Last week, the New York Times announced it was closing down its environmental desk and reassigning the reporters and editors.
The Times argues that the decision will put the onus of covering environmental stories on every desk, rather than one group.
Advocates for environmental journalists say with different topics pulling reporters in different directions, they will not be able to focus as well on the environment.
Without editors to advocate for stories, it’s possible that news will go uncovered.
Inside Climate is reporting that with The New York Times dropping its environmental desk, there are now only about a dozen dedicated environmental reporters at the top five newspapers in the country.
The coverage during and after Hurricane Sandy brought the topic of climate change to the forefront of news cycles. And some scientists are predicting more severe weather cycles will come again.
What do you think? Can business, health and science reporters cover environmental stories in addition to their beats, or are journalists dedicated to the environment necessary?
