Publication Items

Press Access Issues in Agency Science Policies Still Unclear, Imperfect [1]

Environmental journalists are still waiting to see whether EPA revises the draft Scientific Integrity Policy in which it claims the right to keep scientists from talking to reporters without press office permission — and have Saddam-style "minders" sit in on interviews.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Science [3]
Policy [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Press Access Issues in Agency Science Policies Still Unclear, Imperfect [1]
Justice Dept. Ditches Its Proposal To Lie About Existence of FOIA Records [6]

The regulatory proposal was part of a large package of revised FOIA regulations, which will go forward without it. The Justice Department did not rescind the 1987 Meese memo the proposal was based on; instead it identified ways in which agencies could be unresponsive and uninformative without actually lying.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Policy [4]
Laws & Regulations [7]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Justice Dept. Ditches Its Proposal To Lie About Existence of FOIA Records [6]
Other Information Access News in Brief [8]

Climate scientist Michael Mann wins bid to join emails lawsuit; BP and other Gulf oil spill CEOs won't testify before House committee; Republican House freshmen disappointed by Supercommittee's secrecy; Obama admin to issue disclosure rules for fracking on federal lands; WRI/Transparency Int'l panel on climate policy corruption, Nov. 3, 2011, in DC; proposed FOIA rule would let gov't deny existence of records; and bill to improve pipeline safety and increase access to info passes Senate.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Policy [4]
Government [9]
Energy & Fuel [10]
Disasters [11]
Climate Change [12]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Other Information Access News in Brief [8]
Access to Environmental Info Will Be an Issue at Rio+20 [13]

In June 2012, the nations of the world will convene in Rio de Janiero for the 20th anniversary of the landmark 1992 Rio Conference on Environment and Development that set the stage for a number of important treaties, including the Montreal Protocol to protect the ozone layer and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Policy [4]
Planning & Growth [14]
Climate Change [12]
Region:
South America [15]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Access to Environmental Info Will Be an Issue at Rio+20 [13]
SEJ Urges EPA To Make Science More Open to News Media [16]

In formal comments on EPA's August 5, 2011, draft Scientific Integrity Policy, submitted September 2, SEJ recommended that EPA adopt portions of a model policy drafted by the Union of Concerned Scientists in addition to affirming that "media have a right to interact with EPA staff, including scientists, without having agency staff and/or political minders listening in or otherwise taking part."
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Science [3]
Policy [4]
Government [9]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about SEJ Urges EPA To Make Science More Open to News Media [16]
NASA Takes a Pass on Scientific Integrity Policy Improvement [17]

An Aug. 5, 2011, NASA memo says the agency's existing policies are so good they don't need improving — yet the policies do not offer any clear guarantee that reporters can talk to NASA scientists without permission and supervision from the public affairs office.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Science [3]
Policy [4]
Government [9]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about NASA Takes a Pass on Scientific Integrity Policy Improvement [17]
SEJ Comments On NOAA Science Policy; Seeks More Openness [18]

In formal comments, SEJ stated that the section of NOAA guidance policy requiring advance public affairs approval of media interviews — and minders sitting in on those interviews — thwarts open communication between scientists and reporters, which is "unacceptable in a free society."
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Science [3]
Policy [4]
Government [9]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about SEJ Comments On NOAA Science Policy; Seeks More Openness [18]
EPA Drafts Science Policy Codifying Minders, PIO Permissions for Media Interviews [19]

The draft "Scientific Integrity Policy" marks the first time that the EPA's previously unwritten minders-and-permissions policy for press interviews has been reduced to a publicly disclosed written policy applying to the entire agency. The Society of Environmental Journalists has previously opposed these restrictions and is likely to submit formal comments on this draft policy as well.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Science [3]
Policy [4]
Government [9]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about EPA Drafts Science Policy Codifying Minders, PIO Permissions for Media Interviews [19]
NOAA Rule Aims To Silence Sea Grant Advocacy [20]

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility petitioned NOAA to reverse its no-advocacy policy, saying it's inconsistent with the agency's official scientific integrity policy and the Obama administration's much-vaunted advocacy of more openness in federal government.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [21]
Policy [4]
Government [9]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about NOAA Rule Aims To Silence Sea Grant Advocacy [20]
Watchdog Says Obama Not Protecting Whistleblower Scientists [22]

New documents, released only after a lawsuit, to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility show the White House is telling agencies they can stick with existing practices when it comes to political interference with science — and do just about anything they want.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Science [3]
Policy [4]
Government [9]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Watchdog Says Obama Not Protecting Whistleblower Scientists [22]

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