While media and journalists are called upon to account for the consequences of climate change in their news coverage, one topic remains prone to anachronism and even irresponsibility: travel. A "ranking of the best cheap flights" or a report on "good reasons to book a cruise" cannot, in all conscience, have a place in today's context.
Offering readers and listeners an alternative, low-carbon approach—that's the goal set by Itinéraire Bis. The collective, launched by around forty media and communications professionals (including videographer Swann Perissé, the media outlet Les Others, Enlarge Your Paris, Further Stories, Paye ton Influence founder Amélie Deloche, and Alexis Chailloux, low-carbon travel lead at Greenpeace France), aims to encourage a journalistic approach that runs counter to the usual media coverage of travel, which far too rarely takes its environmental impact into account.
Médianes chose to participate in this new initiative. Last year, when we signed the Charter for journalism equal to the climate emergency, we were already aware that the path would be long and that it represented only one stone in a building still far from complete. Our participation in Itinéraire Bis is a continuation of this direction, and makes concrete our desire to deepen our commitment, whether in the media we highlight or in the media we support on the studio side.
Create and offer resources
Yet calls and signatures alone cannot provide an effective response to the scale of these urgent challenges. Itinéraire Bis therefore offers a series of resources to support those who commit to it in adapting their work to environmental requirements. Itinéraire Bis provides a directory of around sixty experts, business leaders and travelers, a bank of royalty-free images that can illustrate reports on the subject, as well as a glossary of eco-responsible activities and practices.
Because this issue obviously concerns not just media, journalists, and influencers: it affects all of us as (potential) travelers and in our interactions with our peers.
If you are convinced, as we are, that another way is possible, read the editorial charter and consult all the resources made available to you by Itinéraire Bis on the website.
To go further
- Green's article about Itinéraire Bis: The "Itinéraire bis" collective wants to encourage journalists to cover low-carbon travel
- A Reuters Institute study on how the public perceives and accesses information about climate change
- A report about training journalists on environmental topics at France Télévisions.
