Happy Earth Day!

As environmental Buffs may know, this year’s celebration is extra special, as it’s the 50th anniversary of the annual event, which was first celebrated in 1970. Head to the CU �鶹ӰԺ Environmental Center’s website to see how our campus is celebrating virtually. 

CMCI has long been a hub of environmentally-focused research, reporting, outreach and creative work. This work takes place through several of our centers and initiatives, including the Center for Environmental Journalism, which has facilitated in-depth environmental reporting since its establishment in 1992; , which provides increased coverage of Western water issues; the Grand Challenge-funded Nature, Environment, Science and Technology Studio for the Arts (NEST), which combines aesthetic practices and scientific research; and the Center for Communication and Democratic Engagement, which includes focuses on climate justice and community engagement, and more. Throughout the college, we’re proud of our multimedia storytellers, reporters, researchers and activists working to create awareness, engagement and positive change. 

Here’s our top 10 Earth Day reads––in order of publication date––featuring CMCI students, faculty, fellows and staff. 

• Earlier this month, Department of Communication Associate Professor Phaedra Pezzullo co-hosted the webinar "Power Dialog: Climate Solutions for Colorado," which featured remarks from Gov. Jared Polis. You can still watch a , or read the top five takeaways, written by alumnus and CU science writer Kelsey Simpkins (MJour’18). You can also read about Pezzullo’s work with CU’s Just Transition Collaborative in our CMCI Now story, “#�ʴǷɱ��������ճ��ʱ�DZ����.” (March 30, 2020)

• In this piece for the Colorado Sun, CEJ Scripps Fellow Sharon Udasin between the city of Denver and San Luis, Mexico, in their efforts to both restore the Colorado River’s flow and create greenspaces to connect the two cities. (Feb. 24, 2020)

• As actors like Joaquin Phoenix, Jane Fonda and Leonardo DiCaprio continue to speak out about a range of climate issues, Department of Media Studies Scholar-in-Residence Hunter Vaughan says their own industry takes a massive toll on the environment. Check out this CU �鶹ӰԺ Today article by Lisa Marshall––CU’s senior science writer and a master’s student in the Department of Journalism––to learn why Vaughan says that pollution may be “Hollywood’s Dirtiest Secret.” (Jan 27, 2020)

• This year, former CEJ Scripps Fellow David Mayfield’s project, as the world’s largest environmental survey. Read about it in this CEJ article by Julia Barnes, a master’s student in the Department of Journalism. (Feb. 14, 2020)

• While reporting for KGNU, Department of Journalism master’s student Alejandra Wilcox where she spoke with Water Commissioner Scott Hummer, who is responsible for overseeing water usage amid increasingly tight regulations. (Dec. 18, 2019)

• In this longform piece for , former Scripps Fellow Stephen Miller examined the tension between Arizona’s growing aridity and the economic forces its farmers are enduring because of it. (Nov. 12, 2019)

• Scripps Fellow Antonia Juhasz shined a spotlight on the activism and racial inequalities in “Cancer Alley,” a toxic 85-mile stretch in Louisiana lined with petrochemical facilities. (Oct. 23, 2019)

• Writing for , former Scripps Fellow Peter Brannen argued forcefully against calling the age in which we live “the anthropocene”––a term coined by scientists to describe the geological time humans have inhabited, and re-shaped, the earth. (Aug. 13, 2019)

• Here in �鶹ӰԺ, alumna Moe Clark (MJour’19), now a reporter at the Colorado Sun, at the National Center for Atmospheric Research is one of many in a nationwide network scientists are using to measure the effects of ground-level ozone. (Aug. 12, 2019)

• While reporting for Mongabay, former Scripps Fellow and current CMCI Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team member Chris Lett explored how In addition to writing and reporting this longform piece, Lett contributed photos of Ethiopian women carrying huge bundles of fuelwood on their backs. (March 20, 2019)

   Bonus! Last year, Department of Communication PhD student and fellow graduate students Robert Buehler and Mathew Sharples collaborated with NEST to create a Campus Field Guide. Today, in hopes that people can use it to explore their own backyards. (April 22, 2020)

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Grantees will delve into a wide range of issues throughout the region, including biodiversity, pollution, groundwater, climate change, public lands, energy development and tribal water rights. The journalists and outlets will use a variety of media—newspapers, magazines, websites, television, radio—to explore critical challenges facing the West’s water.

The recipients of The Water Desk’s 2019 standard grants (in alphabetical order):

• : and
• , independent journalist
• :
• :
• : Denis Moynihan
• , independent journalist
• : Kurt Repanshek
• :
• : ; and , independent journalist
• :
• :
• : , , , , and

“We’re at a watershed moment for both water issues and the journalism industry, so we’re excited to be supporting these important projects,” said Mitch Tobin, director of The Water Desk. “We were impressed by the quality of the applications, the diversity of topics proposed and the mix of approaches that the journalists will pursue.”

The Water Desk’s standard grants award up to $10,000 to journalists and media outlets covering water issues involving the seven states of the Colorado River Basin—Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming—as well as the borderlands of Northwest Mexico.

For the 12 standard grants, The Water Desk has approved a total of $112,888 in funding for journalists.

In addition to the standard grants, The Water Desk has also approved 10 micro-grants, up to $1,000 each, to support travel expenses, multimedia content and professional development for water journalists.

Applications for the standard grants were reviewed and approved by a selection committee consisting of: Mitch Tobin, director of The Water Desk; Tom Yulsman, director of the Center for Environmental Journalism; Hillary Rosner, scholar-in-residence at the Center for Environmental Journalism; and Amanda Clark, a recent graduate of CU �鶹ӰԺ’s master’s program in journalism who worked for The Water Desk.

The Water Desk will be running a similar program for standard grants in 2020 and is still accepting applications for 2019 micro-grants. Details about the grantmaking program are at /cej/waterdesk/grants

�鶹ӰԺ The Water Desk

Based at the College of Media, Communication and Information’s Center for Environmental Journalism, The Water Desk is dedicated to increasing increase the volume, depth and impact of journalism connected to Western water issues, with a focus on the Colorado River Basin.

The Water Desk launched in April 2019 with support from a two-year $700,000 grant from the Walton Family Foundation. The Water Desk is seeking additional funding to build and sustain the initiative. As a journalistic effort, The Water Desk maintains a strict editorial firewall between its content and funders. Likewise, The Water Desk has editorial independence from the �鶹ӰԺ. For its grantmaking program, The Water Desk has a policy of confidentiality with regard to submitted story ideas. Funders of The Water Desk have no right of review and no influence on stories or other journalistic content that is produced with the support of these grants.

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The Water Desk—an independent news initiative at the �鶹ӰԺ dedicated to expanding coverage of Western water issues—is now accepting grant applications.

Funding from Water Desk grants will help journalists and media organizations enhance their ability to cover the scientific, economic, political and social aspects of water issues.

Applications for 2019 are being accepted in two categories: Standard grants—capped at $10,000—will be accepted until July 15, with recipients likely announced in September. Micro-grants—capped at $1,000—will be reviewed on a rolling basis until December 1, or until funding for this year’s program is exhausted.

Based in the College of Media, Communication and Information’s Center for Environmental Journalism, The Water Desk is funded through support from the . This journalism initiative has editorial independence from both the foundation and university. To learn more and apply, see the FAQ section below and visit the program’s grants page.

FAQ (view full version)

How does your grantmaking program for journalists work?
As described on our grants page, The Water Desk runs two grantmaking programs:

1.  cannot exceed $1,000 and are meant to pay for discrete expenses that are necessary to produce content or advance a journalist’s professional development. Applications for micro-grants will be reviewed on a rolling basis until December 1, 2019, or until our funding for this year’s program is exhausted. We plan to make decisions on applications within one month of their submission.
2.  cannot exceed $10,000 and are meant to support significant reporting efforts that lead to the publication of content connected to Western water issues and the Colorado River Basin, as defined above. Applications for the 2019 standard grants will be accepted until July 15, 2019. We anticipate announcing recipients of the standard grants in September.  

Who is eligible to apply for grants?
Before applying for either a micro-grant or standard grant, please ensure that you are eligible to receive funding from The Water Desk:

• Only journalists (either individuals or media outlets) may apply for funding.
• Individuals and media outlets may only submit one application per calendar year for the micro-grants and one application per calendar year for the standard grants.
• Journalists and media outlets are welcome to collaborate and submit a joint proposal. Regardless of how many journalists/outlets are part of the application, the cap on standard grants is $10,000.
• Recipients of either micro-grants or standard grants should complete the work they outline in their proposals within six months of receiving funding.

What geography is covered by the grants?
The Water Desk will support journalism that focuses on water issues involving the seven states of the Colorado River Basin—Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming—as well as the borderlands of Northwest Mexico.

Can I receive both a micro-grant and a standard grant?
It’s OK for the same journalist or outlet to receive both a micro-grant and a standard grant within a single calendar year so long as they are for different projects.

What role do your funders play in the grantmaking?
Other than providing the funding for the grants, our supporters do not have any say over the decisions related to the grants or The Water Desk’s editorial content. Funders of The Water Desk have no right of review and no influence on stories or other journalistic content that is produced with the support of these grants.

Who will judge the applications and decide on the grants?
Micro-grants will be reviewed and approved by CEJ Director Tom Yulsman and Water Desk Director Mitch Tobin. For the standard grants, applications will be reviewed and approved by a committee.

How else do you work with journalists?
The Water Desk partners with , a nonprofit that can provide free flights and allow journalists to integrate aerial reporting/footage into their work. Another partner is , a conservation news magazine that produces video segments for television stations.

If you’re interested in using either program to enhance your coverage of Western water issues, please contact Water Desk Director Mitch Tobin at mitchtobin@colorado.edu or 303-330-9487.

How can I stay in touch with The Water Desk?
Please opt-in for our email newsletter on this .

We’re also on and , so please connect with us on those networks.

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A journalism initiative to expand coverage of Western water issues is launching this month at the �鶹ӰԺ with support from a two-year, $700,000 grant from the Walton Family Foundation

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A journalism initiative to expand coverage of Western water issues is launching this month at the �鶹ӰԺ with support from a two-year, $700,000 grant from the .

Visit The Water Desk

The Water Desk, based in the College of Media, Communication and Information’s Center for Environmental Journalism, is dedicated to boosting coverage of Western water issues, with a focus on the Colorado River Basin. The goal is to help educate the public and inform policy decisions.

“Some 40 million people in the United States and Mexico draw water from the basin, and the region is confronting unprecedented challenges managing its most precious natural resource,” said Professor Tom Yulsman, director of the CEJ. “Given our focus on enriching public understanding of environmental issues through better journalism, the Water Desk is a natural fit for us at the Center for Environmental Journalism.”

In addition to providing support to seasoned reporters, the Walton Family Foundation grant will help emerging journalists enhance their ability to cover the scientific, economic, political and social aspects of these issues.

“Around the world, water is one of the defining issues of the 21^st century,” said Mitch Tobin, the Water Desk’s incoming director and a former award-winning newspaper reporter who covered water and other issues for the Napa Valley Register, Tucson Citizen, and Arizona Daily Star. “Here in Colorado and the American West, the stakes have never been higher as climate change and population growth continue to stress our water resources.”

The Water Desk will strengthen water journalism in a variety of ways, including:

• Support for journalists: The Water Desk will provide funding, training, and other resources to journalists and media outlets that cover Western water issues and the Colorado River.
• Original content: The Water Desk will produce its own content, with an emphasis on data, multimedia, explanatory and solutions-oriented journalism.
• Education and community engagement: The Water Desk will work with CU’s students, its program for investigative journalism, and others beyond campus to advance learning, train the next generation of water journalists, and engage the community on Western water issues through public meetings.

“Journalists play a critical role in collecting factual information, informing the public, and holding officials accountable,” said Ted Kowalski, Colorado River Initiative lead at the Walton Family Foundation. “Through the Water Desk, we hope to expose the public to the challenges and solutions facing the Colorado River, and the millions of people who depend on it.”

As a journalistic effort, the Water Desk will maintain a strict editorial firewall between its content and its funders. Likewise, the Water Desk has editorial independence from the university. 

For additional information on the initiative, please visit the website or email Mitch Tobin.

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