The Society of Environmental Journalists hold their 10th annual conference in East Lansing this weekend, offering speakers and live tours of environmental landscapes and centers around the state.
The conference, hosted by MSU, begins today at 7 a.m. with options such as touring the ecology of Lake Michigan or Bird Watching at the Michigan Audubon Society’s Baker Sanctuary.
“We have about 500 people (as of Wednesday evening) already signed up,” said Barb Miller, assistant to the Knight Chair. “Most of these people are journalists, but we do have a lot of students that have signed up.”
Students are encouraged to attend, said Jay Letto, National Conference Manager for the SEJ. All discussions will be held at the Kellogg Center on campus.
“Students will benefit two things from this conference,” Letto said. “First, they will network, meeting reporters and editors and other different positions, and there is the opportunity that brings.”
Letto said students will also get to learn about environmental issues, and have the opportunity to learn a lot about various topics.
David Poulson, environmental reporter for Booth Newspapers agrees.
“(Students) can learn firsthand what reporting is like in the real world,” he said. “They will certainly pick up atmosphere, and they might be interested in issues they may not have been interested in before.”
The conference is in East Lansing because Jim Detjen, current Knight Chair and past SEJ president, placed a bid and promoted MSU, Miller said.
“They evaluate a lot of different places, but Jim really pushed for it to be at MSU,” she said.
Letto said the SEJ was founded by reporters who felt the environment beat was maligned in the news room.
“Reporters came together to have a camaraderie, and they share stories, help each other (in areas like) pitching stories to editors.”
The conference will feature 100 speakers from around the world who will discuss environmental issues on a variety of topics.
Letto is looking forward to the session.
“The debate session is so timely, and it has potential to influence the upcoming election,” he said. “We expect about 500 attendees.”
