this group shows big peaks occur around the annual climate change conference towards the end of every year, and smaller peaks during the monsoon months, when India faces the most severe brunt of flooding.
This suggests that the coverage of mainstream newsrooms is typically limited to a few events such as natural disasters or international negotiations. There is very little journalism that is talking to climate vulnerable communities. Journalism that can help people understand the risks they face and the options available to them to build resilience and protect their livelihoods, homes and health. This kind of journalism doesn’t happen by chance. It needs to be intentional — timely, locally relevant, and made accessible through products and platforms that integrate with the lives of the affected communities.
Nanda-Devi Climate Files: That’s what I named my idea when I presented it to my cohort of fellow journalists at the Entrepreneurial Journalism Creators Program (EJCP) at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. I had applied to this 100-day online course with a fuzzy idea — to build a local weather and climate-based platform for communities living in the Kumaun region of the Indian Himalayas.
Before this, I had worked at a climate think tank in India for 20 years. Various work opportunities had taken me to the Kumaun region a number of times. I had made friends here. I had also seen climate impacts in this region from close quarters. In 2021, after I quit my corporate job, I had no desire of working in a large organization soon. I wanted to create my own, quiet space to work. Could it be a small platform that focused on climate change communication in the Himalayas? I wasn’t sure. My application was selected, and there I was in a class of 35 journalists from 19 countries, in the fifth cohort of EJCP. Each of us were at a different stage of a creator’s journey. Like me, many came in with just an ide. Others were further down the road, having already launched their niche newsletters and podcasts.
The course ended in February. We said goodbye to Jeremy Caplan, our Program Director, and the cohort members, through the small Zoom windows. Many of us felt emotional even though we hadn’t ever met in person. To me, it was a reflection on the overall quality of the program that Jeremy and his team have painstakingly built. It also spoke to the human connection and warmth they could foster in a fully online program.
After the 100 days, my idea still remains an idea. My mentor, HR Venkatesh told me early on, “The real outcome of this course is ‘you’. It is the learning and the worldview you gain.” It helped me relax. Nobody expected me to launch a platform in 100 days. I just focused on soaking in all the ideas and resources that were coming my way. Two decades into my career, I was so happy to be a learner.
So, here it is. A summary of ideas and values that I learned at EJCP, which essentially redefined the fundamentals of journalism for me.
#1: Journalism is more than content
That was the big tenet that Jeff Jarvis, director of the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism, spoke about in one of the earliest classes.
“I am not crazy about content. I am crazy about journalism as a service. I reject content for service”, he said.
Jeff was essentially saying we need to look beyond the narrow confines of producing articles, videos and other forms of media content. Instead, focus on providing valuable information and services to our audience, that helps them make sense of the world around them, helps them solve problems in their everyday life.
But for this, we need to know who we are serving. If we know who we are serving, then we need to listen to them deeply. We need to understand their needs and interests and produce journalism that is useful, relevant and targeted. That is journalism done as a service.
#2: Serving ‘news deserts’
A growing problem as much in the U.S. as in India, many communities live in dark “news deserts” within a well-served news space. In EJCP, we met a number of passionate journalism entrepreneurs who are serving some kind of a news desert and have created successful models for us to study and adapt.
To name a few, Outlier Media addresses the information needs of low-income communities in Detroit. Black Ballad is a thriving lifestyle focused platform, focused on serving black women in Britain and beyond. Radio Ambulante tells compelling stories from Latin America that are often overlooked by mainstream media.
All these platforms have one unmistakable thing in common — how hard they work to know their audience and how deeply they invest in building connections with their community.
#3: Build a community beyond your audience
Beyond building a loyal audience, a niche journalism venture will need a community to support and sustain itself. Ariel Zirulnick, one of the key people behind the Membership Puzzle Project, took us tirelessly through membership models and routines to engage with our communities.
“Find a community that will invest time, energy, ideas and money in your cause,” she told us. The trend of building membership for media platforms is constantly growing, but what does it mean in real terms. It’s not just about finding a sustainable revenue stream from membership. In fact, that comes much later.
It is about inspiring people to gather around your work, become your informal advisors, help you make decisions. It’s about thinking deeply what benefits you offer to your members (beyond content), how you engage them, and what makes them invested in the success of your organization.
#4: It’s not about being the best, the biggest or the most talented
The metrics of success for a journalism platform today may not hinge upon being the best or the biggest. Instead, it may depend on what makes it the most unique, what are the problems it is solving for people, what need is it addressing that is not being met in the wider media landscape. Eric Silver and Amanda Mcloughlin of Multitude, shared a number of life lessons from their years of experience in the podcasting world.
“Both big tech and legacy media companies have made bad business decisions. Often, big acquisitions are followed by big layoffs. Many of them fail to turn their investment into profits,” said Eric. But it is also true, he added, that alongside the failures of large media platforms, there is a quiet, thriving community of independent creators and podcasters making a sustainable living from small, dedicated audiences.
Eric and Amanda were clear that success is no longer guaranteed for an expensive, highly produced podcast. But it is more likely to happen for a podcast that intentionally makes a deep and continued engagement with its audience.
#5: Don’t need to go it alone
As the owner of a niche media venture, we don’t have to be nervous, lonely people. While many of us in the cohort were clear that we were not particularly looking to scale up our ventures, we also learned how important it is to reach out and find partners, collaborators and advisors. This came up again and again from various speakers.
Anita Li, founder of The Green Line, pushed us to imagine various partnership models with organizations working at the grassroots to educational and cultural institutions, anyone whose work and mission has synergy with our ideas. We could even tie up with a mainstream media platform that is invested in the same subject that we are pursuing. We could collaborate with young people from the community that we want to work for.
Dan Shipper, the co-founder of the superb platform Every, said, “No matter who you are, if you are successful, you will start working with a team. It is better to write together than to write alone.” Dan was talking about Every’s model of building a writer’s collective that allows individual writers the time, space and creative energy to produce deeply thought-out long form pieces.
Candice Fortman, the Executive Director of Outlier Media, spoke about her experience of finding mentors and advisors who opened the doors to bigger opportunities.
So, how do these ideas influence me? Regardless of what shape and form my project idea takes in future, these will be the reference points for my practice. This wasn’t the case 100 days ago. Now, I am mindful.
I know the Himalayan community I want to work for and with. I know they are looking for “season based, locally tested and actionable climate solutions” that can safeguard their life and livelihood. It is now my job to produce journalism that serves this need.
My audience may not have the capacity to pay for this journalism from their own pockets, but that doesn’t mean there are no other avenues to explore. It ain’t easy. But as Jeremy cheerfully says, “We are in a real renaissance of journalism.”
The EJCP itself has built a global cadre of journalism entrepreneurs who are already running sustainable niche projects, serving the information needs of the underserved. I am happy to join this group and start my own journey, knowing that many are walking this path ahead of me, and are walking it successfully.
If you would like to support, advise or join me on this journey, please write to me at rishunigam1701@gmail.com, or follow me here or here.
Rishu Nigam is an independent writer, documentary filmmaker, and trainer focused on climate communication. She is based in New Delhi.
