Climate Crusader Kyle Pope: Kyle Pope, a renowned journalist, is leaving his role as the Columbia Journalism Review editor. Why did he do it? Climate change is a crucial issue, demanding greater urgency in its resolution.
Since 2016, Pope has overseen this newspaper’s editorial and digital areas. He aims to make a change, a good goal. Mark Hertsgaard, an environment writer for The Nation, helped him start Covering Climate Now.
Covering Climate Now partners with newsrooms to prioritize climate coverage and reshape the media landscape. This goal also involves training meteorologists and encouraging climate change stories in weather reports.
Pope believes the media should be as passionate about climate issues as they were during COVID-19. The focus isn’t just on story count but also on writers understanding climate change’s impact on their fields.
In Pope’s words, “Journalism still neglects the climate disaster.” It has yet to reduce coverage for world events.
This activism peaked during Climate Week when Covering Climate Now held its awards ceremony to honor climate coverage. At Columbia University, a symposium was happening simultaneously.
The increasing coverage of climate change in the news indicates a shift. The AP is a good example. The Climate and Environment team expanded from a small group of writers in 2022 to a couple of 25 people worldwide.