SEJ - The Short List

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2025 SEJ Board Elections

As SEJ prepares for our next Board of Directors election, we invite you to take an active role in shaping the future of environmental reporting. Run for the board, nominate a colleague or cast your vote! Sept. 26 is the deadline to submit the Intent to Run form and meet eligibility.

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SEJ's Environmental Events Calendar: Featured Event

Our Calendar lists professional meetings, webinars, press conferences, awards/fellowships/workshops deadlines and more. Sept. 19 in NYC: Reporting the Amazon: Safety, Mental Health and Climate Accountability, an in-person, interactive roundtable event, is co-organized by Mongabay, the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Society of Environmental Journalists. Join us as Mongabay's award-winning reporter (and SEJ board member) Karla Mendes will be in conversation with the Committee to Protect Journalists on how to bridge local-to-global coverage on the road to COP30. Hybrid/remote options available. 3:30 - 5 p.m. EDT.

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Fallen Leaves — Not Just a Chore but a Story

From a simple autumn leaf can come a legion of local environmental stories, if you sift through the pile thoughtfully. The latest TipSheet ponders the possibilities, from who in your municipality actually gathers them and how they’re used as mulch and (possibly contaminated) compost, where you don’t want them to collect and what people used to do with them that these days is a no-no.

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Mentor Program

Wanted: Mentors! Member-to-member help is an important part of SEJ's mission to improve environmental journalism, and that's what our mentoring program is all about. We pair veteran environmental reporters with newcomers to the beat, university students, or with less experienced reporters who want to improve their skills. Apply to be a mentor or mentee. You must be an SEJ member. Not a member? Join us.

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SEJ Publication Highlights

COP30 — Why It Won’t Save the Planet
09/17/2025 – Just under two months from the start of the annual global forum for managing climate change — the United Nations’ conference of parties beginning Nov. 10 in Belém, Brazil — our Backgrounder analysis laments the vanishingly small chance that nations will agree on managing steadily rising greenhouse gas emissions. A look at the obstacles, plus COP30 reporting challenges, from hotel expenses to diplomatic spin.
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Teaming Up To Tap Into Texas Regulatory Capture
09/17/2025 – When reporters from Inside Climate News and The Texas Tribune teamed up on a multipart series about Texas environmental regulators, they found state agencies sidestepping science, the law and accountability. The beneficiaries? The oil and gas industry. Their prizewinning reporting was praised for its data analysis, and public records and field reporting. Read an Inside Story Q&A with Martha Pskowski of Inside Climate News.
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Walkability Index Helps Journalists Highlight Planning Issues
09/10/2025 – Many local government decisions come down to a key factor: walkability. And that’s not just a question of transportation infrastructure. As the latest Reporter’s Toolbox notes, walkability is also an environmental consideration. To turn that simple truth into stories about the built environment, here’s a high-quality, mappable walkability index. How to use the database smartly, plus questions to ask that will get your reporting started.
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Enjoy our selection of quotes celebrating journalism and free speech. Submit yours! Click here.

 

"Attacking a free press isn't partisan; it's un-American."

— Former President George W. Bush on “TODAY,” February 27, 2017

 

 


Quick Links

SEJ.org is a treasure chest of information useful to your reporting. Search website content by topics on the beat, including:

Agriculture topic graphic Biodiversity topic graphic Climate Change topic graphic
Disasters topic graphic Energy topic graphic Environmental Justice topic graphic
The Food System topic graphic Hurricanes topic graphic Water & Oceans topic graphic
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WHY Join SEJ?

SEJ's mission is to strengthen coverage of environment, energy, health and climate news, by supporting the journalists who report that news. The benefits of joining include: access to grants for environmental reporting; mentoring by experienced journalists; and members-only e-mailing lists for sharing professional tips, news, and information. SEJ members meet and learn face-to-face from fellow members, other media professionals and topic experts, at our annual conference and volunteer-organized regional gatherings.