Document Type

Article

Article Version

Pre-print

Publication Date

2008

Abstract

This study provides baseline data regarding environment reporters in the twenty-first century, and then compares this baseline information about a specialized journalism beat to existing studies of U.S. journalists in general. This comparison between 652 environmental journalists working at daily newspapers and television stations and more than 1,000 U.S. journalists in general found that these reporters share many individual and work-related characteristics, perhaps due in part to their similar backgrounds and to the basic professional training received by most journalists. The authors propose a uniform theory of journalism education, arguing that journalists are journalists first because they are linked by their studies, training, and experience, and that differences among reporters may be related to variations in their education. The researchers also found that newspapers employ more specialized reporters than do television stations, and that the bigger the newspaper, the more specialists, suggesting that bigger is better for specialized reporting.

Comments

Copyright 2008 Taylor & Francis

This is an Author's Original Manuscript of an article whose final and definitive form, the Version of Record, has been published in the Applied Environmental Education and Communication: An International Journal, 7(1-2), 1-19 [copyright Taylor & Francis], available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/15330150802194862.

Publication Title

Applied Environmental Education and Communication: An International Journal

Published Citation

Sachsman, David B.; Simon, James & Valenti, JoAnn Myer (2008). "Environment reporters and U.S. journalists: A comparative analysis." Applied Environmental Education and Communication: An International Journal, 7(1-2), 1-19.

DOI

10.1080/15330150802194862

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