The Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future in Baltimore, Maryland is running a new fellowship to support the next generation of food and agriculture journalists. This opportunity comes at a time when the media is under attack from a new political administration, says author and journalist Tom Philpott, who helps to facilitate the program.
The Food Systems and Public Health Fellowship for Journalists aims to encourage coverage on “overlooked and misunderstood topics rooted in the prevailing model of food production” as well as efforts to advance food systems solutions.
Early- to mid-career reporters participating in the program receive a “crash course in food systems with our Hopkins researchers,” Philpott, a Senior Research Associate at the Center for a Livable Future, tells Food Tank. They also have the chance to go on field trips to nearby farms and learn from visiting journalists.
Philpott says that readers are interested in stories about food and agriculture systems. But journalists dedicated to these topics are lacking in many newsrooms, and he believes the level of complexity may have something to do with it. The Center for a Livable Future launched the fellowship, in part, to help journalists feel more comfortable navigating the nuances food and agriculture systems. “I’ve been on the beat for 20 years and I still feel like it’s a lot to keep up with.”
Editors are eligible for the fellowship for a similar reason. There may not be “a lot of editors out there who feel comfortable editing pieces on [these topics], feel like they have a big enough knowledge base,” Philpott tells Food Tank. “If there’s an editor who’s more confident in assigning these stories, maybe there will be more stories.”
There are also broader challenges the media industry is facing that contribute to this shortage of food and agriculture coverage, Philpott acknowledges. “Media is under a lot of pressure right now,” he says, noting that business models that companies relied on for years no longer work. And despite experimentation with new ways of operating, “nothing has really stuck yet.”
As a result, Philpott tells Food Tank that “we’re seeing this hemorrhaging of critical, fact-based media outlets.” And he thinks it’s likely the pressure will only increase.
Already, the New York Times reports that news organizations of all sizes are preparing for an onslaught of attacks from the Trump-Vance Administration. In addition to the criticism and lawsuits, Philpott anticipates that time and resources will be eaten up “reacting to the outrage of the day.” But, he adds, “you can’t turn your head away from it…It has to be reported on.”
Philpott argues that now is the time to support journalists and media outlets that readers depend on for their news. “It’s the time to rally around those organizations.”
Listen to or watch the full conversation with Tom Philpott on “Food Talk with Dani Nierenberg” to hear more about the Center for a Livable Future’s approach to supporting journalists, what Philpott expects for the future of food and farming policy under a new administration, and the far-reaching consequences of industrialized livestock production.
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Photo courtesy of Navi Singh, Unsplash
