UFCJC Researchers Win U.S. State Department Grant to Better Climate Reporting in Chile
Faculty and staff from the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) received funding from the U.S. Embassy in Santiago, Chile, to develop and deliver training workshops on climate journalism and fact-checking in Chile.
The project, “Growing Journalism’s Capacity to Address Climate Change in Chile,” aims to enhance the skills of Chilean journalists in reporting on climate change solutions, drawing on U.S. expertise in fact-checking and the challenges of emerging and social media.
The UFCJC team is led by Benjamin Johnson, Advertising associate professor and director of the STEM Translational Communication Center, and includes Cynthia Barnett, senior Journalism lecturer and director of climate and environment reporting initiatives, Seungahn Nah, Dianne Snedaker Chair in Media Trust and research director of the Consortium on Trust in Media and Technology (CTMT), and Janet Coats, CTMT managing director. Johnson and Barnett will visit Chile in November 2024 to work on an action plan for the project.
The project addresses the need for improved climate change coverage in Chile, a country facing environmental threats also experienced by large coastal American states such as California and Washington. It aligns with both countries’ interests in promoting accurate and comprehensive journalism to support informed public discourse and policymaking on climate issues.
As part of the project, the UFCJC contingent and journalism professionals will visit the cities of Santiago and Concepción to deliver informative and practical sessions to Chilean journalists, news editors and journalism students. In collaboration with journalism scholars at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, the workshops will be held during August 2025.
Posted: October 2, 2024
Category: Alumni News, College News, Trust News
Tagged as: Benjamin Johnson, Chile, Climate and Environment Reporting Initiatives, Consortium on Trust in Media and Technology, Cynthia Barnett, Janet Coats, Seungahn Nah, STEM Translational Communication Center
