STUDENTS AND FACULTY PRODUCE THE MIAMI PLANET NEWSPAPER FOR SOCIETY OF ENVIRONMENTAL                JOURNALISTS 2011 ANNUAL CONFERENCE, OCT. 19-23 IN MIAMI

October 13, 2011 (Miami, FL) - For the first time at a Society of Environmental Journalists conference, an entire online newspaper is being devoted to the coverage of the event on Oct. 19-23 in Miami.

The Miami Planet, www.themiamiplanet.org, created by theUniversity of Miami, was designed to help the hundreds of journalists and environmental experts coming to the conference get a sense of South Florida and its environment and to help them get the most out of the conference.

Hosted by The University of Miami, the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) annual conference is expected to bring more than 700 journalists and will feature an agenda packed with engaging workshops, field trips and discussions about global issues and the surrounding environment,  including the Atlantic Ocean (sea level rise, overfishing, pollution), the Everglades (climate change, urban issues), and much more. Conference guests will hear from environmental experts, and award-winning journalists who will share the latest news and discoveries about our planet.

“The SEJ conference is so big and so filled with so many great things to do that no one can do it all,” said Joseph B. Treaster, a UM Journalism professor and the editor of The Miami Planet. “The online newspaper will enable everyone to read about the things they couldn’t personally attend.  And a team of photographers is going to be capturing the visual highlights.The Miami Planet is filled with dozens of stories that I think will suggest ideas for stories by the visiting journalists and also serve as a guide for conference field trips or tours.”

The online newspaper has a staff of more than 100 student reporters and photographers and nearly a dozen faculty-editors from the University of Miami, Florida International University and Miami Dade College.  Made possible by a generous gift from Toyota, The Miami Planet plans to take reports and insights on South Florida and its environment and the conference to a worldwide audience.

International journalists attending the conference are writing for two special sections of The Miami Planet — the Latin America Diary and Europe Diary. All the diary writers are linking back to their home countries and publications as part of the Miami Planet’s global reach. 

*To read The Miami Planet, click here.

For more information about The Miami Planet, contact Joseph B. Treaster: or  305-284-5276 or 917-575-9562.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     ###

The Miami Planet is a production of the University of Miami’s Knight Center for International Media and UM’s School of Communication, in collaboration with Florida International University and Miami Dade College with generous support from Toyota North America. It focuses on South Florida and its environment and is aimed at a worldwide audience.