Newswise — Norman, OK and Jenkintown, PA — The University of Oklahoma will host Environmental Journalism 2016, the 25th Annual Conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ). SEJ’s meeting will bring 600 journalists and news-makers to Norman, Oklahoma October 7-11, 2015 for a comprehensive agenda of tours and sessions. See http://www.sej.org/initiatives/sej-annual-conferences/AC2015-agenda for details, and information on exhibitor opportunities.
“The Society of Environmental Journalists is delighted to be working with the University of Oklahoma for our 25th Annual Conference,” said SEJ Board President Jeff Burnside, investigative reporter for KOMO-TV, Seattle. “Members are especially excited to have the opportunity to visit the National Weather Center and so many fascinating tours.”
The conference theme, “Weather, Water, Energy: News from Every Neighborhood” represents many of OU’s research strengths while focusing on many of the issues that Oklahomans are concerned with every day. The program will cover these and many more topics of interest to environmental journalists. This conference is sponsored by OU’s Vice President for Research Kelvin Droegemeier and the Director of the National Weather Center Berrien Moore.
“We are delighted to be selected to host the 25th Annual Conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists in October 2015. We are certain that they will enjoy and benefit from an exploration of Oklahoma’s extraordinary environment,” said Moore.
SEJ partners with a university on its annual conferences, but they have never been to Oklahoma before. OU reached out to the Society to offer its members an opportunity to visit a state with numerous ecoregions and environmental diversity, plus the influence of the 39-federally-recognized tribes in the state.
“Hundreds of journalists will participate, along with hundreds of news sources, students and educators,” said Beth Parke, SEJ’s executive director. “Coverage on a wide range of issues will be strengthened, to benefit thousands of communities throughout North America and worldwide. We are grateful to the University of Oklahoma community for inviting and supporting this high-impact gathering.”
SEJ members represent many top-tier organizations, such The New York Times, National Geographic, Chicago Tribune, Discover Magazine, National Academy of Sciences, The Dallas Morning News, Bloomberg News, Fortune Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, Popular Science, Scientific American, The Associated Press, The Baltimore Sun, The Houston Chronicle, Reuters, Huffington Post and Omaha World Herald. Oklahoma media include the Journal Record in Oklahoma City, KOTV Channel 6 in Tulsa.
In attendance at the most recent SEJ annual meeting were representatives from NOAA, USGS, Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Waste Management, Westinghouse Electric Company, Boeing, America’s Natural Gas Alliance, American Geophysical Union, American Petroleum Institute, The Nature Conservancy, General Motors, Georgetown University, OU and many more.
The Society of Environmental Journalists was founded in 1990, by a small group of award-winning reporters, editors and producers. As a nonprofit educational membership association, SEJ’s mission is to advance public understanding of critically important environmental issues by strengthening the quality, viability and reach of environmental journalism. SEJ is the only U.S.-based membership organization of professional journalists dedicated to improving environmental coverage in all forms of media.
For registration link and other information on the 2015 Society of Environmental Journalists Conference, visit http://SEJ.org/initiatives/sej-annual-conferences/AC2015-main. If you are interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at this conference, please contact Beth Parke at [email protected] for SEJ or Chris Maxon for the University of Oklahoma [email protected].
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