Author Archive

Articles by James Fahn | Email the Author

 

1. The Observatory

   Rio+20 side events become the main event

   June 22, 2012 03:15 PM

   Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — Tragedy and farce. Those are the two general impressions conveyed by much of the world’s media regarding the global negotiations taking place here this week, which harken back to the historical treaty talks held 20... Continue reading

2. The Observatory

   From SOS to SMS

   May 29, 2012 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 station to serve as a voice for the province’s indigenous people; it didn’t have the infrastructure to support... Continue reading

3. The Observatory

   Inside COP17

   December 14, 2011 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 well as the politics and the economics. You need to cover energy policy, forest issues, agriculture, oceans, and industry. You... Continue reading

4. The Observatory

   Puzzling Over the Flood

   November 11, 2011 12:03 PM

   In the movie The Paper, a group of editors for a New York tabloid are trying to decide how prominently to print the story of a terrible but distant plane crash when one of them asks if any... Continue reading

5. The Observatory

   Hooking the Reader

   October 13, 2011 12:30 PM

   Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, as the old saying goes. Teach a man to fish and he’ll eat the rest of his life. But that presumes there remain plenty of fish in the sea... Continue reading

6. The Observatory

   Starving for Coverage

   September 13, 2011 03:40 PM

   What a difference a generation makes. Back in 1984-85, groundbreaking media coverage of the terrible drought and famine that affected around eight million people in Ethiopia spurred an outpouring of Western relief efforts. A harrowing report by BBC... Continue reading

7. The Observatory

   Growing Science in the Desert

   July 11, 2011 02:00 PM

   Doha, Qatar—“Water flows uphill toward money and power,” said hydrologist Tony Allan, citing a political truism during a talk here at the recent World Conference of Science Journalists. Can the same be said for scientific research?... Continue reading

8. The Observatory

   Environmental Journalism Associations Proliferating Worldwide

   June 7, 2011 10:37 AM

   When I was a journalist uncovering how oil and petrochemical companies were dumping mercury into the Gulf of Thailand, I could not get the Thai minister of industry to respond to my questions. I would send interview requests... Continue reading

9. The Observatory

   Red Alert on the Green Beat

   May 3, 2011 08:45 AM

   In 2007, Cherelle Jackson started publishing a three-part series of investigative reports that examined plans to develop tourism on an uninhabited island in her home country of Samoa. “The story involved some high profile investors and politicians,” she recalls.... Continue reading

10. The Observatory

    The Climate Context in Japan

    April 5, 2011 02:56 PM

    When I was a young journalist working as the environment editor for a Thai newspaper back in the 1990s, one of the first things I learned was this: In order to cover the environment, you have to understand... Continue reading

11. The Observatory

    Has ‘Climate’ Become a Dirty Word?

    March 1, 2011 10:45 AM

    When President Obama gave his State of the Union address in January, there seemed to be more commentary among environmentalists about what wasn’t said than what was: specifically, his failure to even mention the words “climate change” or... Continue reading

12. Earth Journalism

    Introducing ‘Earth Journalism’

    February 1, 2011 09:00 AM

    In the grand scheme of environmental affairs, journalism is almost always an afterthought. The media world seems to return the disfavor: the environmental beat is one of the least prestigious, and the journalists covering it seem to be among the... Continue reading