Publication Items

Reporting Innovations Hold Promise for Reporting on Climate Change Amid News Deserts [1]

Slashed news budgets and staff cuts have left many U.S. newsrooms short on time and resources for deep reporting on climate change and other complex topics. But two innovative projects at The Post and Courier in South Carolina — one enriching breaking news stories and the other fostering news outlet cooperation — aim at filling the void. Acclaimed journalist Tony Bartelme explains.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [3]
Disasters [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Government [6]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Policy [9]
Pollution [10]
Waste [11]
Water & Oceans [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [14]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Reporting Innovations Hold Promise for Reporting on Climate Change Amid News Deserts [1]
A Chance To Widen Public Information About Chemical Hazards [16]

For years, public information about some of the deadliest chemical security risks has been limited. But now that the Biden EPA is exploring the issue, our latest WatchDog opinion column explains why this is such an important open information issue for environmental reporters and other journalists.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [18]
Disasters [4]
Environmental Justice [19]
Health [20]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [8]
People & Population [21]
Policy [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [22]
International [23]
Asia [24]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about A Chance To Widen Public Information About Chemical Hazards [16]
Covering New IPCC Reports Helps Explain Gravity of Climate Crisis [25]

A new science assessment released this week pinpoints more global warming risks, but also represents reporting challenges to environmental journalists working to cover climate change. Veteran climate journalist Bob Berwyn has the latest news from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and advice for reporters working the climate beat. Plus, links to other climate change reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [26]
Climate Change [3]
Disasters [4]
Energy & Fuel [27]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Justice [19]
Environmental Politics [28]
Environmental Studies [29]
Forests [30]
Government [6]
Health [20]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Planning & Growth [31]
Policy [9]
Science [32]
Transportation [33]
Water & Oceans [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
International [23]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Covering New IPCC Reports Helps Explain Gravity of Climate Crisis [25]
Solar Panel Stories Can Shine for Local, Regional Reporters [34]

As the solar panel business resurges, the wide scope of possible regional and local story angles — climate, tech, consumer, business, jobs, air quality and grid reliability — make bright prospects for journalists. The latest TipSheet sets out recent political and market developments, along with more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [35]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [3]
Consumer [36]
Economy & Business [37]
Energy & Fuel [27]
Environmental Politics [28]
Government [6]
Infrastructure [38]
Journalism & Media [7]
Natural Resources [39]
Policy [9]
Technology [40]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
International [23]
Asia [24]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Solar Panel Stories Can Shine for Local, Regional Reporters [34]
DOJ Double-Dribbles on Leak Subpoenas, As Probes Start [41]

Leaks are a vital source of information for the news media, but shifting White House policy on pursuing the source of leaks has created confusion and worry among news practitioners. WatchDog Opinion calls for clearer signals from the Biden administration and renews support for a federal shield law to help journalists protect their sources.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [6]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Policy [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about DOJ Double-Dribbles on Leak Subpoenas, As Probes Start [41]
Drilling for Data on Offshore Wells [42]

For reporters covering the long-standing conflict over offshore drilling, which erupted again this month after a federal judge blocked a halt to new leases, an Interior Department database offers a wealth of data about offshore wells. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox walks you through the maze of bureaucracy behind the database, and then provides detailed guidance on how to make the most of its info.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [43]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [37]
Energy & Fuel [27]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Politics [28]
Government [6]
Journalism & Media [7]
Natural Resources [39]
Policy [9]
Water & Oceans [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Alaska and Hawaii [44]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [45]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [46]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Drilling for Data on Offshore Wells [42]
Boom and Bust — Two Books Explore Working-Class Communities in the Clean Energy Transition [47]

For a clean energy transition to succeed, it almost certainly will have to bring along displaced workers and communities. To help journalists understand the challenges underlying that shift, BookShelf’s Jenny Weeks reviews two volumes. The first is a new memoir of working in North Dakota’s booming Bakken oil fields, the second an earlier account of decline in a working-class community in Oregon.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [48]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [37]
Energy & Fuel [27]
Environmental Justice [19]
Environmental Politics [28]
Health [20]
People & Population [21]
Policy [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [49]
Northwest (OR WA) [50]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Boom and Bust — Two Books Explore Working-Class Communities in the Clean Energy Transition [47]
Is Investor Activism Really Greening Corporate Policy? [51]

Corporate boardrooms are increasingly arenas in the fight over the future of energy and the environment, making it vital for journalists to understand the players, their motivations and the potential impacts on business planning. The new Issue Backgrounder explores the implications of recent news around investment policy, explaining some of its origins and deciphering the shifting scrimmage ahead.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [52]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [53]
Climate Change [3]
Consumer [36]
Economy & Business [37]
Energy & Fuel [27]
Environmental Politics [28]
Journalism & Media [7]
Policy [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
International [23]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Is Investor Activism Really Greening Corporate Policy? [51]
Before You Cover That Pipeline Protest, Check the Law [54]

At least 16 states currently have critical infrastructure anti-protest laws that could sweep up journalists on the scene, reports the latest TipSheet. The laws, which more states are considering, apply to pipelines, but sometimes other facilities that impact the environment too, like powerlines, dams, port facilities and refineries. How to keep track and avoid going to jail.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [35]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [53]
Energy & Fuel [27]
Environmental Justice [19]
Environmental Politics [28]
Government [6]
Infrastructure [38]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Policy [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [55]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [49]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [45]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [56]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [14]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [22]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about Before You Cover That Pipeline Protest, Check the Law [54]
When No News Is Bad News — EPA Uncensors Climate Indicators [57]

A government website that tracked climate change is back after being frozen by the Trump administration. But the return of the EPA’s climate indicator page, argues the new WatchDog opinion column, is just one step in undoing a longer-term and more systematic assault on science that has hobbled truth-seeking journalists. WatchDog on what must come next.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [53]
Climate Change [3]
Environmental Politics [28]
Environmental Studies [29]
Government [6]
Journalism & Media [7]
Policy [9]
Science [32]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Visibility:
Public [15]
- Read more about When No News Is Bad News — EPA Uncensors Climate Indicators [57]

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