Journalism & Media

Orphans and Zombies — Reporting on Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Across the Country

For more than a century, oil and gas companies have been drilling — and abandoning — wells across the country, leaving hundreds of thousands to potentially leak pollutants into the air, water and soil. Climate and environment reporter Martha Pskowski looks at how funding and regulatory issues are impacting efforts to identify and plug these wells, and offers resources for drilling into their story.

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"The State of Local News 2025": 20 Years of Data, Deserts and Dynamic Change

"News deserts are widening. Newspaper closures continue unabated. Independent publishers are calling it quits at an alarming rate. Yet local digital-only news sites are multiplying. Many are even thriving."

Source: Medill, 12/01/2025
December 5, 2025

DEADLINE: JAWS Health Reporting Fellowship

This Journalism & Women Symposium fellowship is for early-career journalists and those new to the health beat who are eager to strengthen their health reporting skills. Open to US-based women and individuals who identify as women. Cash stipend, mentoring, training and more. Deadline: Dec 5, 2025.

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December 3, 2025

Visualizing Science: Turning Complex Climate Research Into Compelling Visual Narratives

Journalists looking to deepen their climate reporting and rethinking how to visualize climate will find new approaches and inspiration for making the invisible visible and connecting scientific discovery to the communities they serve in this webinar co-hosted by Metcalf Institute and Solutions Journalism Network. 3 p.m. ET.

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Welcoming New Board Members; Bylaws Revisions Approved

Society of Environmental Journalists President Halle Parker (pictured, left) welcomes three new members to the board of directors and lauds three stalwarts who are departing, plus she shares why the results of the vote on proposed membership bylaw revisions matter for the future of SEJ. The new SEJ President’s Report.

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"We Can Now Track Individual Monarch Butterflies. It’s a Revelation."

"For the first time, scientists are tracking the migration of monarch butterflies across much of North America, actively monitoring individual insects on journeys from as far away as Ontario all the way to their overwintering colonies in central Mexico."

Source: NYTimes, 11/25/2025

"With Turkey as Next COP Host, Climate Talks Again Go to Authoritarians"

"United Nations climate officials announced Thursday that Turkey will host the 2026 Conference of Parties, COP31, making it the fourth time in five years that the climate talks are held in a country under authoritarian rule."

Source: Newsweek, 11/25/2025

Grants and Contracts Data — Fuel for Journalist-Gumshoes

At one time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was a reporter’s mecca for databases. Nowadays, not so much. But as the latest Reporter’s Toolbox points out, there remains a great government data source for journalists focused on environmental issues. Find out more about the official source for spending data on the U.S. government, including its superpower — search.

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