Katie Myers, climate reporter for Blue Ridge Public Radio and Grist, has been named one of three Emerging Journalists of the Year in the international 2026 Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards.
The global awards program, organized by Covering Climate Now, honors excellence in climate reporting. Selected from an international pool of climate journalists with fewer than five years of professional journalism experience, Myers was recognized for her deep, community-centered coverage of climate change, energy transitions, and environmental policy across Western North Carolina and the southern Appalachian region.
"We are incredibly proud to see Katie’s exceptional journalism recognized on a global stage," said Ele Ellis, Blue Ridge Public Radio CEO and general manager. " Whether documenting local recovery challenges after Hurricane Helene or unpacking complex forest policies, Katie brings immense rigor, empathy, and deep regional expertise to her work."
BPR and Grist hired Myers in July 2024 as a joint regional reporter to cover climate change, energy, and more in Western North Carolina and the Blue Ridge mountain region. Since Hurricane Helene devastated the region that fall, Myers has covered numerous aspects of the storm and recovery, including government funding and environmental aspects such as plastic pollution in the rivers, tree planting, and mold research.
The Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards celebrate excellence in climate storytelling. Myers, along with Thabisani Dube of New Ziana (Zimbabwe), and Daniel Kotecký of Deník Referendum (Czech Republic), were chosen as emerging journalists of the year from a competitive pool of global reporters with five or fewer years of experience whose work demonstrates exceptional promise in climate journalism.
To read and listen to Myers's award-winning coverage, visit her author pages on Blue Ridge Public Radio and Grist.
