The environment reporters of New England

Who are the reporters covering environmental issues in the United States? As the first step in a nationwide series of regional studies of environment reporters conducted over time, the researchers identified and interviewed 55 environment reporters working forNewEngland daily newspapers and television stations in winter and spring 2000. The study found environment reporters working at half the region’s newspapers and only four of the television stations. The New England environment reporters ranked everyday, practical journalistic process concerns such as time constraints and the size of the news hole as the most frequent barriers to reporting on the environment. They also said their sourcesmost often came fromgovernment, and their sto-ries often contained a variety of factors, including a human-interest angle, a government angle, and a pollution angle. Many wished to aid the environment while still remaining objective in their reporting