ENT was founded in 2004 by award-winning veteran television correspondent Gary Strieker, who reported for nearly 20 years as CNN’s Nairobi Bureau Chief and Global Environment Correspondent. Contact us at info@assignmentearth.org.

Why Environmental News Reporting?

There is a critical need for more public awareness and informed debate about environmental issues like climate change, air and water quality, hazardous waste, pesticides, habitat loss, endangered species, urban sprawl, threats to public lands and wetlands, and unsustainable growth.

Preserving the natural world is essential for the future of humanity, but the natural balance of our planet is endangered. The gathering threats seem almost overwhelming, and yet many government officials and large sections of the public are widely indifferent. A major reason is the failure of the news media to give these issues the coverage they deserve. With few exceptions, the media now generally ignores environmental news.

The problem is especially acute with television, the primary source of news for a great percentage of people in many countries. Few television networks or local stations have full-time staff reporters covering the environment. Because most environmental stories are now commonly perceived as less compelling, editors are often unwilling to take their reporters off their usual beats to and pay the costs of assigning them to the stories. Thus, many important environmental stories go unreported on television news.

As a consequence, conservationists, scientists and environmental advocacy groups find it difficult to convey their messages through television media. Viewers remain uninformed. Governments are not pressured to act. Donors are not motivated. Without enough public support, advocacy groups lose revenue and their influence declines. Among those who depend on television news, widespread indifference continues amid unprecedented threats to the environment that sustains us.

ENT’s mission will help to reverse the decline of television news reporting on the environment by producing stories that are widely broadcast by networks and local stations. In doing this, we stimulate other reporters to cover the same stories, energize public debate on the issues, and focus the attention of government authorities and civil society on measures needed to address environmental threats and preserve our natural world.