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PO Box 2492, Jenkintown, PA 19046Ship: 321 Old York Rd., St. 200Jenkintown, PA 19046Ph 215-884-8174ournal Fax 215-884-8175© 2009 by the Society of Environmental Journalists.The mission of the organization is to advance public understanding of environmental issues byimproving the quality, accuracy and visibility of environmental reporting.Editor: Mike MansurAssistant Editor: Bill DawsonDesign Editor: Linda KnousePhoto Editor: Roger ArchibaldSection EditorsBook Shelf: Elizabeth BlueminkResearch Roundup: Jan KnightE-Reporting Biz: Bud WardReporter’s Toolbox: Robert McClureScience Survey: Cheryl HogueSEJ News: Chris RigelThe Beat: Bill DawsonEditorial BoardRobert McClure (chair), Elizabeth Bluemink, A. Adam Glenn, Bill Kovarik,Mike Mansur, David Sachsman, JoAnn M. Valenti, Denny WilkinsSEJ Board of DirectorsPresident, Christy GeorgeOregon Public BroadcastingFirst Vice President/Program Chair, Carolyn WhetzelBNASecond Vice President/Membership Chair, Cheryl HogueChemical and Engineering NewsSecretary, Mark SchleifsteinTimes-PicayuneTreasurer/Finance Chair, Peter P. ThomsonPublic Radio International’s The WorldFuture Conference Sites Chair, Don HopeyThe Pittsburgh Post-GazetteJames BruggersThe Courier-JournalChris BowmanIndependent JournalistJeff BurnsideWTVJ-TVDina CappielloAPPeter FairleyIndependent JournalistRobert McClureInvestigateWestTim WheelerBaltimore SunRepresentative for Academic Members, Bill KovarikRadford UniversityRepresentative for Associate Members, Rebecca DaughertyIndependent JournalistFounding President, Jim DetjenKnight Center for Environmental Journalism, Michigan State UniversityExecutive Director, Beth ParkeDirector of Programs and Operations, Chris RigelVisit www.sej.orgSEJournal (ISSN: 1053-7082) is published quarterly by the Society of Environmental Journalists, P.O.Box 2492, Jenkintown, PA 19046. Send story ideas, articles, news briefs, tips and letters to Editor MikeMansur, Kansas City Star, mmansur@sej.org. The Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) is a non-profit,tax exempt, 501(c)3 organization funded by grants from foundations, universities and media companies, memberdues and fees for services. SEJ does not accept gifts or grants from non-media corporations, governmentagencies or advocacy groups. Its membership is limited to journalists, educators and students who do not lobbyor do public relations work on environmental issues. For non-member subscription information seewww.sej.org under publications.hybrid. If the economy improves, enough advertising dollarsmight support operations for the dedicated remaining millionswho still want a printed product, while the same news organizationcan also feed the Internet masses.Maybe it will be like the 20th Century’s dawn when eachtown had multiple news operations. Of course all of them wereprinted. In the future each town may have its own individualcombination of news sites that work, possibly in a variety of ways.Don’t know.But I believe this, for certain: Those guys in the World War Itrench. They fought for something as well as their lives. And allof us who labored at newspapers, often for less-than-what-shouldhave-been-acceptablepay, did so not because they knew anewspaper was a business. They did so because they believedwhat they did had little business purpose. It simply had purpose.They worked to make a difference.Newspapers may close or morph into all-Internet operationsor change in a variety of other yet-to-be-imagined ways. But thatvery passion that fueled so many journalists in the 20th and early21st centuries will be the one thing that leads us to whatever it isthat returns and sustains daily journalism, whether it is distributedvia the Internet, in a newspaper box or on a TV screen near you.So here’s to that bright future. But getting there – that is thetough part.Oh, I should note that I have survived my news organization’slatest round of cuts. Dozens of others did not, adding to dozensmore who have gone before them in the last year. Many of them,I can say for a fact, were as good or better journalists than thoseleft behind. I pray some of them are part of that bright future.Michael Mansur, SEJournal editor, covers local governmentsfor The Kansas City Star.So here’s to that bright future.But getting there — that is the tough part.PHOTO BY ROGER ARCHIBALD6 SEJournal Spring 2009