Covering Climate Change

5:30 – 6:00 p.m.

Nieman Foundation, One Francis Ave., Cambridge, Mass. | map

6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Welcome and opening remarks

• Ann Marie Lipinski, curator of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard

• Sean Harder, communications officer at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

• Gina McCarthy, director of the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (Harvard C-CHANGE) and former administrator of the EPA (2013-2017)

Moderator:

• Vanessa Hauc, senior correspondent for Noticias Telemundo and co-founder of Sachamama, a nonprofit that educates the Latino community about climate issues and sustainable behavior

8:15 – 9:00 a.m.

9:00 – 9:15 a.m.

9:15 – 10:30 a.m.

An overview of the latest research on climate communications, public attitudes toward climate coverage and effective messaging around climate issues

Speakers:

• Dr. Aaron Bernstein, co-director of the Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (Harvard C-CHANGE), pediatrician at Boston Children’s Hospital and assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School
• Cristine Russell, science journalist, adjunct lecturer in public policy and a senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School and in the Environment and Natural Resources Program and the Arctic Initiative at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
• Lori Weigel, principal and founder of New Bridge Strategy

Moderator:

• Susan Joy Hassol, director of Climate Communication

10:30 – 10:40 a.m.

10:40 – 11:55 a.m.

An overview of climate science and connections to health, including climate’s impact on food, vulnerable populations, infectious diseases, health care systems, sanitation and other issues.

Speakers:

• Natalia Linos, executive director of the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University
• George Luber, epidemiologist and former head of the CDC’s Climate and Health Program
• Dr. Mary Rice, pulmonary and critical care physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Moderator:

• Martha Bebinger, WBUR health care reporter and a 2010 Nieman Fellow

11:55 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.

12:45 – 2:00 p.m.

A look at efforts by local governments, and the public and private sectors to address climate issues at the community level, where people are increasingly concerned about the impacts of climate change

Speakers:

• Elliot Diringer, executive vice president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES)
• Peter Shumlin, former governor of Vermont and a fall 2019 Menschel Senior Leadership Fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
• Chris Wheat, director of strategy and city engagement for the American Cities Climate Challenge at the Natural Resources Defense Council, a program supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies

Moderator:

• Ashley Smart, associate director of the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT

2:00 – 2:15 p.m.

2:15 – 2:45 p.m.

Transport to field trip

2:45 – 4:45 p.m.

4:45 – 5:15 p.m.

5:15 – 6:30 p.m.

6:30 – 7:00 p.m.

7:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Keynote conversation with youth climate activists/organizers of the Boston climate strike

• Saya Ameli Hajebi, a climate activist in Boston and co-leader of media for the Boston chapter of the Sunrise Movement, a youth-lead organization confronting climate change
• Amalia Hochman, co-leader of the Massachusetts Youth Climate Strike
• James Healy, member of the 2019-20 cohort of the Harvard Climate Leaders Program and co-leader of media for the Boston chapter of the Sunrise Movement

Moderator:

• Aleszu Bajak, a science and data journalist and graduate programs manager at Northeastern University’s School of Journalism

8:15 – 9:00 a.m.

9:00 – 10:30 a.m.

An overview of tools and resources for climate reporting. Susan Joy Hassol talks about language issues in climate change coverage and offers strategies for journalists on every beat. Sean Sublette introduces Climate Matters in the Newsroom, which provides climate reporting resources, including broadcast-ready graphics localized for every media market in the country.

Speakers:

• Susan Joy Hassol, director of Climate Communication
• Sean Sublette, meteorologist for Climate Central’s Climate Matters program

10:30 – 10:45 a.m.

10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

An overview of innovations in climate reporting from multi-platform, cross-publication collaborations to innovative ways of tackling such a complex story

Speakers:

• Alex Harris, climate change reporter for the Miami Herald
• David Bornstein, co-founder and CEO of the Solutions Journalism Network
• Lisa Friedman, climate change reporter at The New York Times

Moderator:

• Jeff Brady, NPR national desk correspondent based in Philadelphia

12:00 – 12:45 p.m.

12:45 – 2:15 p.m.

Capturing people’s attention on climate stories can be a challenge, and finding ways to communicate and illustrate these issues is inspiring some creative and compelling journalism.

Speakers:

• John D. Sutter, National Geographic Explorer, CNN climate analyst, “BASELINE” director
• Rosanna Xia, environment reporter for the Los Angeles Times
• Emily Atkin, founder of the newsletter HEATED

2:15 – 2:30 p.m.