Love Your Mother: How One News Magazine Defined and Refined Environmental Journalism

This study examines the roots of environmental journalism, from 1970s to present day, through the pages of a newsmagazine, Mother Jones. Through its news value, inclusion of citizen voices, and definition of fairness and balance, Mother Jones has defined environmental news. The methods are analyses of content plus documentary interviews with staffers. Results show the magazine's emphasis on civil rights, which played out in investigating corporations' role in society regarding energy, food production, and workers' rights and safety. Topics range from extreme hazards to food additives, to fitness. As Mother Jones was one of the first newsmagazines to cover environmental news, this early definition persists today.