About
Q: What’s the latest with the Climate Desk partnership?
Climate change is a global problem. That’s why Climate Desk has gone global. Read all about The Guardian, one of the UK’s largest news organizations, joining the Climate Desk here.
Q: What is the Climate Desk?
A: The Climate Desk is a journalistic collaboration dedicated to exploring the impact—human, environmental, economic, political—of a changing climate. The partners are The Atlantic, Center for Investigative Reporting, The Guardian, Grist, Mother Jones, Slate, Wired, and PBS’s public-affairs show Need To Know.
Q: Why collaborate on a project about the climate?
A: Because even though it’s a fascinating and important story, it hasn’t been told very well.
Q: Why not?
A: There are four main reasons: 1) Climate change is slow-moving, vast, and overwhelming for news organizations to grapple with. 2) What coverage there is tends to be fractured and compartmentalized—science, technology, politics, and business aspects are covered by different teams, or “desks” of reporters, despite the intrinsic connections. 3) Coverage is too often fixated on imperiled wildlife, political gamesmanship, or the “debate” over the existence of climate change, all at the expense of advancing the bigger story—how we’re going to address, mitigate, or adapt to it. 4) Cuts to news organizations are making matters worse.
Q: Could that include problems with climate science or with advocacy groups?
A: Absolutely. Our only dogma is good journalism.
Q: So what’s the advantage to collaborating?
A: For one thing, more hands on deck and more outlets mean we can do more coverage, bringing our various strengths and audiences to bear. For another, given the transformation of the media business, collaboration seems to be part of the future of journalism. We want to test out a new kind of distributed journalism—bringing together a group of reporting shops to brainstorm, assign, and share coverage. Already, this process has enriched our own understanding of the issue, and that can only be a benefit to our readers.
Q: Why these partners?
A: The group developed organically, but we also started with a constellation that didn’t contain head-to-head competitors.
Q: So how will this collaboration manifest itself?
A: We’re dedicated to experimenting with different forms of storytelling. In our pilot project, a couple of pieces were assigned by consensus with an intent to run them across all of our publications; others originated with one shop but were offered up to all; and others ran in full only on the sites that produced them. Now, in addition to sharing or working together on print pieces, we’ve built out the multimedia side of Climate Desk, hiring a producer who specializes in merging documentary filmmaking with data visualization and social media integration.
Q: What is Climate Desk Live?
A: Climate Desk Live is a breakfast briefing series in DC hosted by award-winning science writer Chris Mooney, in conversation with an array of scientists, pollsters, analysts, policymakers, and journalists. Learn more about previous briefings, and those upcoming, here. To attend please RSVP to CDL@climatedesk.org; you can livestream any Climate Desk Live session at climatedesk.org.
Q: Where do you get your money?
A: So far, our principal funding has come from the Surdna Foundation, the Park Foundation, and the Rosenthal Family Foundation. Key support for our Climate Desk Live breakfast briefing series comes from the Rockefeller Philanthropic Services via Climate Nexus, a nonprofit strategic climate communications organization based in New York City.
Q: How is the project administered?
A: Editorially, it’s run by a group of journalists from the partner organizations. Fiscally, it is hosted by the Foundation for National Progress, Mother Jones’ nonprofit parent. If we attain escape velocity, the Climate Desk could become its own 501(c)3 organization.
Q: Are you going to raise more money?
A: We sure hope so! Given that this story affects every person, creature, and business on the planet, we think there are many potential sources of funding. Anyone who’d like to support us can contact donate@theclimatedesk.org.
Q: Is there any other way I can help?
A: Spread the word: Follow us on Twitter or Facebook.
Q: How do I contact you?
A: General inquiries can be sent to James West, jwest@theclimatedesk.org. Media inquires can be sent to press@climatedesk.org.
Q: Who works on the Climate Desk?
James West
James West is Climate Desk’s editor and producer. He’s the author of Beijing Blur (Penguin 2008), an intimate yet far-reaching account of modernizing China’s underground youth scene. After completing a masters in journalism at New York University in 2007, James returned to his native Down Under where he worked as the executive producer of the national affairs program Hack at the ABC. He has produced a variety of Australian television and radio programs, including the debate show Insight on SBS TV. He now lives on New York’s Lower East Side. Oh: Twitter Addict. Follow him. He wants more followers.
Tim McDonnell
Tim is a senior fellow on the Climate Desk, where he covers everything from fracking to wildfire to fringe presidential candidates to rock concerts. Before coming to New York for the Climate Desk, Tim was a researcher in Mother Jones‘ home office in San Francisco. When there are no looming deadlines (and sometimes even when there are), you’ll find him rambling through the city’s parks, eating tortillas, or playing Neil Young covers. Follow him @timmcdonnell.