How can news coverage better reach historically marginalized communities facing disproportionate environmental harms?
That was the question posed by a panel of reporters and others at the Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Tempe on April 25.
The session, moderated by Elena Bruess, an environment reporter for the Houston Landing, brought together voices from both English and Spanish-language media. Panelists included Ana Bueno of Univision 45, Alejandra Martinez of the Texas Tribune, and Sydney Fucci, director of marketing and communications at the Houston Landing.
Ana Bueno (right) speaks during a Communities Where They Are in Environmental Journalism panel at the SEJ conference in Tempe on April 25, 2025.
Martinez emphasized the power of collaboration between newsrooms and community organizations.
“For our work to happen, it didn’t just take the Tribune — it took a lot of partners,” she said. “It requires a lot of people and funding.”
Bueno underscored the importance of language-accessible reporting that meets Latino communities where they are. Through partnerships with trusted local organizations, she can amplify critical stories and deliver them in formats that resonate.
One example shared by Martinez was her reporting on Cloverleaf, a predominantly Latino neighborhood near Houston’s Ship Channel. In partnership with advocacy groups, she helped distribute bilingual flyers outlining how residents could respond to chemical incidents and where to seek help — life-saving information many had never received or heard before.
Bruess reflected on her experience reporting in Houston’s Fifth Ward, a historically Black neighborhood designated a cancer cluster due to groundwater contamination. She stressed the importance of long-term engagement and trust-building. Fucci, who led community outreach for the article, noted that partnerships were key to tailoring messaging.
The panelists agreed: Collaboration — with grassroots groups, health advocates and Spanish-language broadcasters and reporters — is essential to building trust, improving access to environmental information, and holding powerful entities accountable.
By moving away from extractive reporting and embracing community collaboration, these journalists are showing how environmental news can act as a bridge, connecting communities and policymakers and creating meaningful change.
Katarzyna Michalik is a doctoral student at Prescott College and is part of a student newsroom led by The Arizona Republic.
Coverage of the Society of Environmental Journalists conference is supported by Arizona State University’s Cronkite School of Journalism, the University of Arizona, the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust and the Arizona Media Association.
These stories are published open-source for other news outlets and organizations to share and republish, with credit and links to azcentral.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Panel looks at how to connect news coverage to underserved communities