Three-Minute Green

Are The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, and Robert Redford's cable TV effort, The Green, a sorry lineup of fluff-ball venues for dabbling in feel-good environmentalism, or brave new birthplaces of an eco-literate America? Journalist Simran Sethi, who got her start as an anchor for MTV News and has wowed daytime television audiences (and now hosts the Sundance Channel's The Green), makes the case that green issues are for everyone. (Before you even think of pigeonholing her, note that the MBA-toting Sethi teaches environmental communications at the University of Kansas's School of Journalism and Mass Communications and is penning a tome on environmental justice for HarperCollins.) Sierra spoke with Sethi about what it takes to "expand the conversation" about the environment from dorm lounges in college towns to living rooms across America.

What are the challenges of covering green issues on TV?
We have about two or three minutes to tell the story, and the information is new to many people in the audience. The language of broadcast journalists calls for asserting things in short sound bites without hesitation or uncertainty. But we have to grapple with the language of scientists, who don't speak with that same level of certainty.

Why do many broadcast stories gravitate to how-to topics?
It's been the goal of mainstream media outlets to empower people to feel there's something they can do toward the solution. One of the quickest ways is to shift consumer behavior. Instead of saying, "You need to stop buying stuff altogether," they'll say, "You need to buy different stuff."

What are the advantages of publishing online?
People can watch on their timetable, and it's easy to expand the conversation. On my Huffington Post blog, I can link to three studies to show how information has progressed or how we've learned more. You reach a different, smaller audience than the 6 million viewers of The Today Show.

Why was your environmental-justice program, The Good Fight, a Web-only series?
You can get away with smaller budgets and move faster. I conceived The Good Fight only a year ago; it came out of my desire to address issues that weren't being covered. We were talking about CFLs, but not about mercury contamination in farming communities. We were talking about weaning ourselves off oil, but not about the impacts of oil refineries on residents in southeast Los Angeles. I want people to understand that environmental issues are issues of civil rights. Not everyone can afford to put solar panels on their roof, but that doesn't mean they don't care about their environment.

What's your verdict on green TV?
The Sundance Channel has tried to cover all the bases: environmental justice, business, entertainment, asking what green really means. If we keep to entertainment and tips, we miss a tremendous opportunity.

Will network execs' interest in all things eco fade?
Some will do it and move on. With luck, it will become part of their DNA. Just a few years ago, you found green stories under the headings of science and health. Now the environment is its own subtopic on many news outlets.

How do your students approach the environment?
I see a strong BS detector. They're concerned about green versus greenwashing. They have a commitment to talking about the issues in a way that will bring more people on board.

That doesn't sound like MTV-watching, short-attention-span youths.
I cut my broadcast teeth at MTV News and worked on documentaries for them when I was in college. I once asked Kurt Loder, one of the founding anchors, "How do we reach these people?" He said, "You are these people!"

MTV has done a solid job on environmental issues. They recognize that they need to serve their audience. Are they going to get Cameron Diaz involved? Absolutely. If you care about fashion, I can talk to you about the implications of your traditional cotton T-shirt and the third of a pound of pesticides that went into making it. There's a way to get people involved that's not going to scare them off.

>What's your environmental vice?
I don't compost. I freeze my organic waste and give it to a friend to compost.