Emily Cunningham

The statement is true, though. I am one of about a dozen people who work on nothing but climate coverage for the NYT, and we’re only a fraction of the number of people whose stories deal with climate issues. It’s a massive effort by the Times to cover climate change.

John, there is almost no job more important than being a journalist reporting on the climate crisis. Thank you (and your colleagues) for your work. Genuine question: while that statement is true... do you think the NYT is doing enough to cover the climate crisis?

I wonder if being on the climate desk is a bit like being on the sustainability team of a large corporation. You’re working your ass off, doing good work, yet the constraints of the org’s larger priorities limit what you can do.

Meanwhile you’re getting criticisms left and right about NYT coverage of the climate crisis while you’re pouring your soul into this work. If was in your shoes I know my first reaction would be to want to defend what the NYT is already doing.

Could there be space to consider that — as hard as all of us are working on climate — no one is yet rising far enough to the challenge? To have room to reimagine? To try different approaches? Experiments? I want you and the NYT to succeed.

I want the public to have a true sense of the existential threat we're facing and the urgency. What do *you* think it will take for them to understand this? To help them understand what concrete things need to happen for us to avoid the worst of what's coming?

The sustainability team analogy might be a good one; even the best sustainability ppl can’t, alone, make a company good on climate if they are siloed or lack adequate influence. I wonder if the protests will prompt those at NYT who really need to reflect on this to do so.