Earth Journalism Network

Role

User experience design, information architecture, type/layout for screens, and front-end web development

Client

Earth Journalism Network and Internews

Live site

earthjournalism.net

The Earth Journalism Network, or EJN, works to advance the state of reportage on environmental issues around the world, particularly in developing countries. The project grew out of Internews, a civil society and media nonprofit. Unlike most of its peers, EJN operates with a grassroots structure and on a minimal budget. The network connects individual journalists, offering them training, republishing their stories, and building tools to support their work – everything from data-sharing websites to $20 air pollution sensors.

I worked on a multiyear project with EJN, consulting on content strategy and user experience, and also imagining the shape that the project might take. I designed and helped to develop publishing systems for several related news sites (EarthJournalism.net, the Mekong Eye, the Third Pole, and the Third Pole DataNet), and a series of single-story sites that document the effects of climate change on communities around the globe.

Member journalists reported a tremendous improvement in usability and an increase in the site’s value to them. Before, members visited the main EJN site mostly to apply for grants. Now, 86% rely on the site as a source for news and background material, and 82% consider that it has improved the quality of their work. Membership increased three- or four-fold; the relaunched network grew to 5,000–11,000 members (the figure varies depending on standards for active participation) in 113 countries.