CJS2030: The Climate Initiative

Since 2002, the school has moved toward Dean Cobb's goal in many ways, building on a strong foundation of coursework and expertise. In announcing the school’s inaugural Climate Expert in Residence the following year, the Dean expanded on that point:

“Journalists have the unique opportunity to not only cover one of the most pressing issues of our time, but influence how we respond to it. For this reason, the Journalism School is dedicated to training reporters that can not only communicate with scientists about complex research topics, but report about those subjects in ways that lead to action.”

In the M.S. program, Professor Holloway teaches a fall Reporting class focused on climate; an Environmental Writing class; and a spring seminar, "Covering Climate: Connecting the Dots," in which M.S. students do a deep dive into understanding the complexity of the beat so they develop confidence and authority about reporting on varied aspects of the climate crisis. The seminar includes a strong emphasis on finding new approaches to climate storytelling through discussion with many climate journalists and experts.

Professor Duy Linh Tu, the School’s dean of Academic Affairs and a documentary filmmaker, teaches climate courses throughout the year as well. Students taking his reporting class learn the basics of newsgathering with a focus on issues facing New York City’s coastlines. 

His Video 1 class gives students the fundamentals of video storytelling about climate and environmental issues. Then, in the spring semester, students can take his documentary filmmaking course, also focused on climate issues in the city.

In addition, CJS recognizes outstanding environmental coverage in the broader field of journalism. The John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism, which carries a $5,000 prize, is given annually for news reporting that makes an exceptional contribution to the public’s understanding of environmental issues. The award was founded in 1993 by family, friends and colleagues of John B. Oakes, who was an environmental journalism pioneer, the founder of the modern op-ed page, and the editor of the editorial page for the New York Times from 1961 to 1976.

Global research into climate issues and the politics surrounding them originates at Columbia Global Reports, now a part of the journalism school; CGR was founded and is headed by former journalism school dean Nicholas Lemann. Among the recent books from this ambitious book publisher are: “Miseducation: How Climate Change is Taught in America,” by Katie Worth (2021) and “Climate Radicals: Why Our Environmental Politics Isn’t Working,” by Cameron Abadi (2024).

Professor Marguerite Holloway, Director of Science and Environmental Journalism, who teaches “Covering Climate: Connecting the Dots,” explains the philosophy in that course and beyond: “Climate touches absolutely everything, and students learn to look for those connections,” moving from global to national to local settings.

Or, as Dean Cobb puts it: “Climate doesn't happen in only one place — or only one story. Climate affects agriculture, labor, health across the globe, and so much more. As our environment changes around us, reporters have to be ready to answer the many questions on the horizon: What does climate change mean for the many facets of our modern life, beyond the obvious?"