ABC NEWS DAY OF COVERAGE ON THE ISSUE OF WATER:
"THE POWER OF WATER"
** THURSDAY, APRIL 20 **
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RESOURCES LIST
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UPDATED APRIL 12 WITH:
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LINK TO ABC AFFILIATE MARKETING TOOLKIT FOR "THE POWER OF WATER"
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Stations:
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On Thursday, April 20, all ABC News programs and platforms will be airing content about the issues surrounding water: access to water, water contamination in communities and schools, infrastructure failures, the effect of climate change on water, drought, water shortages, etc.
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The overall title of our coverage that day will be "The Power of Water."
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For stories that we are doing that are related to the issue of water and climate change (drought, rising sea levels, etc.), we will be using the name "Climate Crisis: The Power of Water" as the title.
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For stories that are related to the issue of water but not directly to climate change (like lead pipes, water pollution, etc.) we will be using the name "The Power of Water" as the title. Both graphics are included in this item.
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We are asking all ABC affiliates to join us on April 20 in airing local stories about the issue of water to make this a truly nationwide reporting collaboration.
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Here are some resources that may help you in developing and reporting stories in your local market:
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ABC Affiliate Marketing Toolkit available:
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ABC Affiliate Marketing has produced a toolkit to help you build your own promos for your local coverage of "The Power of Water" day of programming on April 20. The link to the toolkit is here:
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https://www.abcnewsone-info.com/marketing-toolkit-the-power-of-water
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ABC News "The Power of Water" Graphics:
We have full-screen graphics available for the ABC News "The Power of Water" project available in NewsOneNET under the slug "ABCPowerOfWaterGFX".
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There are two graphics: one that says "Climate Crisis: The Power of Water" and one that says just "The Power of Water".
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Tell Us What Stories You Will Be Doing on April 20:
Please let us know what water-related story you will be doing on April 20 as part of the ABC News "The Power of Water" day of programming.
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Send your information to: al.prieto@abc.com with the subject "WATER STORY" in your e-mail.
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NewsOne Water Stories Topics:
NewsOne will be providing two stories related for stations to use on April 20:
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Lead Pipes: We will look at the continuing issue of lead pipes in homes and schools across the country, and how the city of Newark, New Jersey, successfully replaced thousands of lead pipes in their water infrastructure.
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Impact of Water Access Issues on Communities of Color: We will look at how the various issues around water that impact people (lack of access to clean water, infrastructure deficiencies, contamination, etc.) has a disproportional impact of communities of color
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These NewsOne packages will be fed earlier in the week of April 17. We will have more details on these stories in this space as we get closer to April 20.
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Recent Water-related Reports:
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Climate Central: Drought and Deluge in 2022
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American Society for Civil Engineers: Report Card for America’s Infrastructure
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Water focused sources:
Food and Water Watch
Contact: Phoebe Galt, pgalt@fwwatch.org
Topics: Lead pipes, water rates, water pollution, agricultural runoff
Natural Resources Defense Council
Contact: Margie Kelly, mkelly@nrdc.org
Topics: Lead pipes, Flint lawsuits, water pollution, federal water policy
*Can provide subject matter experts
American Society of Civil Engineers
Contact: Kevin Longley, klongley@asce.org
Topics: Water infrastructure, “report card” on regional infrastructure
*Can provide subject matter experts
American Water Works Association
Contact: Greg Kail, gkail@awwa.org
Topics: lead pipes, water management, wastewater and drinking water treatment, utilities
National Groundwater Association
Contact: Ben Frech, bfrech@ngwa.org
Topics: Private wells, rural water systems, groundwater quality,
Environmental Protection Agency
Topics: Lead pipe replacements, water quality concerns, water contamination, federal laws and enforcement around water, federal money for water infrastructure
Region 1 (in Boston; for CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)
David Deegan, deegan.dave@epa.gov
Region 2 (in New York; for NJ, NY, PR, USVI)
Mary Mears, mears.mary@epa.gov
Region 3 (in Philadelphia; for DC, DE, MD, PA, VA, WV)
also: Chesapeake Bay Program
Terri A. White, white.terri-A@epa.gov
Region 4 (in Atlanta; for AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN)
also: Gulf of Mexico Program
Brandi Jenkins, jenkins.brandi@epa.gov
Region 5 (in Chicago; for (IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI)
also: Great Lakes Program
Anne Rowan, rowan.anne@epa.gov
Region 6 (in Dallas; for AR, LA, NM, OK, TX)
Janie Acevedo , Jennah Durant, r6press@epa.gov
Region 7 (in Lenexa, KS; for IA, KS, MO, NE)
Benjamin Washburn, washburn.ben@epa.gov
Region 8 (in Denver; for CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY)
Rich Mylott, mylott.richard@epa.gov
Region 9 (in San Francisco; for AZ, CA, HI, NV, Pacific Territories)
Mike Alpern, alpern.michael@epa.gov
Region 10 (in Seattle; for AK, ID, OR, WA)
Bill Dunbar, dunbar.bill@epa.gov
Suzanne Skadowski, skadowski.suzanne@epa.gov
Riverkeeper Network
No national contact but most rivers or watersheds like Chesapeake Bay have a local Riverkeeper group that can speak to issues impacting the local area (pollution, climate, recent incidents like oil spills, etc)
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Expert sources:
*Local universities will probably have the most relevant experts for local issues, but some solid experts here if needed
SciLine (expert matching service): https://www.sciline.org/
Johns Hopkins University Water Institute
Contact: Robin Scullin, rsculli1@jhu.edu
Experts in: water sanitization, water infrastructure systems, contamination, water and health, water and energy, water and agriculture
Mark Svoboda, PhD
Director and Associate Professor
National Drought Mitigation Center
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Contact: msvoboda2@unl.edu
Related expertise: drought monitoring, early warning, and impacts; drought risk management; climatology
Daniel Swain
Climate Scientist University of California, Los Angeles
Contact: dlswain@ucla.edu
Expertise: changing climate system, atmospheric rivers, western drought and wildfire
Samantha Montano
Professor of Emergency Management, Massachusetts Maritime Academy
Contact: samanthalmontano@gmail.com
Expertise: Climate change disasters, emergency management, vulnerable populations, & disaster communication
Color of Water- https://colorofwater.waterhub.org/
Database of water experts and activists specifically focused on people of color, indigenous voices, etc
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Sources for video:
American Rivers- https://www.americanrivers.org/
Broll of rivers, areas impacted by drought or pollution
*Expected to release list of America’s Most Endangered Rivers in April, likely naming Colorado River most endangered again
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File Video on Water-Related Topics-
NewsOne has compiled a series of short clipreels that contain file video for use in your own water-related stories you may be producing for this series.
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The clipreels are available in NewsOneNET in the "Power Of Water" category.
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