Journalism & Media

Sacred Sea: A Journey to Lake Baikal
By Peter Thomson
Reviewed by Krestia DeGeorge

Sometimes, being the biggest, the oldest and the deepest thing can define its fundamental nature.

A case in point: Russia's Lake Baikal. In his new book, "Sacred Sea: A Journey to Lake Baikal," SEJ member Peter Thomson makes a strong case that the lake's superlative features set it apart from the rest of the world's large freshwater seas.

 By JEFF BURNSIDE

America's television network news operations are increasing their coverage of environmental issues, reflecting a pendulum swing of interest among Americans in general.

 By BILL DAWSON

Jane Kay is one of environmental journalism's most honored and respected reporters. The San Francisco Chronicle's environment writer, she is a two-time winner of the Scripps Howard Foundation's Edward J. Meeman Award.

Last September, for a diverse portfolio of articles, she received the first-place award in the "Outstanding Beat Reporting - Print" category in SEJ's 6th Annual Awards for Reporting on the Environment. The judges said:

By DAVID POULSON 
A private detective once told me how she used Google to nab a crook for workers' compensation fraud.

She plugged the guy's full name into the search engine. Nothing too interesting came up. But then she entered it with the last name before the first name.

 By JAN KNIGHT Katrina coverage driven by disaster myths, reinforces push to use military during domestic disasters, study suggests

 By MARCUS R. DONNER 

First the bad news: It's not the camera's fault the picture is bad. In the years I've spent looking at photos taken by reporters, the unfortunate truth as to why the photos weren't good was invariably operator error, not a problem with the camera. Today's point-and-shoots, and consumer digital SLRs, are very good at getting photos properly exposed and in focus.

Now the good news: There are a few simple things you can do to make your photos better.

 Kenneth R. Weiss and Usha Lee McFarling of the Los Angeles Times are the 2007 winners of the $75,000 Grantham Prize for Excellence in Reporting on the Environment for their five-part series "Altered Oceans."

Grantham Prize jurors said the July 30-Aug. 3, 2006, series "gives life to all those generalities about the decline of the oceans in a way that should grab the imaginations not only of politicians responsible for taking corrective steps but also of ordinary readers."

By JACKLEEN de LA HARPE