ABSTRACT
In Germany today, “most newspapers and magazines lack the dedication, personnel, and the resources” to follow an environmental story in detail, writes the author of this chapter, an experienced German science reporter. “There are hardly any outlets or desks dedicated to the environment (there used to be more, but never many). Staff journalists or regular contributors dealing with the topic are usually on a science, business, or local news desk where they have to work on other issues as well … For the average German citizen today, environmental problems are neither evident nor obvious. … Thus, the topics fall by the wayside as soon as ‘real politics’ takes center stage.” Many traditional German media are struggling to keep their business models or find new ones. Environmental reporting may be “shifting to online publishing in new contexts and organizations, but those are still forming and far from settled.”
