Written in lively, accessible prose, The Environmental Beat makes a compelling case not only for why environmental journalism matters, but how it can reconnect us to one another and to the world we share. Suzannah Comforts historical account of the challenges faced by writers and newsrooms to produce essential stories about environmental problems offers valuable lessons for scholars and journalists at a time of institutional transformation. Illuminating the vital role of reporting on issues from conservation to climate change, The Environmental Beat provides insights for a new generation of environmental journalists to forge a sustainable, ethical future. Melissa Aronczyk, Rutgers University, co-author of A Strategic Nature: Public Relations and the Politics of American Environmentalism Dr. Suzannah Evans Comfort offers a compelling historical analysis of the emergence and evolution of the environmental beat in U.S. news media. Her work illuminates the political, economic, and organizational challenges that continue to shape environmental journalism, while offering valuable insight into where the field may be headed. This book is an essential resource for aspiring environmental journalists and for anyone seeking to better understand how news about the environment is produced. Bruno Takahashi, Michigan State University Utilizing the tools of historical sociology, Suzannah Evans Comfort offers the first sweeping view of the development of environmental journalism over two centuries. The Environmental Beat sings with insight into the entanglements of journalism and advocacy, sport and culture, and news and business. Suzannah Evans Comfort has written a necessary book that helps environmental journalists understand their labor and struggles, and our moment, in the arc of historical time. She provides scholars with a groundbreaking look into the many forces that shape what is legitimate journalism and ultimately matters of public concern. This book could not be more urgent. As wildfires light night skies, oceans rise with the melting of glaciers, and hurricanes rage hundreds of miles from the ocean, The Environmental Beat shows how professional standards push environmental journalists to the margins, away from the urgency of the moment. Daniel Kreiss, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, author of Prototype Politics: Technology-Intensive Campaigning and the Data of Democracy As environmental reporting moved from the fringes of the media to a central place in many newsrooms, it encountered increasing levels of resistance and misinformation, along with declining support in a precarious media landscape. Journalists hoping to take the environmental beat into the future are well advised to acquaint themselves with its long history, the old challenges it continues to confront even as it faces myriad new pressures. With astute analysis of the news industry, a thorough study of the history of the environmental beat, and engagement with scores of working environmental journalists, Suzannah Comfort has provided an invaluable guide to how the environmental journalism ecosystem developed, what helped it grow, and how the most important beat on the planet can not only chart a course into the future but possibly improve it. Michael Kodas, Senior Editor, Inside Climate News, author of Megafire: The Race to Extinguish a Deadly Epidemic of Flame The Environmental Beat gives one of the most important and often under-examined areas of journalism its due. Suzannah Evans Comfort brings sharp perspective and critique as she examines the history, challenges, and future of environmental journalism one of the most complex beats in the newsroom. This is essential reading for working or aspiring environmental journalists and journalism scholars.Sadie Babits, Senior Supervising Climate Editor, NPR, author of Hot Takes: Every Journalist's Guide to Covering Climate Change
