Challenging Environmental Inequality? Role Perceptions and Practices of Environmental Journalists in Independent News Organizations

News media often reproduce patterns in coverage that can exacerbate environmental inequality. This study investigates how journalists working for independent environmental news organizations in Brazil perceive and engage with such patterns in legacy media coverage. We conducted 2 complementary studies: first, 10 semi-structured interviews with journalists from independent environmental news organizations, and second, a qualitative content analysis of 85 of their previously published news articles. Our findings suggest that environmental journalists in independent media frequently foreground the voices of marginalized communities, especially Indigenous populations, while the framing of environmental issues in their reporting tends to highlight these perspectives.