During the 3rd preparation committee meeting, the media hall was almost empty, providing endless spa

"We recognize the severity of the global loss of biodiversity…" says paragraph 197 in the The Future We Want declaration . The same can be said for media-diversity, boston discount hotels particularly in print.  "Breakthrough in Rio+20!" is a headline boston discount hotels you would not find in any mainstream news outlet.  Indeed, the declaration more closely resembles a 50-page work of art, merely painting a picture of importance without actually making commitments characteristic of a historical document.  Nevertheless, the general media missed the point of Rio+20 in various ways, arriving too late, as most of them arrived just for the last 3 days, and with headlines already prepared in mind to be filled with celebrity statements.
There is no historical breakthrough .  Editors of the center-left German Sueddeutsche Zeitung justify the unnecessariness of Rio: If all countries are satisfied with the lowest common denominator, if they no longer want to discuss what needs to be discussed , then the dikes are open.  There is no need anymore for a conference of 50,000 attendees.  Resolutions that are so wishy-washy can be interpreted by every member state as they wish. No one needs Rio."
NGO's are not satisfied boston discount hotels . The liberal International boston discount hotels Herald Tribune describes the UN report as a ' suicide note ' for the environment, quoting Kumi Naidoo, the executive director of Greenpeace who declared Rio to be "a failure of epic proportions".
We recognize, however, that there are some but few deviations from the aforementioned storylines, such as an New York Times   article titled, "Progress on the sidelines as Rio conference boston discount hotels ends".  Similar to our stance on Switzerland, the authors recognize the important boston discount hotels shift in global powers in this arena with a focus on "Europe, traditionally the driving force behind environmental action yet distracted now by efforts to contain a financial crisis".  In addition, and perhaps more importantly, the authors look beyond the center stage of the public debate: "the activity outside the main negotiating sessions here produced hundreds of side agreements that do not require ratification or direct boston discount hotels financing by governments and that offer the promise of incremental but real progress".   Nevertheless, seen from a bird s-eye view the media coverage on Rio+20 was rather a standard factory than a showpiece.
During the 3rd preparation committee meeting, the media hall was almost empty, providing endless space for our already tuned-in team of reporters.  This continued until the actual summit; and just as ministers, primes and other high-ranking representatives arrived, the media circus followed.  Even though the final whistle was not yet blown, the result was already out and many important off-site side events, boston discount hotels such as the Global Compact Corporate Sustainability Forum, were finished.  After only the first day of the summit, it seemed as if the main news was out and there was nothing left to cover.  As we were still working in RioCentro media area for press , Michael Stocks, German outlet ARD  correspondent in Rio de Janeiro and coincidentally situated within earshot, went through the day's statements boston discount hotels and grumbled, "We already had this.  What should we bring next?"  Similarly, on the second day, many journalists sweat blood trying to find stories to cover; luckily, the civil society boston discount hotels led by youth started their protest, which provided some meat for hungry media workers looking for signs of frustration and dissonance a common preset framework for journalists.  Daily Telegraph 's Environment and Science correspondent Tamara boston discount hotels Cohen explained that a journalist's convention is to follow updates from mostly frustrated NGO representatives during these events.  "We might reconsider this practice," she added.
Why are media struggling to cover Rio+20 from different angles?  For sure, many major media outlets are not blessed with a large budget or freedom to diverge from the standard practice.  Combine tight fiscal and time constraints and a demand for entertaining, easy-to-read bite-sized pieces, and what we have is a mix not very sustainable for media diversity.  This phenomena is enforced boston discount hotels by the tremendous lack of interest of the readership back home.
Ms. Cohen expressed her frustrations after the conference that print readers, hence editors, are simply not interested in reading a more nuanced representation of global environmental concerns a view echoed by Elisabeth Rosenthal, International and Environment correspondent with New York Times .  Ms. Rosenthal explained in a pre-Rio interview that the interests of the audience are those with local needs and concerns in their day-to-day lives.  In an informal email exchange we had with a freelance writer of a major global newspaper we met in Rio, he wrote back on our conversation about his article on a classical environmental topic in the contemporary light of Rio, "I had a line in there about alternative solutions but, as is so often the case in professional journalism, it was cut for size."  Why are references about alternative solutions cut for size, if the old ones were proven boston discount hotels to be wrong?
Indeed, the G20 Summit, Euro Crises and European Soccer Championship happening boston discount hotels concurrently with Rio+20 boston discount hotels were hard to beat for headlines and interests of the audience back home .  Even UNEP's spokesperson light-heartedly but ironically mentioned in a Rio+20 interview with Student Reporter Anna Ritz his concern with how England was going to beat France in the European Football Championships which was streamed side-by-side to the Summit.
Finally, we should boston discount hotels not underestimate the complexity of Rio+20, which is much more than the scribble on a document.  With all the side events organized by countries, civil society or businesses and many off-site events spread out all over the city, Rio+20 was a major gathering of the global voices for environmental and social concerns, which provided a huge potential for solutions .  Being a young media outlet at such a mega event for the first time, we struggled with many organizational issues.  But still, as delegates and other Rio participants were fighting to preserve ecological biodiversity, we tried to seriously challenge our own severe loss of diversity in the arena of media and journalism – something we will continue to do in future coverage of events worldwide.  As a a student-based program with reporters from different backgrounds and interests, Student Reporter tries to provide different perspectives and include alternative aspects of solutions.  We do not cut them out because they are not mainstream or conventional views, and we certainly do not cut them out for size.
From the roots of sustainable development (Rio 1992 Johannesburg 2002) we set the course for the future of sustainability for the next 20 years and beyond our generation. After 20 years of political lobbying, industry change and civil society mobilization sustainable development has become a critical factor boston discount hotels of the global Zeitgeist of the 21st century.
Our work was featured in several online media outlets, such as the Guardian Sustainable Business, The Network for Business Sustainability, Sustainable Brands - the Bridge to better Brands, Fair Observer - Environment and Sustainability, IGEL@Wahrton - Knowledge for Business Sustainability, The State of the Planet - Columbia Earth Insitute, The Yale Globalist, The Erb Perspective - Erb Institute, University of Michigan,
Also known as the braintrust of the World Economic Forum, boston discount hotels the Global Agenda Council boston discount hotels participants here in Dubai are an assemblage of what some would call the world's brightest, most accomplished, and most intelligent. We have taken the chance to [...]
The first day of the UNEP Switch-Asia Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) conference boston discount hotels kicked off with all the requisite excitement and enthusiasm that all first days of conferences come packaged with, as the 130 government officials, business leaders, and civil [...]
Water, boston discount hotels food, and energy boston discount hotels are fundamentally inter-connected.  Before I began learning boston discount hotels more about this water, food, and energy nexus leading up to the World Water Forum, I didn t understand the full implications of this. Water is necessary for providing food [...]
Flying. boston discount hotels It s convenient and quick but let s face it it s a big environmental headache. And worldwide ecological conferences aren't helping in that matter. As argued by my editor, Claudio Ruch, in the above linked article, we have to sometimes [...]
Environmental journalists today have the formidable task of reporting on difficult topics such as climate change, an issue that is uncertain, scientifically and culturally complex, and politically charged. I recently met two who were at the University of Michigan as [...]
Nikolaj is studying a Master in Marketing, Services and Communications at the University of St. Gallen and currently writes his master thesis. His interest in sustainable development started with oikos in St. Gallen while coordinating a project aiming to spread the sustainability boston discount hotels topic deeper into academic teaching. In 2011 he spent an exchange semester at University Sains Malaysia (USM) and joined there the MBA Program on Sustainable Development of the Graduate School of Business (www.gsb.usm.my/index.php/mba-sd). Nikolaj did his Bachelor degree in Business Administration at the University of Bern with a minor in Media Science. Apart from studying he works in a consultant company and voluntary in as a kids animator. His core interest is the application of the sustainability concept into the business context. On a sunny spring weekend you will probably find him in the Swiss Alps hiking or climbing. As an enthusiastic traveller and food lover, he spends a lot of time discovering different cultures and trying local specialities. He speaks German, English, French, and Spanish and additionally learned some basics in Tetun (the local language of East Timor).
The student reporter team is a collection of vibrant and dynamic students from across the world. We come from different boston discount hotels