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Articles by James Fahn | Email the Author
Rio+20 side events become the main event
Does the summit deserve the scorn and indifference it has received from the media?
By James Fahn Jun 22, 2012 at 03:15 PM
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — Tragedy and farce. Those are the two general impressions conveyed by much of the world’s... More
From SOS to SMS
Mobile journalism service aims to protect Indonesian forests, connect villages
By James Fahn May 29, 2012 at 01:25 PM
WEST KALIMANTAN PROVINCE, INDONESIA—Alim, the chief of news for Ruai TV, remembers when the area didn’t have a privately operated... More
Inside COP17
Why UN climate summits like the one in Durban are challenging, but worth covering
By James Fahn Dec 14, 2011 at 02:45 PM
DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA—It’s not easy to be a climate reporter. You have to understand the science of climate change, as... More
Puzzling Over the Flood
James Fahn pieces together the Thai disaster from international and local news
By James Fahn Nov 11, 2011 at 12:03 PM
In the movie The Paper, a group of editors for a New York tabloid are trying to decide how prominently... More
Hooking the Reader
Dublin meeting highlights reporting challenges related to oceans, seafood
By James Fahn Oct 13, 2011 at 12:30 PM
Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, as the old saying goes. Teach a man to... More
Starving for Coverage
Unlike the 1980s, journalists pay little attention to famine ravaging the Horn of Africa
By James Fahn Sep 13, 2011 at 03:40 PM
What a difference a generation makes. Back in 1984-85, groundbreaking media coverage of the terrible drought and famine that affected... More
Growing Science in the Desert
Several Middle Eastern countries are pouring money into research; will it work?
By James Fahn Jul 11, 2011 at 02:00 PM
Doha, Qatar—“Water flows uphill toward money and power,” said hydrologist Tony Allan, citing a political truism during a talk here... More
Environmental Journalism Associations Proliferating Worldwide
Members find strength—and challenges—in numbers
By James Fahn Jun 7, 2011 at 10:37 AM
When I was a journalist uncovering how oil and petrochemical companies were dumping mercury into the Gulf of Thailand, I... More
Red Alert on the Green Beat
Violence and threats severely restrain environmental coverage in much of the world
By James Fahn May 3, 2011 at 08:45 AM
In 2007, Cherelle Jackson started publishing a three-part series of investigative reports that examined plans to develop tourism on an... More
The Climate Context in Japan
Crisis tests media’s ability to frame nuclear debate in a world beset by energy risks
By James Fahn Apr 5, 2011 at 02:56 PM
When I was a young journalist working as the environment editor for a Thai newspaper back in the 1990s, one... More
Has ‘Climate’ Become a Dirty Word?
Despite audience fatigue, interest remains stronger than ever in the most vulnerable countries
By James Fahn Mar 1, 2011 at 10:45 AM
When President Obama gave his State of the Union address in January, there seemed to be more commentary among environmentalists... More
Introducing ‘Earth Journalism’
A global view of a local beat
By James Fahn Feb 1, 2011 at 09:00 AM
In the grand scheme of environmental affairs, journalism is almost always an afterthought. The media world seems to return the... More
Woman’s work - The twisted reality of an Italian freelancer in Syria
Sourcing Trayvon Martin ‘photos’ from stormfront - Not a good idea, Business Insider
Elizabeth Warren, the antidote to CNBC - The senator schools the talking heads on bank regulation
Art Laffer + PR blitz = press failure - The media types up the retail lobby’s propaganda
Reuters’s global warming about-face - A survey shows the newswire ran 50 percent fewer stories on climate change after hiring a “skeptic”
In one tweet
Luke Russert is the Golden Boy of DC
And it drives young journalists crazy
It’s official: We never need to worry about the future of journalism again!
The NYT shows us why
Why does Florida produce so much weird news? Experts explain
CJR's Guide to Online News Startups
ACEsTooHigh.com – Reporting on the science, education, and policy surrounding childhood trauma
Who Owns What
The Business of Digital Journalism
A report from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Questions and exercises for journalism students.


