Sawt Falasteen - Media awards highlight human stories of climate crisis

The winning entries were hailed by judges for capturing the urgency of the global climate crisis, bringing to light "abundant solutions," and inspiring people and policymakers to act.

Among work honored was an HBO Max documentary on two pre-teen sisters as their sixth-generation family farm in Iowa is battered by cycles of drought and flooding.

The judges said the film succeeded in showing how "a small story becomes a large, important one" with the sisters and their parents taking joy in farm chores but recognizing climate change is rendering their way of life unsustainable.

Justin Worland of Time was named journalist of the year, while AFP won an award for a "globe-spanning" video project on how rising seas will rewrite maps, doom some major cities and impact the world's poorest.

"Better news coverage is an essential climate solution, a catalyst that makes progress on every part of the problem -- from politics to business, lifestyle change to systems change -- more likely," said Mark Hertsgaard, executive director of Covering Climate Now.

The 23 winners were selected from over 900 entries from 65 countries for the awards' second year.

Other winners included Al Jazeera on a UNESCO World Heritage site in Senegal crumbling beneath rising seas, PBS coverage of the COP26 summit in Scotland, and a Guardian podcast series on Pacific Island nations.

Covering Climate Now is a global media project devoted to reporting on global warming.

T.Khatib--SF-PST