澳门六合彩

鈥淚t鈥檚 an issue 鈥� population 鈥� that is immensely diverse in its effects and repercussions, and it鈥檚 a great opportunity for reporting,鈥� said , executive director of the at a November 1 roundtable discussion at 澳门六合彩. The session, reporting on population and the environment connections, also featured Dennis Dimick, executive environment editor at ; Kate Sheppard, environment reporter for ; and Heather D鈥橝gnes, foreign service environment officer at .

A Cumulative Discussion

鈥淚 ended up covering reproductive rights and health issues because I saw a need and a gap in coverage,鈥� said . 鈥淚 had been an environmental reporter for years鈥nd so it sort of became this add-on beat for me.鈥� But, she emphasized, they are actually very related issues.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a cumulative discussion,鈥� said Dennis Dimick, speaking about National Geographic鈥檚 鈥溾�� series this year. 鈥淸Population] really hasn鈥檛 been addressed that much in media coverage over the past 30 years, in this country at least, and I think that the idea was that it wasn鈥檛 really just a discussion about the number , which is a convenient endline and easy way to get into something, but really to talk about the meaning of it, and the and the opportunities that means for us as a civilization living on this planet.鈥�

The series has had stories on ocean acidification, genetic diversity of food crops, the transition to a more urban world, as well as case studies from Brazil, , and . 鈥淲hat we are trying to do in this series is really paint a broad picture to try to unpack all these issues and try to come at this question in sort of broad strokes,鈥� Dimick said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 sort of like we are orchestrating a symphony. Even though it鈥檚 a printed magazine, it鈥檚 a 鈥� more than just words and more than just pictures.鈥�

Collaborative Reporting

The Pulitzer Center, a non-profit journalism organization that seeks to fill gaps in coverage of important systemic issues, was able to commission pieces for that complemented the National Geographic series. This collaboration launched the Center鈥檚 own initiative on population. 鈥淥ur hope was that by having that platform, and the visibility of National Geographic and NewsHour, that it would bring attention to the rest of our work,鈥� Sawyer said. The Pulitzer Center has on water, food insecurity, climate change, fragile states, maternal health, women and children, HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean, and Haiti, in addition to population.

Playing off a story that was already making world headlines, the Pulitzer Center supported reporting by freelance journalist on the of the Arab Spring, and particularly the role of . The stories explored youth鈥檚 frustration at high unemployment and lack of prospects, their roles in the revolutions, and their expectations for the future.

鈥淥f course, we had the advantage that the world was interested in North Africa because of the amazing events that were taking place, but it was an opportunity to get them to look at the other dimension to it,鈥� Sawyer said.

Based on a model developed to cover in West Africa, the Pulitzer Center also created a partnership with four African journalists to produce reporting on reproductive health that will be distributed in both international and African media outlets. 鈥淭hey have important things to say to American audiences, to international audiences,鈥� Sawyer said. 鈥淎nd so we see this project as an opportunity to bring them into the international media discussion.鈥� The journalists will be reporting from the upcoming in Dakar, Senegal, later this month.

Advocating Discussions

鈥淚t鈥檚 really a nuanced discussion, and that is why covering these topics, and looking at all the different aspects of it, is really important,鈥� said USAID鈥檚 Heather D鈥橝gnes. Furthermore, speaking as a development practitioner, she emphasized the importance of offering solutions, such as , as part of an integrated development approach.

鈥淚n our journalism we don鈥檛 pretend not to have arguments, or ideas, or thoughts about the issues we are covering,鈥� said Sheppard, speaking of Mother Jones. 鈥淚 think that the value is that you tell the story well and you do solid reporting 鈥� that gives people a more informed perspective.鈥� Especially with complicated issues, like population and the environment, 鈥減eople find it more accessible if you have a perspective鈥hey can associate better with a story if you walk them through the process you have gone through as a reporter.鈥�

鈥淲hat we are really trying to do is to advocate a discussion of issues that aren鈥檛 getting well-aired in other media,鈥� said Dimick. Sometimes you need to find an interesting or counterintuitive framework, such as the National Geographic story about rural electrification and . It started as a story about the booming popularity of soap operas, but also created the opportunity to talk about gender equity, family planning, and other complex issues. While the magazine does not advocate a position, like the editorial page of a newspaper might, Dimick said, they do use case studies to guide readers through the range of risks, choices, and opportunities and to help them understand their implications.

Drafted by Theresa Polk and edited by Schuyler Null and Geoff Dabelko.