Our first book: Solutions, ideas and experiences for media professionals
The world is coming to an end – and nobody is talking about it. That is exactly what is happening when it comes to climate change. Politics and journalism are themselves in crisis and often do not know how to respond appropriately. But how can that be, given that this is the greatest challenge in human history?
This is precisely where our first book, Media in the Climate Crisis, comes in: 28 renowned authors, including Michael E. Mann, Maren Urner and Annika Joeres, provide compelling evidence of how and why the media find themselves in their own climate crisis. They highlight why climate change poses a challenge for journalism and present solutions, ideas and experiences on how media professionals can respond more effectively to the crisis.
The book is being published by Oekom Verlag as a paperback and an e‑book. By purchasing it, you are not only supporting the public debate – you are also helping us as non-profit organisation to carry out our work.
If you’ve been following our work so far, you’ll know that the public-service broadcasters have not yet improved their climate coverage, whilst the climate crisis is escalating at an ever-faster pace, largely unnoticed by the general public. ‘Media in the Climate Crisis’ shakes things up, analyses the status quo and offers solutions from different perspectives. You’ll subsequently see the German media landscape in a completely different light. We hope to take the debate to a new level that even ARD and ZDF will no longer be able to ignore.
What people are saying about the book
Authors on ‘Media in the Climate Crisis’: selected views on the book.
Taking the climate crisis seriously whilst offering encouragement and presenting solutions – that is what good climate reporting must do. This book shows how it’s done.
Maik Meuser
Alongside the environmental crises, we are also witnessing a crisis in the traditional media, which comes at a most inopportune time.
Mojib Latif
Klimaforscher, Präsident der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Hamburg
The climate crisis is not just one issue amongst many. It is THE issue. This book explains why.
Özden Terli
We are in the midst of the seventh mass extinction in Earth’s history – in the midst of the climate crisis. This book explains what that means for journalists.
Tanja Busse
We are living through a time of change and need entirely new ideas for covering the climate emergency and the biodiversity crisis in journalism. This book encourages us to break down barriers.
Torsten Schäfer
Professor für Journalismus und Textproduktion, Hochschule Darmstadt
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Who are the authors?
We present all authors who have contributed to the content with brief biographies, listed in alphabetical order. To read a particular biography, click ‘Show more’ next to the person’s name. Authors without a profile photo are listed under ‘Other authors’.
Ralph Brix
Graduate journalist
Ralph Brix holds a degree in journalism (Dortmund Technical University) and has been working as a freelance television and radio writer, video producer and media coach since the late 1990s. He has been volunteering with KLIMA° vor acht since autumn 2020.
Michael Brüggemann is a professor of communication studies, climate and science communication at the University of Hamburg. He conducts research and teaches at the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences (Journalism and Communication Studies) and is involved as a project leader in the interdisciplinary Cluster of Excellence CliCCs (Climate, Climatic Change, and Society). His research focuses on an international comparative analysis of the transformations in journalism, environmental communication and science communication. Publications: www.bruegge.net; Blog: Climate Matters
Tanja Busse, Dr. phil., author and presenter. She studied journalism and philosophy in Dortmund, Bochum and Pisa. She completed a trainee programme at WDR. She has published numerous works, most recently *Das Sterben der anderen*. How We Can Still Save Biological Diversity (2019) and Meat Consumption: 33 Questions and Answers (2021).
Climate scientist and founder of Skeptical Science
John Cook is a postdoctoral researcher at the Climate Change Communication Research Hub at Monash University, Australia, and is the founder of the website Skeptical Science. His research focuses on the use of critical thinking to build resilience against misinformation. He recently launched the game ‘Cranky Uncle’, which combines critical thinking, cartoons and gamification to build players’ resilience to misinformation.
Milou Dirkx
Journalism Network Manager at Clean Energy Wire
Milou Dirkx heads a global network of climate journalists for Clean Energy Wire (CLEW). CLEW is a news organisation that produces and promotes journalism on climate change and the energy transition in Germany and beyond. Previously, she worked as a data editor for De Correspondent and was part of a national think tank for young journalists in the Netherlands. She has worked for several journalistic NGOs, including World Press Photo and the European Press Prize.
Specialist journalist covering energy, climate and investigative journalism at WDR
After completing his degree (Journalism/History), Döschner joined WDR on a permanent basis in 1984 and has since worked primarily as a writer and reporter for radio and television. Among other roles, he served as correspondent and studio manager at the ARD radio studio in Moscow from 1997 to 2002. Since 2003, he has specialised in energy and climate issues and investigative journalism. From 2012 to 2017, he was the official energy expert for ARD radio. From 2013 to 2015, he also headed the investigative department at WDR Radio, subsequently co-founding the investigative editorial team ‘Story & Recherche’. Following its closure and an unpublished investigation into the then Minister-President Armin Laschet, Döschner was transferred to the editorial team of the specialist channel ‘Cosmo’. Awards: 2008 Otto Brenner Prize for Critical Journalism (radio feature “Fire and Forget”); 2014 German Solar Prize.
Executive Director of Clean Energy Wire (CLEW), Managing Director of Klimafakten.de
As Managing Director of 2050 Media Projekt gGmbH, Sven Egenter is responsible for the klimafakten.de and Clean Energy Wire (CLEW) projects. Prior to this, he worked for the Reuters news agency for twelve years in Germany, the UK and Switzerland. He taught journalism at Kingston University and holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from Boston University as well as a degree in Economics from the University of Münster.
Ellen Heinrichs helped drive forward the digital transformation at the international broadcaster Deutsche Welle. Prior to this, the trained journalist helped establish the DW Academy, founded the internal knowledge network DW Minds and was the first German to take part in the Constructive Institute’s fellowship programme at the University of Aarhus in Denmark. A leading expert in constructive journalism, she began her career at the Rheinische Post and has been Managing Director of the Bonn Institute for Journalism and Constructive Dialogue since 2022.
Annika Joeres works as a climate reporter for the non-profit news organisation correctiv.org and as a correspondent for *Die ZEIT* in France. Together with Susanne Götze, she published *Die Klimaschmutzlobby* in 2020 – the first book to examine who has been blocking progressive climate policy worldwide. Annika Joeres has received numerous journalism awards for her investigative reporting.
Journalism researcher at the University of Leipzig
Dr Uwe Krüger is a research fellow at the Institute for Communication and Media Studies at the University of Leipzig and research coordinator at the university’s Centre for Journalism and Democracy. He co-founded the Critical Communication Studies Network and is also a member of the German Climate Journalism Network and the Weitblick Network.
Michael E. Mann is a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2002, *Scientific American* magazine named him one of the 50 leading visionaries in science and technology. Among other honours and awards, he was a member of the scientific team of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. In 2020, he was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences. Mann has written numerous books and lives in State College, Pennsylvania.
Professor of Communication Studies (specialising in political communication), Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
Marcus Maurer is a professor of political communication at the Institute of Journalism at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. His research focuses on political communication, media effects research, empirical methods and science communication.
Friederike Mayer
Freelance journalist and editor
Friederike Mayer works as a freelance journalist and editor in Hamburg. She studied International Development in Vienna and is a graduate of the Reutlingen School of Journalism. She co-founded the KLIMA° vor acht association and is its first chairperson and press spokesperson.
Maik Meuser co-presents RTL’s main news programme alongside Peter Kloeppel. He has produced several investigative reports for the RTL Nachtjournal. In 2017, his book *Die Mafia in Deutschland* (The Mafia in Germany), co-written with David Schraven and Wigbert Loer, was published. Since 2019, he has been a key figure in the RTL Media Group’s Sustainability Weeks. In 2021, he presented *Klima Update* on ntv for the first time, a programme he helped to develop. Together with his wife, Nicole Kallwies-Meuser, he has written the book *Klimaretten kinderleicht*.
Carel Mohn is editor-in-chief and project manager at Klimafakten.de; he was previously Director of Communications for Germany at the European Climate Foundation, headed the communications department at the DIW, and worked as a spokesperson for the Federal Association of Consumer Organisations, at Transparency International, and in the office of former Federal President Richard von Weizsäcker. He also serves as Programme Director at Clean Energy Wire (CLEW).
Professor of Journalism and Text Production, Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences
Prof. Dr Torsten Schäfer is an author, environmental journalist and professor of journalism at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, where he heads the gruener-journalismus.de portal. His work focuses on stylistics as well as environmental and climate journalism. Schäfer also writes travel features and nature books (most recently *Wasserpfade*, oekom 2021). He was an editor at GEO International. Schäfer is married and has three children.
Sara Schurmann works as a freelance journalist; most recently, she has, for example, advised SWR on how the broadcaster can improve its climate coverage. In 2020, she sought to spark a discussion on climate coverage by writing an open letter to her colleagues; in the summer of 2021, she co-founded the Klimajournalismus Deutschland network.
Özden Terli studied meteorology at the Free University of Berlin and completed his degree thesis externally at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research. He worked as a weather editor at wetter.com/Pro/Sat1 and has been with ZDF since 2013, where he presents weather programmes, produces TV features, is active on social media channels, writes articles and works as a reporter on weather and climate issues. In 2021, he received the Environmental Media Award in the television category.
Neuroscientist and bestselling author, Professor of Media Psychology, HMWK Cologne
Maren Urner is a neuroscientist and Professor of Media Psychology at the HMKW University of Media, Communication and Business in Cologne. In 2016, she co-founded Perspective Daily, the first ad-free online magazine dedicated to constructive journalism. Her two books, *Schluss mit dem täglichen Weltuntergang* and *Raus aus der ewigen Dauerkrise*, are *Spiegel* bestsellers.
Claus Eurich
Retired lecturer in journalism, TU Dortmund
Prof. Dr. phil. Claus Eurich, lecturer in journalism at TU Dortmund University from 1976 to 2017, specialising in communication studies and ethics; teacher of contemplation; author of numerous works on philosophical topics, most recently: *Finitude and Reconciliation*. *Minima Spiritualia* (Munich 2022).
Susanne Götze
Historian, author and journalist
Dr Susanne Götze is a historian with a PhD, an author and a journalist. She works as an editor at *Der Spiegel* and writes about the climate crisis, environmental policy, the energy transition and lobbying. For the past ten years, she has been tracing the Anthropocene across Africa, South America, the USA and Europe, exploring both the quiet developments and the major upheavals of a civilisation that has reached its ecological limits.
Susan Jörges
Student assistant for climate communication
During her Master’s degree, Susan Jörges worked as a student assistant in Michael Brüggemann’s team. She is particularly interested in climate communication, a topic on which she also wrote her Master’s thesis. She is currently completing a journalism traineeship at the *Stuttgarter Zeitung* until December 2023.
Roland Koch
Communications Coordinator and Press Officer for the Helmholtz Climate Initiative
Roland Koch has been working for the Helmholtz Association since 2015. Until 2019, he was press spokesperson and head of the communications team at the Berlin office; since 2020, he has been heading the communications department of theHelmholtz Climate Initiative. He studied philosophy in Göttingen and Berlin and subsequently worked as a journalist for 17 years, including stints at *Der Tagesspiegel* and the *Deutsche Universitätszeitung*. The father of two lives with his family in Berlin.
Vanessa Kokoschka
Lecturer and teaching assistant at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences
Vanessa Kokoschka (M.Sc.) is a qualified journalist and works as a teaching assistant and lecturer at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, specialising in text production and academic writing. Whilst studying, she worked as a freelance journalist for the Ippen Group and the German Press Agency. She also provides editorial support to the platform gruener-journalismus.de. She is currently preparing her PhD at the Centre for Sustainability Studies at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences.
Robert Krieg
Writer and director
Robert Krieg, born in 1949, studied sociology, journalism and ethnology (MA, Dr. phil.). Has been engaged in social science research since 1977. Since 1983, he has been a writer and director of television reports and documentaries from the Arab world, Latin America and Europe. From 1991 to 1996, he was involved in the development of the Palestinian radio and television sector. From December 2016 to November 2021, he was a member of the WDR Broadcasting Council.
Clara Pfeffer
Editor and correspondent
Born in Mainz and the daughter of a Brazilian mother, Clara Pfeffer grew up between Rio and the Rhine. During her school years, she took her first steps in journalism: at the school newspaper and as a ‘logo!’ children’s reporter. This was followed by a degree in economics in Cologne, work placements at the *Handelsblatt*, *FAZ* and *FAS*, and then a business journalism traineeship at ntv. Since 2020, she has been an editor in the politics and business department at RTL News, initially in Cologne and, since September 2021, as a correspondent in Berlin, focusing on economic and climate policy.
Wiebke Rögener
Science journalist
Dr Wiebke Rögener worked as a biologist in the fields of immunobiology and neurobiology from 1981 to 1994. Since 1995, she has been working as a freelance science journalist covering topics in the natural sciences and research policy. As a research assistant at the Chair of Science Journalism at TU Dortmund University (2006 to 2019), she helped establish the quality monitoring scheme for environmental journalism and has been the editor-in-chief of the ‘Medien-Doktor UMWELT’ project since 2013.
Gudrun Spahn-Skrotzki
Biologist and theologian
Dr Gudrun Spahn-Skrotzki is a biologist and theologian. She completed her PhD in environmental education and spent many years at the University of Kassel training teacher training students, specialising in sustainability and climate, and founded the ‘Information Centre for Responsible Action’. She is a member of Scientists for Future and a thematic working group of the City of Kassel’s Climate Council. Between May 2021 and March 2022, she was project manager of the Climate Education Centre at the German Climate Foundation in Bremerhaven.
Joelle Wörtche
Journalist
Joelle Wörtche is a qualified journalist and trainee on the RTL programme ‘RTL WEST’, where she is responsible for content and the production of regional and national programmes. Prior to this, whilst studying for her international Master’s degree in ‘Media, Technology and Society’, she worked as a student trainee at RTL Hessen. Since 2016, Wörtche has been launching social projects aimed at raising public awareness, including the platform Demenzmagazin.de.
Holger Wormer
Professor of Science Journalism, TU Dortmund University
Holger Wormer is a C4 Professor of Science Journalism at Dortmund Technical University and conducts research into the quality and ethics of various forms of science communication. With the ‘Medien-Doktor UMWELT’, he has established the first systematic quality monitoring scheme for environmental journalism in Germany. Prior to this, Holger Wormer spent many years as science editor at the *Süddeutsche Zeitung*. Since late 1999, he has been involved in further training for journalists (including at the Henri Nannen School, ZDF and WDR).
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