Publication Items

Funding To Replace Lead Pipes Is Just the Start of the Story [1]

Billions of dollars in federal funding to get rid of lead pipes is only the beginning — now the pipes have to be located, removed and replaced. And the latest TipSheet says that’s a story that’s found in many U.S. communities, so is ripe for local reporting. Here’s the backstory and why it matters, along with more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer [3]
Disasters [4]
Environmental Justice [5]
Environmental Studies [6]
Government [7]
Health [8]
Infrastructure [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Pollution [12]
Water & Oceans [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [15]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Funding To Replace Lead Pipes Is Just the Start of the Story [1]
Disabilities and Disasters — What Questions Should You Be Asking Planners? [17]

As hurricane season ramps up, how are the disaster planners considering those with disabilities in your community? Texas-based journalist Greg Harman shares the story of one group that sued their city over claims it failed to properly prepare. And he extracts some rules of thumb to help determine if emergency planners are taking those with disabilities into consideration where you are.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [18]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [19]
Climate Change [20]
Disasters [4]
Diversity [21]
Environmental Health [22]
Environmental Justice [5]
Environmental Politics [23]
Government [7]
Health [8]
Infrastructure [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [11]
People & Population [24]
Policy [25]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [26]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [27]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Disabilities and Disasters — What Questions Should You Be Asking Planners? [17]
To Cover Climate Equity Well, Journalists Must Maintain Mental Health [28]

When climate journalists — especially those confronting various forms of oppression in their own communities — witness environmental destruction and human suffering, the trauma can creep into our psyches. But sometimes our professional stance keeps us from seeing the harm to our mental health. In her new Voices of Environmental Justice column, Yessenia Funes looks at the question head-on, exploring resources and paths to better self-care.

SEJ Publication Types:
Voices of Environmental Justice [29]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [20]
Disasters [4]
Diversity [21]
Environmental Justice [5]
Health [8]
Journalism & Media [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Alaska and Hawaii [30]
International [31]
Asia [32]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about To Cover Climate Equity Well, Journalists Must Maintain Mental Health [28]
Top Data Sources Can Help Cover the Larger Wildfire Story [33]

In the aftermath of breaking wildfire news, when environmental journalists are looking to tell the bigger picture story, there are myriad resources that provide data and insight. To help you sort through it all, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox scans eight powerful data portals that provide everything from real-time tracking and satellite data to risk analysis and health impacts.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [34]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [35]
Climate Change [20]
Disasters [4]
Environmental Health [22]
Forests [36]
Government [7]
Health [8]
Journalism & Media [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Top Data Sources Can Help Cover the Larger Wildfire Story [33]
One Grant, Multiple Stories [37]

Seattle-based correspondent Brett Walton has a habit of adding extra days to his reporting schedules. In this FEJ StoryLog, Walton shares how he used one such buffer to stretch a grant and produce not just one story on California’s small drinking water systems, but a second on the aftermath of wildfire on another town’s water system, plus finish a third pending project on household water debt.

SEJ Publication Types:
FEJ StoryLog [38]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [4]
Health [8]
Infrastructure [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
Water & Oceans [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
California [39]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about One Grant, Multiple Stories [37]
Storm Warning — How To Prepare for Weather Disaster Reporting [40]

Major storms hit hard and fast. Successful on-the-ground coverage requires advance prep and consideration of how to deal with challenges. Seasoned reporter Emily Foxhall has learned a lot from Hurricane Harvey and other disasters — sometimes the hard way. She shares tips for planning, packing and getting colleagues back home to help with logistics, plus some reminders about self-care.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [18]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [20]
Disasters [4]
Journalism & Media [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [41]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [27]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Storm Warning — How To Prepare for Weather Disaster Reporting [40]
Dangerous Inland Flooding in Reporters’ Forecast [42]

While much attention is paid to hurricane flooding along the coasts, recent disasters in the Northeast United States brought home the dangers of flooding inland. The latest TipSheet has the basics, plus more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources for local journalists to prepare for coverage of inland floods.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [20]
Disasters [4]
Journalism & Media [10]
Planning & Growth [43]
Water & Oceans [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [26]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Dangerous Inland Flooding in Reporters’ Forecast [42]
Wildfire Smoke — Now a Local Story in Unaccustomed Places [44]

The harms of air pollutants created by wildfires are clear. What’s lost in the haze, though, is that wildfire smoke can carry those pollutants vast distances, threatening communities that are unfamiliar with the risks. The latest TipSheet explains the dangers and how far-flung wildfire smoke travels, then offers a dozen story ideas plus reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [35]
Chemicals [45]
Climate Change [20]
Disasters [4]
Forests [36]
Health [8]
Journalism & Media [10]
Pollution [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [26]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [41]
International [31]
Canada [46]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Wildfire Smoke — Now a Local Story in Unaccustomed Places [44]
Watching the Watchers: How Journalistic Teamwork Uncovered Years of Regulatory Failure in Texas [47]

After a massive fire at a Texas petrochemical storage facility, reporters from Public Health Watch and The Texas Tribune worked together to shed light on who was responsible for this disaster and what health threats had been hidden from the public. This behind-the-scenes report from Public Health Watch’s David Leffler and Savanna Strott looks at the challenges the team faced and how they overcame them.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [18]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [35]
Chemicals [45]
Disasters [4]
Economy & Business [48]
Energy & Fuel [49]
Environmental Health [22]
Environmental Justice [5]
Environmental Politics [23]
Government [7]
Health [8]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Pollution [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [27]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about Watching the Watchers: How Journalistic Teamwork Uncovered Years of Regulatory Failure in Texas [47]
From TV Meteorologists, More Straight Talk About Climate Change [50]

Reporters covering floods, fires and other weather-driven disasters sometimes hesitate to link these extreme events to climate change. But TV meteorologists increasingly see an opportunity — and a responsibility — to help local audiences better understand the connections. Their unique relationship with viewers makes it easier to get past partisan divisions, while innovative tools are providing new ways to communicate information.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [18]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [20]
Disasters [4]
Journalism & Media [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [14]
California [39]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [27]
Visibility:
Public [16]
- Read more about From TV Meteorologists, More Straight Talk About Climate Change [50]

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