WTVJ-TV (NBC)
The Miami Herald
Ocean Drive Magazine
The WTVJ news department made coverage of the environment a top priority, launching EcoWatch on Earth Day in March 2001. Pew funding allowed the station to partner with The Miami Herald and its Sunday magazine to reach out and engage the community in its effort.
In addition to producing more than 100 broadcast stories on the environment, the station solicited viewer “Ecopinions” through a special EcoWatch Web page. Viewer and user emails on controversial topics were collected, consolidated and then forwarded to public officials and stakeholders on the issue. Viewers weighed in on such issues as a bottle bill for Florida and preservation of the Everglades -two hot environmental issues in 2002. The station forwarded hundreds of emails on those and other topics. The Web site also featured an interactive slide show, video of station reports, special dispatches from marine biologist Jean-Michel Cousteau and University of Miami environmentalist Ellen Prager, along with links and other resources.
Working with nearly a dozen organizations, such as Friends of the Everglades, the University of Miami and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the station generated a lesson plan on the environment that was distributed to thousands of Miami school children. The station promoted use of the curriculum by sending station anchors into classrooms to show EcoWatch reports and lead discussions.
To encourage environmental awareness among Miami citizens, the partners produced and distributed half a million copies of an EcoGuide filled with information and advice. For example, a section on helping preserve the Everglades suggested citizens could help by conserving water and explained how to find leaks in home plumbing that would waste water. In addition to the printed copies, the guide remained available online.
Contact:
Tim Geraghty
Vice President, News
WTVJ-TV
15000 S.W. 27th St.
Miramar, FL 33027
Phone: (954) 622-6150
Email: tim.geraghty@nbc.com