NARRAGANSETT, RI – November 17, 2008 – The Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting at the University of Rhode Island has published a book to help scientists and journalists communicate more clearly and effectively with one another about climate change.
Scientists and journalists have been known to talk past each other, both using language rooted in professional shorthand. But when it's time to make deadline, these two groups need to make clear, accurate and meaningful contact. Journalists and climate scientists have been able to address these barriers and develop recommendations for effective communication in a series of Metcalf workshops on climate science. These highly interactive dialogues formed the basis of a new resource guide on communicating about climate change.
"This is an indispensable tool for helping journalists learn from climate change experts, and climate change experts in return to learn from journalists, on cutting communication issues involved in informing the public on the most critical environmental issue of the 21st Century," said Stephen H. Schneider, Ph.D., a workshop participant and climate change scientist at Stanford University.
Communicating on Climate Change was written by Bud Ward, a veteran environmental journalist and journalism educator, and is available as a free PDF document on the Metcalf website at www.metcalfinstitute.org or by calling (401) 874-6211.
The Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting, named for Michael P. Metcalf, late publisher of The Providence Journal, was established in 1997 with funding from the Belo Corporation, The Providence Journal Charitable Foundation, The Philip L. Graham Fund, and the Telaka Foundation. Metcalf Institute is committed to improving the clarity and accuracy of environmental reporting.