A presentation for the 4th International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, July 2009, Athens Greece . AuthorDavid B. Sachsman -University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; James Simon- Fairfield University; JoAnn Myer Valenti Independent Scholar

1. David B. Sachsman University of Tennessee at Chattanooga James Simon Fairfield University JoAnn Myer Valenti Independent Scholar ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ A presentation for the 4th International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, July 2009, Athens Greece Copyright © 2009 by David B. Sachsman, James Simon, and JoAnn Myer Valenti. Work in progress. Not for citation. Environmental Journalists in the 21st Century: A Study of U.S. Environment Reporters vs. U.S. Journalists in General

6. 1. Where are the U.S. environment reporters?

7. Environment Reporters, Daily Newspapers New England (2000) Mtn. West (2001) Pacific West(2002, 04-05) South (2002-03) 82 newspapers 110 newspapers 147 newspapers 310 newspapers 40 without 55 without 54 without 186 without env. reporters env. reporters env. reporters env. reporters 42 with 51 55 with 81 93 with 114 124 with 131 env. reporters env. reporters env. reporters env. reporters 51.2% had one or 50.0% had one or 63.3% had one or 40.6% had one or more env. reporters more env. reporters more env. reporters more env. reporters

8. Environment Reporters, Daily Newspapers II Mid Atlantic (2003-04) Mid Central (2004-05) West Central (2004-05) 169 newspapers 310 newspapers 334 newspapers 121 without 209 without 263 without env. reporters env. reporters env. reporters 48 with 53 101 with 103 71 with 70 env. reporters env. reporters env. reporters 28.4% had one or 32.6% had one or 21.3% had one or more env. reporters more env. reporters more env. reporters National Total: 577 of 603 newspaper reporters interviewed (95.7%)

9. Environment Reporters, Television New England (2000 ) Mountain West (2001) Pac West (2002, 04-05) South (2002-2003) 33 stations with news 81 stations with news 96 stations with news 194 stations w news 29 without an 71 without an 81 without an 171 without an env. reporter env. reporter env. reporter env. reporter 4 with 4 10 with 10 15 with 13 23 with 27 env. reporters env. reporters env. reporters env. reporters 12.1% had an 12.3% had one or 15.6% had one or 11.9% had one or env. reporter more env. reporters more env. reporters more env. reporters

10. Environment Reporters, Television II Mid Atlantic (2003-04 ) Mid Central (2004-05) West Central(2004-05) 89 stations with news 138 stations with news 228 stations with news 89 without an 123 without an 209 without an env. reporter env. reporter env. reporter 0 with 0 15 with 14 19 with 15 env. reporters env. reporters env. reporters 0% had an 11.0% had one or 8.3% had one or env. reporter more env. reporters more env. reporters National Total: 75 of 83 television reporters interviewed (90.4%)

12. 2. Who are the environment reporters?

13. Job Titles of Environment Reporters 100.0% 1.3% 0.0% 49.0% 0.0% 1.3% 8.6% 39.7% South (2002-03) 100.0% 3.6% 10.9% 54.5% 3.6% 9.1% 0.0% 18.2% New Eng. (2000) Pacific West (2002, 04-05) Mtn. West (2001) Total Specialized editor Specialized reporter (business, politics, sports) Reporter, general assign. reporter, staff writer Health reporter or writer Science reporter or writer All Natural Resources, Agriculture, Outdoor Environment reporter, writer; all env. combos 100.0% 100.0% 7.9% 4.4% 7.9% 5.5% 48.2% 49.5% 0.9% 0.0% 1.8% 1.1% 7.9% 8.8% 25.4% 30.8%

14. Job Titles of Environment Reporters II 100.0% 27.1% 0.0% 42.4% 1.2% 1.2% 3.5% 24.7% West Central (2004-05) 100.0% 2.0% 5.9% 56.9% 2.0% 0.0% 2.0% 31.4% Mid Atlantic (2003-04) National (2000-2005) Mid Central (2004-05) Total Specialized editor Specialized reporter (business, politics, sports) Reporter, general assign. reporter, staff writer Health reporter or writer Science reporter or writer All Natural Resources, Agriculture, Outdoor Environment reporter, writer; all env. combos 100.0% 100.0% 9.7% 21.8% 3.7% 1.0% 49.4% 50.5% 0.8% 0.0% 1.9% 1.0% 5.6% 2.0% 29.0% 23.8%

15. Percentage of time spent on environment stories 44.2% 55.0% 50.0% 37.9% Mean 91 30.7% 31.9% 37.4% Mountain West (2001) 55 18.2% 23.6% 58.2% New England (2000) 151 116 n 29.8% 41.4% 67-100% 18.5% 23.3% 34-66% 51.7% 35.3% 0-33% South (2002-2003) Pacific West (2002, 04-05)

16. Percentage of time spent on environment stories II 43.0% 33.0% 30.2% 47.4% Mean 101 14.9% 15.8% 69.3% Mid Central (2004-05) 53 33.9% 17.0% 49.1 % Mid Atlantic (2003-04) 652 85 n 26.0% 12.9% 67-100% 21.8% 22.4% 34-66% 52.2% 64.7% 0-33% National (2000-05) West Central (2004-05)

17. 3. How do environment reporters compare to U.S. journalists in general?

18. Personal Characteristics

20. Education Environment Reporters U.S. Journalists Education (2000-05) (2002) H.S. or less 0.6% 1.8% Some college 6.2% 8.9% College graduate 68.1% 68.0% Some graduate 7.6% 4.7% Masters or more 17.6% 16.6%

27. Job Characteristics Autonomy in the Newsroom

33. Job Satisfaction of Environment Reporters (2000-05) and U.S. Journalists (2002) 1.7% 2.2% Very Dissatisfied 14.4% 12.6% Somewhat Dissatisfied 50.6% 54.0% Fairly Satisfied 33.3% 31.2% Very Satisfied U.S. Journalists (2002) Environment Reporters (2000-05) Job Satisfaction

38. Summary: Most used sources 3. State Dept. of Environmental Quality 2. Local activist citizens 1. Local environment Groups Mountain West (2001) 3. State Dept. of Natural Resources 2. Local environment Groups 1. State Dept. of Environ. Quality New Eng. (2000) 3. Local activist citizens 3. Local enviro. groups 2. State Dept. of Enviro. Quality 2. Local activist citizens 1. Local environment Groups 1. State Dept. of Environmental Quality Pacific NW (2002) South (2002-2003)

45. Q: “Environmental journalists need to be fair to sources such as corporations . Do you… 49 57 91 54 N 10% 100% 100% 100% TOTAL 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Strongly Disagree 0.7% 1.8% 0.0% 0.0% Disagree 37.6% 45.6% 58.2% 53.7% Agree 61.7% 52.6% 41.8% 46.3% Strongly Agree South (2002-03) Pacific NW (2002) Mtn. West (2001) New Eng. (2000)

46. Q: “Environmental journalists need to be fair to sources such as environmental activist groups. Do you… 150 57 91 54 N 100% 100% 100% 100% TOTAL 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% Strongly Disagree 0.7% 1.8% 0.0% 0.0% Disagree 41.3% 42.1% 63.7% 53.7% Agree 58.0% 56.1% 36.3% 46.3% Strongly Agree South (2002-03) Pacific NW (2002) Mtn. West (2001) New Eng. (2000)

48. Q: “Environmental journalists tend to be too “green” – meaning slanted in favor of environmentalism. Do you…” 133 47 71 43 N 100.1%* 100% 99.9%* 100% TOTAL *does not = 100% due to rounding 3.8% 2.1% 4.2% 0.0% Strongly Disagree 54.1% 53.2% 57.7% 53.5% Disagree 41.4% 44.7% 36.6% 46.5% Agree 0.8% 0.0% 1.4% 0.0% Strongly Agree South (2002-03) Pacific NW (2002) Mtn. West (2001) New Eng. (2000)

49. Q: “Environmental journalists tend to be too “brown” – meaning slanted in favor of business and industry. Do you…” 134 46 80 49 N 100% 100% 100.1%* 100% TOTAL *does not = 100% due to rounding 9.7% 4.3% 8.8% 8.2% Strongly Disagree 85.1% 87.0% 88.8% 87.8% Disagree 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2.0% Agree 5.2% 8.7% 2.5% 2.0% Strongly Agree South (2002-03) Pacific NW (2002) Mtn. West (2001) New Eng. (2000)