Green & Local 3: ‘what it means for Iowa’
Looking at how low-carbon living can play a role in renewing growth in local media, this example of a focussed campaign from the Des Moines Register caught my eye. It has a couple of flash pages that analyse temperatures (summer and winter), precipitation and global trends:
It starts out with its strap “a look back and what could be ahead”, noting that Iowa has warmed by about 2 degrees over the last 135 years (with two cold snaps). As the Society for Environmental Journalists says, its focus is on Iowa “while giving enough national and global context to provide perspective.”
Look at the article that follows the graphs, and you’ll see 201 comments (at time of writing), many of those aggressively sceptical, as is usual on comment boards, some supportive, some overwhelmed by the problem of climate change.
It’s an excellent piece of regional media coverage on the issue of climate change, at a time when (thanks to Adrian Monck for the link) the US metropolitan dailies are suffering. This from Toronto’s Globe and Mail:
…metropolitan dailies, especially in the ultra-competitive U.S. market, are suffering. The losses have put some media organizations on the brink. The Tribune group, whose holdings include the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times and The Baltimore Sun, is weighed down by $13-billion in debt, and advertising revenues declined 15 per cent in the first three months of this year. Some analysts question whether the company can survive beyond mid-2009.
(The same Baltimore Sun both credited and ‘busted’ for breaking and following a story on the Mayor’s questionable dealings… worthy journalism, but in danger of going under).
As I’ve been writing about this week, local media franchises with low-carbon living as one of they central pitches may be a way for the media of the metropolis, either in the US or UK, to renew and grow. And that may go hyper-local. This story in the US shows how suburbia is surviving, despite the high oil prices. Maybe the article’s premise (that people need to be near the city centre) no longer holds as we choose to go local, work from home, and live a lower-carbon life (either by choice or through high carbon/fuel costs). Worth thinking about.
Local & Green 2: the power of the Prius
Two economists in the US have shown why geography is likely to be key to green activity. Matthew Kahn and Ryan Vaughn, at the University of California at Los Angeles, looked at the patterns of green consumerism in California. As reported in the Economist last month:
They noticed that Berkeley, California, just a few hours up the coast, has lots of Priuses, organic food, solar panels and public transit—and no Hummers.
When extrapolated out to the rest of California’s 349 counties, as the Economist notes, the usual suspects came out top, raising questions of why the “politically green huddle together in the same sorts of locations.”
One of the authors, Dr Kahn, suggess that “small initial differences… such as being close to a beach or public transport, may create the initial seeds of green communities. This in turn attracts ‘green businesses’ such as tofu restaurants and bike shops, and this in turn attracts more greens.” Read more
Local & Green 1: flicking the switch
Each day this week I’ll be posting on Local & Green: why environmental journalism is best at the local level, and can help grow a renewed local media industry. Today I’m looking at…
Flicking the S
witch: which newspapers are making the leap to communal green media?
Inspired by last month’s Carnival of Journalism, I blogged about why local media should take the opportunity to connect with its community through environmental action and campaigns. I picked up on a number of examples that were delivering a positive “communal address” to help people take small actions in their lives: however, none of the examples were from local media groups. And it left me wondering why regional media were not using green to drive growth. Read more
Why local and digital is better for the environment
A group of bloggers have organised a Carnival of Journalism, each month addressing different key issues in the profession. This month it’s hosted by Andy Dickinson, who set the question: Is (digital) journalism better the more local it is and what does that do to growth?
I’m not one of the official cavorters, but it got me thinking anyway about local (digital) media and environmental journalism. For me, the crossover of local/digital journalism and environmental sustainability could be a fantastic growth opportunity for regional media, as well as local citizen journalism groups and networks, with the result being increased environmental awareness and activity. Read more
