Publication Items

Can House, Senate, Meld FOIA Bills In Politicized Election Year? [1]

The Congressional Research Service has compiled a side-by-side analysis comparing the two bills. With only a few months of real work remaining in this volatile election year, it is not a sure thing that Congress will clear the legislation. Open-government groups on March 16, 2016, urged Obama to declare support for the legislation.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [3]
Laws & Regulations [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Can House, Senate, Meld FOIA Bills In Politicized Election Year? [1]
Money Woes Weaken Media's Ability To Defend 1st Amendment: Editors [6]

A survey of 66 top-level U.S. editors suggests that the media's ability to defend the First Amendment is wilting — and that lack of money is one of the problems. The survey was conducted by a partnership of Knight Foundation, the American Society of News Editors, the Associated Press Media Editors, and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Money Woes Weaken Media's Ability To Defend 1st Amendment: Editors [6]
Did Big Food Just Lose the GMO Disclosure War? [8]

Tens of millions have been spent on lobbying and advertising by the mainstream food industry to defeat a series of state-by-state measures requiring food labels to disclose GMO content. Now, Vermont is poised to implement a GMO-labelling law.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Food [9]
Laws & Regulations [4]
Region:
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [10]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Did Big Food Just Lose the GMO Disclosure War? [8]
Senate Passes FOIA Improvement Bill [11]

The Senate March 15, 2016, unanimously passed a bill (S 337) improving the 50-year-old Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). But the appearance of bipartisan consensus may belie a rocky road to final enactment in a highly politicized election year.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Senate Passes FOIA Improvement Bill [11]
Trump Hopes To Use Libel Laws To Get at Journalists [12]

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is promising to toughen libel laws to get back at news media who "write purposely negative and horrible and false articles." Especially those that criticize him. Photo: By Marc Nozell [13] (Flickr) [CC BY 2.0 [14]].

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Trump Hopes To Use Libel Laws To Get at Journalists [12]
House OKs Lands Bill with Photo Fees, Permits — Now It's Up to Senate [15]

The Senate Energy Committee last November approved a different version of the bill which seems to include an exemption from fees and permits for "news gathering." But whether it will pass on the floor or get reconciled with the House bill in an election year is unknown.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Politics [16]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [4]
Natural Resources [17]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about House OKs Lands Bill with Photo Fees, Permits — Now It's Up to Senate [15]
Congressional Research Service Reports of Use to Environmental Journos [18]

The reports aren't released to the taxpayers who funded them but the Federation of American Scientists' Government Secrecy Project publishes leaked copies. Here are 17 of the latest, from air to water, food to fuel, and much more.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [19]
Air [20]
Economy & Business [21]
Energy & Fuel [22]
Food [9]
Laws & Regulations [4]
Water & Oceans [23]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Congressional Research Service Reports of Use to Environmental Journos [18]
Maine Law Hid Threats to Public from Oil Trains [24]

Maine passed a law in 2015 that allowed railroads to keep oil-train routing information from the public — over the governor's veto. In the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting's Pine Tree Watchdog, Dave Sherwood reports how the provision was a bait-and-switch.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [25]
Energy & Fuel [22]
Government [3]
Laws & Regulations [4]
People & Population [26]
Transportation [27]
Region:
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [28]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [29]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [30]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [31]
Northwest (OR WA) [32]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Maine Law Hid Threats to Public from Oil Trains [24]
Failure to Disclose Lead Threats in Drinking Water: Widespread Problem [33]

Bad as it is, the Flint drinking water disaster is hardly uncommon. Even though the law requires authorities to tell the public of dangerous levels of lead in drinking water, they often don't.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [34]
Disasters [25]
Environmental Politics [16]
Government [3]
Health [35]
Laws & Regulations [4]
People & Population [26]
Water & Oceans [23]
Region:
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [28]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Failure to Disclose Lead Threats in Drinking Water: Widespread Problem [33]
Flint Hearing Raises Freedom of Information Concerns [36]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's openness has been a major issue throughout the crisis of contaminated drinking water in Flint, which has caused lead poisoning of some children. One aspect of the openness issue is the ability of agency employees to speak with journalists; another is unfulfilled FOIA requests.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [34]
Government [3]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [4]
People & Population [26]
Pollution [37]
Water & Oceans [23]
Region:
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [28]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Flint Hearing Raises Freedom of Information Concerns [36]

Pages