DEADLINE: Covering Water in a Changing World

A Free Specialized Reporting Institute from the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation

November 12 -13, 2015
Gainesville, FL

Harmful algal blooms in the Great Lakes, massive “dead zones” in the Gulf of Mexico, deepening conflicts over water in historically wet states like Florida: Reporters need not only the scientific background to cover complex water quality and quantity stories, but new strategies for explaining the climate-change angles in ways that don’t turn off their audiences.

The Covering Water in a Changing World specialized reporting institute, funded by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation and in conjunction with the UF School of Natural Resources and Environment, is designed for any journalist or weather broadcaster reporting on water issues and the impact of climate change. We will use a combination of journalist, science and industry experts to tackle key challenges for journalists, including:

• How to move beyond the rhetoric of blame and “water wars” toward helping your local audiences understand how water quality and water scarcity problems are affecting them and identify possible solutions.
• How to communicate the climate-change angles so crucial to each of these issues, when the very term has become so polarizing.
• How to report about these issues in a way that will engage audiences and help them understand their impact on water.

All expenses for the workshop are paid from the McCormick Foundation Grant.

The deadline to apply is September 1. Travel, lodging and tuition are all included. There are 30 spots available. See the website for full details.