Juggling Chainsaws, Torches and Watermelons: How to Manage Multiple Assignments

October 15, 2013–In this excerpt from the latest issue of SEJournal (Fall), environmental journalist Adam Hinterthuer (pictured, estimating the circumference of an old-growth tree) shares in Freelance Files his tips for staying sane while balancing a love of writing with responsibilities as employee, father and husband.

Freedom of Information Sessions at SEJ's 2013 Annual Conference in Chattanooga

September 25, 2013–On Saturday, October 5: At 9:00 a.m. SEJ FOI Task Force Chair Tim Wheeler of the Baltimore Sun will moderate a session on overcoming obstacles put up by agency press offices to reporters who want to interview government officials. At 10:45 a.m. WatchDog Editor Joe Davis will present a hands-on session with tips for sleuthing dam and levee stories using federal databases like the National Inventory of Dams and the National Levee Database.

Calif. Highway Patrol Sort of Backs Down — Questions Remain

September 11, 2013–SEJ complained in an August 7 letter to CHP that the arrest of Willits News photog Steven Eberhard for attempting to document a protest was a violation of constitutionally guaranteed freedom of the press. CHP responded August 28, noting that its policies for news media access to the Willits highway bypass construction site had changed. However, several assertions in the letter are not true, according to Eberhard and a video of the incident. © Photo by Steve Eberhard: CHP arrests demonstrators Sept. 10, 2013, at the Willits, Calif., bypass construction site.

12 Tips for Getting Around the Press Office

August 14, 2013–If you expect nothing from the press office, you will rarely be disappointed. Even getting a callback before your deadline is a major feat. Good stories rarely come from a call to the press office, but there are times when you have to call them. Even public affairs professionals admit that good reporters do their best to circumvent the public affairs people. Try these tips!

Are PAOs a Help or Hindrance? Press Club Debates

August 14, 2013–Journalists of all stripes heard a panel debate: "Government Public Affairs Offices: More Hindrance Than Help?" August 12, 2013, at the National Press Club, with unsurprising results. The real news may have been presentation of results of a survey conducted by an assistant professor at Kennesaw State University. To risk summarizing in a headline: things are as bad as SEJ members have complained they are.

SEJ Protests Calif. Highway Patrol's Arrest of Photojournalist

August 14, 2013–SEJ formally objected to the CHP's July 23, 2013, arrest of Willits News' Steve Eberhard for covering an environmental protest of highway bypass construction, saying the arrest is "unacceptable" and "directly contravenes the right to gather news that derives from the First Amendment."

Police Arrest California Photog at Highway Protest

July 31, 2013–If the public can't see it, it didn't happen, right? That seems to be the logic of California officials who arrested a newspaper photographer for covering an environmental protest at the site where a highway overpass was being constructed and protesters had chained themselves to construction equipment.

Paragliding Photojournalist Arrested Near Kansas Feedlot

July 17, 2013–Award-winning photojournalist George Steinmetz was arrested June 28, 2013, after flying a motorized paraglider over a cattle feedlot in Finney County, Kansas, while on assignment for National Geographic magazine.

If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Guyana (Or Qatar, or France): How One Freelancer Supports a Travel Addiction

July 15, 2013–In this excerpt from the latest issue of SEJournal (Summer), freelancer Erica Gies shares how she has created a "citizen of the world" reporting portfolio, gets paid to travel, and gains perspective on herself, her country and the common problems we all face.

SEJournal Summer 2013, Vol. 23 No. 2

July 15, 2013–Now available to non-members and non-subscribers. In this issue: ESA at 40 — 40 things journalists should know; tangled tale of the endangered wolf; SEJ resources for busy enviro journalists; how one freelancer supports a travel addiction; five book reviews; IJNR institute inspires journalists; watershed tipsheet; and SEJ's 2012 individuals donor list.