J-Groups Urge Supreme Court To Toss Va. Ban on Out-of-State FOIA Requesters

January 16, 2013–Should state freedom-of-information laws disqualify people or organizations from out of state from getting government records? Led by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, some 53 news media groups have urged the US Supreme Court to say no.

Open-Access Science Publishing: Good for Journalists, and Good for Public

January 16, 2013–The suicide earlier this month of open-access activist Aaron Swartz brings again to the fore the ongoing difficulty journalists have accessing published scientific studies that bear on key current and future policy issues. Photo of Swartz, credit Flickr/peretzp.

Political Appointees Bared To Journos in Digital "Plum Book"

January 16, 2013–The Plum Book, a list of most major federal political appointments that is published every four years, has long been a starting point for juicy stories — but hard to use because it was only published in print. Now it has been digitized. That makes it grist for data journalists.

At Industry Urging, White House Buries Report on Toxic Threats to Children's Health

January 2, 2013–If you want to know the latest on what chemicals might give your kids learning disabilities, asthma, and other health problems, the White House Office of Management and Budget intends to keep you in the dark. It has buried since March 2011 the 3rd edition of EPA's report "America's Children and the Environment."

EPA Withdraws Rule on Reporting Cadmium Health Studies

January 2, 2013–EPA had on December 3, 2012, published a final rule requiring reporting of unpublished cadmium-related health and safety studies by manufacturers and importers. This rule prompted industry objections, resulting in EPA's withdrawal of the rule less than 2 weeks later.

Why Does Congress Keep CRS Reports Secret? One Possible Answer

January 2, 2013–Congress' motives for the nondisclosure bear scrutiny. Is it merely to sound smart or hog the glory of releasing them? A recent report by Manuel Quinones in E&E Daily suggests another motive: fiddling with inconvenient truths (or untruths).

SEJ Backs Member Threatened by Interior Secretary

December 12, 2012–The Society of Environmental Journalists wrote Interior Secretary Ken Salazar about the Election Day incident of attempted intimidation in Colorado, when the Secretary threatened to "punch out" SEJ member Dave Philipps, senior investigative reporter with the Colorado Springs Gazette.

DHS and CDC Refuse To Give House Panel Docs on Failed BioWatch Program

November 28, 2012–After wasting billions of taxpayer dollars on a non-working program aimed at protecting the US public from biological attack, the Department of Homeland Security and Centers for Disease Control may be refusing to give documents on the program to House Energy Committee investigators. 

GOPers Attack EPA's Jackson for Alias E-Mail Account

November 28, 2012–Critics say Jackson's use of an e-mail account using her dog's name is an effort to hide agency business. Agency officials maintain the practice is innocent.

Obama Signs Whistleblower Bill

November 28, 2012–President Obama on November 27, 2012, signed into law a bill beefing up previously flimsy protections for federal employee whistleblowers who disclose waste, fraud, and abuse. The legislation was supported by good-government watchdog groups.