Going to Tampa or Charlotte? Some Resources for Reporters

August 22, 2012–You wouldn't think you would get arrested for trying to cover the 2012 Democratic convention in Charlotte, NC, September 4 or the Republican convention in Tampa, FL, August 27. But such things have happened before, and reporters have available some resources to support their rights.

Reporters Committee Gets New Director

August 8, 2012–Bruce D. Brown, a former reporter and media lawyer, will be the new executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press — a key advocate for press freedom and freedom of information in the United States.

Washington Post Faults Obama on Living Up To Openness Pledge

August 8, 2012–An analysis of records and statistics by Post reporter James Ball concluded: "Three years later, new evidence suggests that administration officials have struggled to overturn the long-standing culture of secrecy in Washington. Some of these high-profile transparency measures have stalled, and by some measures the government is keeping more secrets than before."

FDA E-Mail Tracking Included Reporters

July 25, 2012–The Food and Drug Administration secretly captured e-mails of FDA employees suspected of whistleblowing for agency laxity in protecting the public — but ended up also reading correspondence with reporters, lawyers, and Congress.

Directory of Open Access Journals a Boon for Environmental Reporters

June 13, 2012–The rebellion against commercial and subscription-only publishers over public access to articles based on taxpayer-funded research is gaining ground. The Directory — free, searchable and online — already includes some 819742, full-text, scientific or scholarly articles in 7885 journals.

Justice Department Says Citizens Can Record Police Activity

May 30, 2012–The JD said that individuals have a First Amendment right to record police officers in the public performance of their duties. It also said police can not seize or destroy such recordings without a warrant and due process.

TOOLBOX: Data Journalism Handbook Released

May 16, 2012–Environmental reporters with ambitions to do investigative projects using databases will find an enormously rich collection of ideas, tips, examples, and tools in the new book released by the Open Knowledge Foundation and the European Journalism Centre.

Sad But True: Many Agency Press Offices Stifle Reporter Contact with Employees

May 2, 2012–Now there is research proving what reporters have known all along, thanks to a survey from the Society of Professional Journalists. SPJ commissioned work by survey research professionals who canvassed newsgatherers during January-February 2012. Here are some of the findings and a link to the full report.

Are Meteorologists Environmental Journalists?

April 15, 2012–

Blue Revolution

April 15, 2012–