This year’s Nieman Symposium will take place via Teams on Thursday, Feb. 23, at 4 p.m. In this year’s lecture, the Diederich College of Communication will gather journalists, experts and environmental justice activists to discuss how journalism can be best deployed to push for better responses to the climate crisis.
Register to attend on the Nieman Symposium website.
Climate change has been acknowledged as a major threat to international peace and security. From natural disasters to economic disruption, climate change has become a catalyst for social inequity and even violent conflict worldwide. The global scale and far-reaching consequences of the climate crisis pose a particularly difficult challenge to journalists who attempt to provide the public with the information they need to make sensible decisions.
Panelists will reflect on how journalism has facilitated and hindered the work of environmental justice activists and organizations as well as discuss how journalists can empower audiences — particularly minoritized ones — to enact change.
The panel will be moderated by Dr. Ayleen Cabas-Mijares, assistant professor of journalism and media studies in the Diederich College of Communication, and will feature:
- Brenda Coley, co-executive director of Milwaukee Water Commons
- Yessenia Funes, is an environmental journalist and climate director of Atmos
- Dr. Samantha Majhor, assistant professor of English in the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences