Journalism & Media

A Super (Probably ‘Duper’) El Niño Is Coming. Watch Out!

The news has been full of warnings about a larger-than-normal El Niño, the periodic weather pattern that portends drastic fluctuations in everything from temperatures and precipitation to ocean currents and hurricanes. The latest Issue Backgrounder takes a step back to help explain exactly how this phenomenon works and what its impacts may be, while offering a parting thought on smart coverage.

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Catch-22 on the Baltic — Twilight of Poland’s Coastal Fisherman

Small-scale fisheries on the wane in an obscure region of the world, and a unique ethnic group trapped between being a tourist attraction and surviving a failing industry. Read how award-winning Polish journalist Tadeusz Michrowski turned this small, unsexy story into something bigger, a complex and nuanced portrait of a community of individuals in transition.

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July 12, 2026

DEADLINE: Tarbell Center for AI Journalism

Tarbell Center for AI Journalism is accepting applications for original reporting on AI and its impacts. Tarbell offers grants of $1,000–$20,000 to support original reporting published in established outlets, whether from freelancers or staff. Applications for this round close July 12, 2026.

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June 29, 2026

DEADLINE: Eugene C. Pulliam Fellowship for Public Service Journalism

The Eugene C. Pulliam Fellowship for Public Service Journalism awards up to $100,000 to help mid-career journalists broaden their knowledge through study, research and travel — and produce impactful journalism that serves the public.

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Patagonia Is Suing Pattie Gonia, Drag Queen With Environmental Message

"Days before the beginning of Pride Month in June, a glamorous drag queen with long, wavy red hair, a matching mustache and carabiner earrings stared into a camera and levied a strong accusation against a famous sustainable outdoors apparel brand: "This is a corporation trying to erase an activist."

Source: AP, 06/15/2026

"Another Industry-Led Campaign Targets California’s Animal Welfare Law"

"Several newspapers across farming states have run strikingly similar opinion columns over the past month that take issue with a California law requiring farmers to provide hogs, calves and chickens with enough room to turn around, lie down and stretch."

Source: The New Lede, 06/15/2026

Trump NPS Ordered To Restore History, Climate Info Removed From Parks

"A federal judge Friday gave the Trump administration three weeks to restore interpretative materials pertaining to history and climate change removed from national parks under President Donald Trump’s order.

Source: National Parks Traveler, 06/15/2026
July 23, 2026

PUMA Fest: The 1st Latin American Festival of Environmental Journalism

Mongabay Latam is celebrating its 10th anniversary with PUMA FEST: the 1st Latin American Environmental Journalism Festival, a gathering for journalists, teachers, students and anyone interested in journalism and the environment. It will take place on July 23rd in Bogotá and is completely free.

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“A Land Artist Asks: What Will Be Left When I’m Not Here?”

“You can hear and smell Meg Webster’s latest exhibition before you see it. Walking up the stairs of Paula Cooper Gallery in Chelsea, there’s a chorus of birds chirps. Then comes the smell: a dusky, dense scent reminiscent of wet earth. Finally, you walk into the main space and encounter “Thicket,” the show’s titular artwork, a beckoning spiral made of local branches, leaves and flowers."

Source: New York Times, 06/11/2026

Analysis: News Corp Misrepresents Good Climate News As Bad

“In a world where people accept global heating is bad, news that we had avoided a boiling-in-our-own-juices version of the planet’s future might have been welcomed. Instead, the news that a group of climate scientists had officially retired their very worst scenario for the future of the planet was proof – according to Donald Trump – that the scientists had been (in all caps) WRONG! WRONG! WRONG."

Source: Guardian, 06/11/2026

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