Toolbox
The Knight Center has prepared the following articles and guides to help you in the newsroom.
Crunching Envirodata
Use spreadsheets to report on the environment - available at the basic, intermediate and advanced level
Environment Beat
Strengthen your news organizations' commitment by citing public interest
(Better) Environmental Stories
Structure, must-haves and interviewing tips that'll make your environmental articles more interesting
Forestry Stories
Story ideas and statistics on forests, forestry and timbering
Freelance Environmental Stories
A list of tips and tricks for becoming a successful freelance environmental reporter
Get the Spin on Greenwash
Tips on how to report harm associated with products that make unregulated claims
Geographic Information Systems
Fusing data and geography
Google for Journalists
It is much more than a search engine
International Stories
How to write about China's environmental impact and make it relevant to your audience
Interviewing
Tips from the pros
Invasive Species
Story ideas and tips on how to keep your readers interested in invasive species
Investigations
Learn how to balance an investigative story with your daily assignments
Land Use
These tips, prepared for a Michigan workshop, are applicable everywhere
Leaking Underground Storage Tanks
Here's a source of groundwater contamination ripe for investigation
Population, Environment and Security
Tips from The Woodrow Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Program as they appeared in Environment Writer
Sampling the Environment
When environmental data doesn’t exist, some reporters gather it themselves or hire someone to do it
Selling the Environment
A list of tips to help you sell your environmental story to your editor or publisher
Sifting the web
New journalism is not just about glitzy story-telling.
Sources: How to be a good one.
A list of tips to help you become a better source of environmental news.
Visual Elements
Tips and tricks to make your story come alive in the mind's eye
Water Quality
The Poynter Institute's News University offers a free online class for reporting on water
Words that Count
Learn how to analyze how frequently specific words are used in speeches.
Write Words
Potential linguistic pitfalls from those who cover the environment
