EJ Magazine is one of the only student-produced magazine about environmental issues in the country and is published by the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at Michigan State University. Read about EJ's:
EJ Magazine strives to:
- report on local, national and international environmental topics;
- write about environmental journalism issues and Knight Center news; and
- give students an outlet for great clips.
EJ Magazine started out as a four-page newsletter called EJ News. In 2002, two graduate students — Kristen Tuinstra and Randy Yeip — undertook ambitious master's projects to completely revamp the newsletter's content and design, thus creating EJ Magazine as it exists in its current form. Since then, EJ has continued to grow more sophisticated, offering higher quality articles and artwork from a wider variety of student and professional contributors each year.
In the last four years, EJ and its contributors have won several awards:
- 2003 — Michigan United Conservation Clubs' Ben East Award for Excellence in Conservation Journalism went to founding EJ editor Kristen Tuinstra (MA 2002). She was the first student to win that honor.
- 2005 — Michigan Audubon Society awarded EJ its Environmental Business Award.
- 2005 — The Society of Professional Journalists awarded EJ a first-place Mark of Excellence Award for Best Student Magazine.
- 2006 — The Hearst Journalism Awards Program — the Pulitzer of student journalism — awarded 10th place in its feature-writing competition to Patrick Wellever (BA 2006) for his Spring 2005 feature, "Agriculture Wars."
- 2006 — The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) awarded Patrick Wellever (BA 2006) third place in its international news story contest for his Spring 2005 feature, "Agriculture Wars."
- 2006 — The Society of Professional Journalists awarded EJ three Mark of Excellence Awards:
- The staff placed third in the Best Student Magazine category
- Carol Navarro (BA 2007) and Mairin MacDonald (BA 2008) placed third in the Magazine Non-Fiction Article category for "Who Owns the Water?"
- Yu-Ting Lin (MA 2006) placed first in the Magazine Non-Fiction Article category for "Environmental Evangelicals."
- 2007 — The Detroit Press Club Foundation honored seven EJ contributors with its Michigan Excellence in Journalism Awards:
- Carol Navarro (BA 2007), 1st place in Feature Writing for "Rain Drain."
- Ryan Shannon (English BA 2007), 2nd place in Feature Writing for "'Fun'gus for the Whole Family."
- Kristin V. Johnson (MA 2007), 3rd place in Feature Writing for "Organically Oriented Pets."
- Katie Coleman (MA 2007), 1st place in Student Reporting for "Ground-Shaking Progress."
- Jessica A. Knoblauch (MA 2008), 2nd place in Student Reporting for "Use With Caution."
- Hannah Northey (MA 2007), 3rd place in Student Reporting for "Beetle Battle."
- Rich Grogan (Mass Media Ph.D.), 1st place in Expression of Opinion for "Life & Times of a Biodieseler."
Who contributes to EJ Magazine's content?
For the most part, EJ's content is created by undergraduate and graduate students at Michigan State University. Many of our contributors are journalism students, but a growing number come from environmental and scientific disciplines. Occasionally, professors and professional journalists — from publications such as the Detroit Free Press and The (Toledo) Blade — have contributed, as have students at other universities. We encourage anyone interested to submit articles for consideration.
How can I contribute to EJ Magazine?
Writers can simply contact the editors with their story idea. The go-ahead and deadline information will be arranged on a case-by-case basis. If you're interested in receiving photography or illustration assignments, contact the editors to be put on a call list. You may be assigned tasks on an as-needed basis.
Who creates EJ Magazine?
Two graduate assistants employed by the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism currently have that privilege. You can meet the entire staff here.
How can I help create EJ Magazine?
Unfortunately, there simply is not a need for additional editors or designers at this time. You can serve EJ best by submitting articles and artwork.
How often is EJ Magazine published?
EJ is published twice annually — usually in late November and late April to coincide with the end of fall and spring semesters at MSU. With more contributions and more funding, the Knight Center hopes to publish EJ more frequently in the future.
Who reads EJ Magazine?
EJ is mailed to approximately 2,500 people, including every journalism school in the country, MSU faculty and personnel involved with environmental or communications fields, and individuals who have joined our mailing list. Individuals on our mailing list typically include professionals from journalism, environmental, scientific and health fields, as well as concerned citizens. An additional 1,500 magazines are printed as promotional items distributed at professional and academic events.
How is EJ Magazine supported?
The Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, part of MSU's School of Journalism, has published EJ since 2002. The Spring 2006 edition was the first issue that included advertisements to offset some of its costs.
