Mongabay’s founder and CEO, Rhett Butler, defended the vital role of “solutions journalism,” focused on the action needed to address the challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss, during the presentation ceremony of the 5th Biophilia Award for Environmental Communication. The digital news platform he leads received the BBVA Foundation award for its “outstanding track record in reporting on nature and biodiversity conservation, especially in the countries of the Global South, through the contributions of over 800 journalists, scientists and other correspondents in more than 80 countries and six languages,” in the words of the selection committee. After collecting the award on behalf of all his team, Butler delivered a lecture titled “Reasons for Hope in the Face of the Global Environmental Crisis,” in which he set out his vision of the advances being made in the protection of nature despite the narrative of despair that dominates much of today’s reporting on the threats of global warming and species extinction.
Chapters:
00:06 How was Mongabay born and what motivated the birth of this project in environmental journalism?
03:16 What distinguishes Mongabay from other environmental news outlets in the mainstream media?
04:50 How do you explain the success of Mongabay? What have been the key factors which have led to its expansion from a one-man project to a network of 800 journalists and collaborators in 80 countries and 6 languages?
06:33 Why does Mongabay focus in particular on tropical regions of the planet? What is the environmental importance of these areas?
07:40 Mongabay does not have an actual newsroom but rather has a global network of local collaborators in many countries. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this model?
09:37 The jury has highlighted the connection Mongabay makes between science and
journalism in its work. Could you tell us about this connection and its importance in the work of
your team?
10:56 The jury has also highlighted how Mongabay puts the focus on environmental problems suffered by communities which are typically ignored by the mainstream media. Could you give examples of this approach and highlight some positive environmental impacts it has achieved?
14:38 How would you define the importance and relevance of environmental journalism today in the face of the double global crisis of climate change and biodiversity loss? What role can and must journalists play in the face of this massive challenge?
16:26 What would you say are the essential ingredients of the best environmental journalism? What are the most effective strategies to reach the widest audience while maintaining scientific rigour?
18:53 In recent years, environmental problems have been receiving much greater visibility in the media. Why do you think this is happening and how should journalists react to people’s increasing sensitivity to these issues?
20:48 Environmental journalism sometimes risks leading its audience to defeatism and hopelessness, given the recurrent narrative of an impending apocalypse. How can journalists avoid this problem?
23:25 You have spoken in the past of a “solutions journalism” that focuses on the progress achieved to protect the environment, rather than solely on the negative impacts. Could you provide specific examples of this approach in the work of Mongabay?
25:08 How serious, in your view, is the problem of fake news and climate deniers who question the reality of the environmental crisis and spread such views in social networks? And what can journalists do to confront this challenge?
26:48 How can journalists address tthe political polarization which divides environmental issues?
29:26 Looking to the future, faced with the alarming conclusions reached by scientists regarding the gravity of climate change and biodiversity loss, from your perspective as a journalist do you see reasons for hope and optimism in the face of the environmental crisis?
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