Episode 55: Conversation with Alex Harris & Tahmid Zami
Jul 26, 2023
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Journalists Alex Harris and Tahmid Zami discuss the importance of local climate reporting, just transition concerns, data-driven hurricane coverage, impacts of hurricanes on Miami residents, climate challenges in Bangladesh, engaging readers with climate change stories, and strategies for audience engagement and community interaction in climate reporting.
Data-driven reporting can connect climate change with local communities and showcase disparities in urban development.
Engaging diverse audiences through solutions journalism can effectively address climate challenges and build trust in reporting.
Deep dives
Local Impact of Climate Change
Journalists Alex Harris and Tamid Zami discuss the importance of connecting climate change with local communities through data-driven reporting. Harris emphasizes the role of hurricanes in Miami, using data to explain risks and impacts, such as storm surges and flood mapping. Zami highlights climate challenges faced by Dhaka residents, like heat waves and inadequate housing conditions, linking these issues to broader climate transition effects and showcasing how data can reveal disparities in urban development.
Solutions Journalism Approach
Both journalists advocate for a solutions journalism approach to engage audiences on climate issues effectively. They emphasize the significance of showcasing actionable solutions at local levels to combat climate challenges. Harris explores using data to present stories on how outdoor workers are affected by extreme heat, promoting policies to ensure their safety. Zami illustrates how data can highlight disparities in urban planning and climate impact, advocating for sustainable solutions derived from local experiences.
Audience Engagement Strategies
Harris and Zami underscore the importance of engaging with diverse audiences to build trust and credibility in climate reporting. They discuss varied methods, including town halls, newsletters, social media, and community interaction. By encouraging reader participation, like crowdsourcing power bill data, journalists foster connections with communities and invite them to contribute to investigative narratives on climate issues.
Building Networks for Climate Reporting
In advising new journalists on climate coverage, Harris encourages focusing on local community interests to drive climate stories effectively. Zami stresses the value of building networks of climate communicators across different sectors to streamline urgent media attention on climate-related issues. Both emphasize the power of connecting with local stakeholders, combining lived experiences with scientific data to produce impactful climate narratives.
For decades journalists have examined the global ramifications of climate change on the international stage. But as local communities become more impacted by extreme weather, journalists need to deliver reporting on climate justice through a local and solutions lens. In this episode, we spoke with Alex Harris from The Miami Herald and Tahmid Zami from Thomson Reuters Foundation. The pair draw on their reporting and data skills sharing their experiences of covering climate change from the United States to Bangladesh.
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