ABSTRACT
Environmental journalism in France was begun in the 1960s and 1970s by activist environmental journalists, some of whom were members of ecological NGOs. Two decades later, environmental reporters were shedding their activist labels and becoming ‘environmental specialists.’ The author of the chapter, a French environmental journalist, reports, “Environmental coverage has become institutionalized in the French media in the 21st century. ‘Environmental journalism’ became a category, such as ‘political journalism’ or ‘economical journalism.’” Nevertheless, “The coverage of the environment is still peripheral in mainstream media,” says Valery Laramé, the president of the environmental journalists’ association (Association des journalistes de l’environnement, AJE). “There is often only one person focused on environment, usually the journalist specialized on sciences.” Meanwhile, the French press has undergone a loss of 71% of advertising revenue since 2000. And many print and online media are struggling to find a successful economic model for the future.
