Britt Longoria to participate in National Journalism Symposium

I was honored by Modern Huntsman magazine and CIC to participate in the National Journalism Symposium in Dallas, Texas. With Dad’s passing, I did not attend, but I wanted to share with you my short essay I had prepared for the conference.

“Challenges in communication: What does the future of wildlife conservation look like to you?”

The main challenge I see in communication styles is the two extreme sides of the conversation and perspective of wildlife conservation; black and white rationalists pitted against emotional sentimentalists. The pro-hunting side argues from a macro-perspective with numbers, dollars and cents, and percentages of researched statistics; all of which present beneficial results to wildlife populations, land conservation, poor communities, and rural economies.  However, they do not touch on the heart and soul of why hunters hunt. On the other hand, the anti-hunting crowd focuses on the micro-level; sympathetic to an individual animal’s welfare, perspectives that question the need for hunting in modern times, and of the lack of respect some hunter showcase. The challenge is speaking the same language between the groups, to illustrate that both sides have common ground and want to implement and participate in successful wildlife conservation.

The welfare of wildlife is benefited by the broadest support possible by all segments of the public.  Personally, as a hunter, it is my own responsibility to communicated better with the general public through my own images and internal stories.  In order to achieve success, both sides need to speak and listen from their heart as well as their head.  The collaboration of the pro-hunting and non-hunting kinds depend on need to understand each other and best can be achieved through multi-media styles of storytelling that deliver facts as well as emotion.  At the end of the day we agree on more than we disagree on.