Climate Change Nebraska, a yearlong student depth-reporting project at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln gained national attention when it was featured in Katie Couric’s newsletter “Wake-up Call” in October 2020.
In a first-of-its-kind depth-reporting effort, the College of Journalism and Mass Communications opened a rigorous application process in fall 2019 to all UNL students. Twenty students from seven different colleges representing 13 different majors were selected for the spring 2020 semester of the project, led by Pike Professor of Journalism Joe Starita, award-winning author and two-time Pulitzer Prize award nominee and Assistant Professor of Practice Jenn Sheppard.
With a mission to inspire and educate, students began reporting in January 2020 on complex problems associated with climate change – including its impact on Nebraska’s agriculture, livestock, wildlife, public health, waterways, national defense and religions.
A new class was recruited for fall 2020 which focused on potential solutions to a variety of climate change issues –including renewable energy sources, sustainability initiatives, no-till farming, carbon sequestration, nuclear fusion and stronger environmental laws.
The student-produced news content is published on a dedicated website, www.climatechangenebraska.com.
“There’s seldom been a more important time for good journalism than right now, and we are excited to give our students an opportunity to explore one of the globe’s most vital issues in a way that can both inspire and educate our readers,” Starita said.
A third class in spring 2021 will use the project’s content to create a printed magazine.
