The Ongoing Development of Sustainable Journalism: a Plan of Action for The Observer at Notre Dame

Student

Ryan Kolakowski

College(s)

College of Arts and Letters

Faculty Advisor

Richard Jones & Victoria St. Martin

Class Year

2019

Source: barillacfn.com

Communities across the nation are enduring the consequences of climate change, and journalists are learning how to keep up with the increasing demand for information.

My research explored how newsrooms across the country have adapted to cover climate issues and convey complex stories to readers. Through my research, I found that publications, regardless of stature or location, have transitioned to using a number of multimedia platforms in order to create unique experiences for readers. Interactive graphics, illustrations, audio, video and other multimedia platforms better enable news publications to tell stories about climate change. For the purposes of my project, I worked with journalists from The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The South Bend Tribune, The Marietta Daily Journal, and The Observer. My final product consisted of a series of feature stories about how the journalism industry covers climate issues. The series included sources from a national publication, a small city publication, a suburban publication, and a campus publication. Through these stories, I was able to highlight how different markets address climate issues. I paid special attention to the methods that journalists used to deliver content.