We, the undersigned, write in our unified objection to the reduction of NPR’s environment and climate issues staff (from 3 full time reporters and one editor down to one part-time staffer) and the diminished coverage of news related to climate change and planet-critical indicators. We ask you to restore adequate staffing and coverage of the environment and climate issues.
Without rigorous reporting on the environment and issues like climate change that have global consequences for all, NPR cannot hope to fulfill its mission to, “create a more informed public,” “produce, acquire, and distribute programming that meets the highest standards of public service in journalism and cultural expression,” or, as stated in the strategic plan, “fulfill our mission as a premier public media provider, feeding the mind, satisfying the soul, and setting the standard for independent journalism in the twenty-first century.”
Climate Change is THE story of the 21st century. Dismantling a staff dedicated to such critical environmental coverage has already resulted in the following:
On December 1, 2014, there was NO NPR coverage of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP20) convening in Lima, Peru, that was significant enough an event to be reported on the following other news sources: BBC (which has a page dedicated to science and the environment), the Huffington Post, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the International Business Times, among others. It is a sad day when the Weather Channel provides more coverage on important global environmental news than NPR.
As NPR supporters, we count on NPR's leadership and will be saddened should we have to take our inquiring minds and donor dollars elsewhere. Again, we ask that NPR provide adequate resources for the staffing and coverage of environment and climate issues.
