Journal of Geography in Higher Education, Vol. 26, No. 1, 2002, pp. 129– 142 Making News in Geography and Environmental Management IAIN HAY & DAVID BASS, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia [Editorial note: Directions are written as practical guides for students but this Direc- tions is intended to have a wider appeal to lecturing staff as well as their students.] Introduction Geographers and environmental managers have important stories to tell on topics as diverse and important as international trade, conict and pollution through to environ- mental justice, global warming and indigenous peoples’ land rights. Unfortunately, many graduate geographers or environmental managers are poorly equipped to communicate the results of scholarly and professional research works to the general public. Although there is widespread recognition that we need to develop communication skills (Jenkins & Pepper, 1988; Wheeler, 1989; DEET, 1993; Hay, 1995), this need has been interpreted in a very limited way. Typically, emphasis has been given to those oral, graphic and written skills traditionally valued within academic environments (Hay, 2002; Young, 1998). Geography– media relations rarely form part of what geographers research, infrequently nd their way into the development activities of our professional bodies, and are even less likely to fall within our curricula (Hay & Israel, 2001). As a result, many geography and environmental studies/management graduates tend to be poor at managing the ways in which other groups—and in particular the media—take research ndings and other information about geography and the environment and translate them into products for public consumption (Burgess, 1992; Lees, 1999). This is a matter that warrants repair. As Hay and Israel (2001) point out in their recent work on ‘newsmaking geography’, ISSN 0309 – 8265 print/ISSN 1466– 1845 online/02/010129– 14 Ó 2002 Taylor & Francis Ltd DOI: 10.1080/0309826012011041 2