Mass communications media in the developed world have covered scientific and political debates over the impact of global climate change for nearly two decades. But journalists in developing countries did not have the budgets, the training, or the opportunities to do the same. “There was very little information about climate change reaching the public in the countries that are most vulnerable to its impacts,” says Mike Shanahan, press officer for the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), a research and advocacy organization.

The problem became apparent at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bali, Indonesia, in 2007. Just 11 percent of the 1,600 journalists accredited to the conference were from news outlets in developing countries. Yet, these annual U.N. conventions are a key venue where nations assess their progress, negotiate greenhouse gases targets, commit to funding priorities, and more.

The IIED was concerned about the dearth of news on climate change in the developing world. So was Panos, a global network that fosters public debate about development, and Internews, a nonprofit committed to empowering local media. “We all realized that journalists from developing countries could very rarely afford to travel to report on the international climate change negotiations, and that this was creating a democratic deficit,” says Shanahan. So, together, the three groups formed the Climate Change Media Partnership, with the aim of boosting both the quality and the quantity of climate change media coverage worldwide.

The Partnership raises funds to bring about 40 developing country journalists to the annual Conference of Parties of the U.N.’s Framework Convention on Climate Change. There, the group provides its journalist Fellows a two-week program that includes media training, connections to sources for stories, and high-level briefings where the journalists meet and interview senior negotiators, top scientists, and other newsmakers.

“Something important here is that we enable journalists to tell stories that are directly relevant to their audiences at home,” says Shanahan. At last year’s Copenhagen summit, for example, many met and interviewed their heads of state.

The program benefits do not end there. Fellows share ideas, contacts, and reporting tips through their own e-mail network. Some have organized media workshops for other journalists in their regions. Others have created the first climate change series for their radio stations or newspapers.

So far, journalists from 42 countries have participated; last year, there were nearly 600 applicants. The Partnership expects as many this year, as the staff gears up to take 40 journalists to the December climate change summit in Cancun, Mexico. Each fellowship includes travel to the conference, food, lodging, field trips, and program administrative fees. The cost is about $10,000 per journalist.

The investment has paid major dividends. Over the past three years, roughly 120 fellowship recipients have produced nearly 1,600 stories on climate change for media outlets in their home countries.

“But I am most proud of the fact that we are helping to form a long-term network of the future leaders of climate change journalism.” says Shanahan. “Their passion, determination and enthusiasm for finding and sharing great stories about climate change are critical for keeping millions of people around the world informed.”

Amanda Spake is a Washington, D.C.-based writer whose articles on health, science, education, and the environment have appeared in U.S. News and World Report, The Nation, and the Washington Post, among other publications.

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Original article on the america.gov web site

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