ABSTRACT
The mutual influence between journalists and their sources, and the resulting journalistic decisions, affect whose version of the world is represented and reveal broader issues of social dominance and legitimacy. In controversial and politicised beats such as environmental and climate crises, access to data and sources plays a crucial role in journalistic work and the resulting media attention to environmental issues. This chapter explores the relationship between environmental journalists and news sources in the context of today’s authoritarian regime in Russia. Using data from in-depth interviews with environmental journalists working in the Russian media, this chapter examines how sourcing is organised and the factors that shape journalists’ engagement with sources. The findings show that environmental journalists’ agency and expertise in source selection are constrained by pressure from owners/publishers and rooted in the national journalistic culture’s understanding of professionalism as adherence to the “rules of the game” in source selection. However, despite the dominance of government sources, journalists rely heavily on scientists and representatives of ENGOs. The growing pressure on the media and civil society in Russia, which has intensified since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, is likely to have a negative impact on the representation of voices that challenge state opinions on climate and environmental issues.
