EJN Media Grantee Launches Library of Free-to-Use Footage for Climate Journalists and Newsrooms

Earlier this year, Internews’ Earth Journalism Network, through its Asia-Pacific project, awarded a media grant to InOldNews, to support innovative media coverage that combats news fatigue and promotes greater engagement in environmental and climate issues.

Founded by journalists Manon Verchot and Sanshey Biswas, InOldNews is an India-based media organization that supports journalists through stories and trainings on mobile journalism, environmental issues, data journalism and more. 

With this support from EJN and funder Sida, they built a library of free, Creative Commons video footage on the causes, impacts and solutions of climate change around the world. Their aim: to make it easier for journalists to produce engaging video stories on climate change. By providing afree-to-use and easy-to-access library of CC-BY-licensed footage, the project, Capturing Climate Change, is an initiative by journalists for journalists around the world to diversify their coverage of climate change. “The inspiration behind building this library came from our own experiences working as video journalists,” said Manon Verchot, co-founder of InOldNews.

“We worked in a lot of newsrooms where getting footage for climate-related video stories was a challenge. So we wanted to make journalists’ already hectic lives a little easier," she added.

With the help of more than 15 journalists in 13 countries, the library now includes more than 730 video clips that can be used for free, with attribution. The videos highlight the impacts of climate change, like sea level rise, increases in extreme weather, the rise of invasive species, wildfires and more. From drone footage of rooftop solar in Nagpur, India to mangroves in the Siargao Island of Philippines to flooding in Myanmar, there’s plenty of material for freelancers and newsrooms alike to browse through and utilize.  

“I always love bringing stories from communities that are not only dealing with the consequences of changing climate but also trying to adapt,” Nepali journalist Tanka Dhakal wrote on LinkedIn. “This time around, I had the opportunity to be part of a well-thought-out reporting and documentation effort led by InOldNews and supported by the Earth Journalism Network—"Capturing Climate Change." Dhakal shared videos of the changing landscape and base camp, among other visuals from Khumbu, the ecologically sensitive region near Mount Everest. 

InOldNews’ resource has been shared by the Society of Environmental Journalists, the Oxford Climate Journalism Network, and many others.  

The footage recorded by the journalists working on the project has gathered over 250,000 views between April and September 2024, according to the analytics on Flickr. And the reach is likely greater. One of India’s leading newspapers, The Hindu, used footage from InOldNews’ library for its coverage of a hospital in India that is using solar to reduce its carbon footprint. 

The Capturing Climate Change project is a timely response to diminishing journalism resources and its impact on representation in the media. With increasing layoffs and budget cuts, it is getting harder for newsrooms to produce the quality of videos they aspire to, especially on niche topics. Meanwhile, more audiences are consuming news and information through short- and longform video. 

"Videos add a lot of value to a story but often it's expensive to source clips and the majority of newsrooms in the Asia Pacific region lack resources to shoot footage on their own. This unique video library has already become a great resource for newsrooms to strengthen coverage of climate change," said Ramesh Bhushal, EJN’s South Asia project coordinator. 

Journalists often rely on what they can find online to help visualize complex topics they’re reporting on. But most of what’s available is from places like the US and Europe, rather than the majority world, which bears the brunt of climate and environmental impacts.

“It is vital that journalists have the option to tell their stories through video, especially for stories regarding the ongoing climate crisis,” journalist Jessica Callender, from Guyana, wrote. “Videos can effectively convey the urgency and impact of important issues in a way words alone cannot.”

InOldNews has also published a resource guide to help journalists find free footage licensed for reuse around the internet, and how to use it. 

“Working with journalists from around the globe is a rewarding and essential activity we’ll be looking to do more of,” said Sanshey Biswas, co-founder of InOldNews. “We are excited to work with more journalists covering their communities to help diversify the stories covered in video formats by news organizations.”

Banner image: A collage of stills from footage contributed by journalists, for journalists / Credit: InOldNews.