Environmental journalism from an academic perspective

Abstract

The analysis presented here reveals that environmental journalism as a specialized field within journalistic activity is marginalized in the academic offerings of Journalism degree programs at Spanish universities. This secondary status limits not only the dissemination of environmental information, and thus its informative function, but also the educational role inherent to journalistic practice. This research aims not only to identify and quantify the presence of environmental topics in Journalism curricula, but also to understand the academic and methodological perspective of the faculty responsible for teaching this subject area. A dual methodology is employed. On the one hand, an analysis was conducted of course syllabi available on the official websites of Spanish universities. On the other hand, ten semi-structured interviews were carried out with faculty members working in this specialized area of knowledge. The results reveal insufficient specialized training and a lack of standardization, not only in epistemological orientation but also in relation to learning objectives. This situation represents a significant handicap for the professional development of future journalists.