The future of environmental journalism is interactive and online, according to Richard Black, environmental correspondent with the BBC News website. Media reports should offer audiences a variety of content options, Black told audience members at UBC School of Journalism Lunch Hour Lecture Friday afternoon.

Coverage can range from a staple article to videos and reports, all of which should allow online news audiences to expand their knowledge of a subject.

The trick is to keep these reports informative. It’s not worth it to include a picture slideshow of images of endangered monkeys in news coverage, Black cautions, unless there is also information attached on why people should care.

That, he said, will separate mainstream media reports from other sources of news.

Non-governmental organizations, advocacy groups and science websites and blogs now offer audiences a lot of valuable information on the environment.

Websites Black believes are invaluable for the environmental/science reporter include The World Conservation Union Red List and The National Space Science and Technology Center. Blogs like climateaudit.org and realclimate.org also offer competing views about the existence and impacts of climate change.

The role of the reporter is to investigate the credibility of content found on the internet. Reporters then need to take credible information and make it interesting and accessible to audiences, following the staple principles of journalistic practice.

Using the internet to convey information on the environment is much more versatile, according to Black, because well-researched articles can be placed alongside scientific reports and other reference material.

This benefits news audiences by providing them with important information on vital topics, such as climate change and pollution. It also creates a news package of items that appeal to popular interest and keep readers coming back for more.