Publication Items

Self-Censorship Is Still Hiding in the Closet [1]

While government censorship may worry journalists, so should self-censorship. That’s the warning in this month’s WatchDog Opinion, whether self-censorship’s “chilling effect” is driven by fears of attack, legal or physical, or by distortions in what it means to be fair, a “bothsidesism” usually pushed by one-sided players. But the bottom line, the column argues, is that when the truth is knowable and known, journalists owe it to their audiences to make the call.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [3]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
International [5]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Self-Censorship Is Still Hiding in the Closet [1]
Student Journalists Show the Way on Data With Methane Flaring Project [7]

The global warming gas methane was much in the news at the start of the just-ended COP28 climate meeting, with a final Biden administration rule to trim releases by the fossil fuel industry. But when it comes to good journalism on the problem, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox spotlights the work of a team of journalism students who used sophisticated satellite data to tell the story of underreported methane flaring at drilling sites.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [8]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [9]
Climate Change [10]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Journalism & Media [3]
Pollution [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [13]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [14]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [15]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [16]
International [5]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Student Journalists Show the Way on Data With Methane Flaring Project [7]
Capturing the Invisible — Photographing Extreme Heat Waves [17]

If extreme heat seems an unusual subject for December, the new EJ InSight column reminds us that among the natural disasters sweeping 2023 were waves of devastating global highs. Yet telling that story visually is an enormous challenge, acknowledges former LA Times photo editor Silvia Rázgová, who shares insights into how to portray the seriousness of extreme heat, getting beyond the cliches and connecting (safely) with its dangerous reality.

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ InSight [18]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [10]
Disasters [19]
Environmental Justice [20]
Health [21]
Journalism & Media [3]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
California [22]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [15]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [16]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Capturing the Invisible — Photographing Extreme Heat Waves [17]
Reporter Unravels Complex Dynamic Between Climate Change and Nature [23]

Nature-based climate solutions have become a much-talked-of topic, one that journalist Gabriel Popkin turned into a loose beat through which to explore the complicated realities beyond some easy narratives. The resulting stories were published widely to high praise, and in the latest Inside Story Q&A, Popkin spoke about his efforts and offered up five critical factors for producing original, impactful journalism.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [24]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [25]
Climate Change [10]
Economy & Business [26]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Health [27]
Environmental Justice [20]
Environmental Studies [28]
Forests [29]
Journalism & Media [3]
Natural Resources [30]
Planning & Growth [31]
Policy [32]
Science [33]
Technology [34]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [35]
International [5]
Europe [36]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Reporter Unravels Complex Dynamic Between Climate Change and Nature [23]
How the Simple Backyard Bird Feeder Can Lift Local Environment Reporting [37]

If a remedy for global environmental woes is needed, look no farther than the feathered creatures that flit colorfully about the local winter landscape, drawn by feeders multiplied by the lockdown. The new TipSheet explores how backyard birding offers opportunities for how-to or why-to stories that can offer deeper ecological insights. Ten story ideas and a half-dozen resources to get you started.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [38]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [3]
Wildlife [39]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
International [5]
Canada [40]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about How the Simple Backyard Bird Feeder Can Lift Local Environment Reporting [37]
Between the Lines — Author Explores Experience of Living Through Climate Change [41]

To make climate change less abstract and more direct, writer Madeline Ostrander traveled the country to speak to those living with its impacts in the places they call home. In a BookShelf “Between the Lines” Q&A, Ostrander discusses her resulting book, “At Home on an Unruly Planet: Finding Refuge on a Changed Earth,” and addresses the lenses she used, the characters she portrayed and the surprises she encountered.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [42]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [43]
Climate Change [10]
Disasters [19]
Economy & Business [26]
Environmental Justice [20]
Environmental Politics [44]
Forests [29]
Health [21]
Journalism & Media [3]
People & Population [45]
Policy [32]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [46]
Science [33]
Wildlife [39]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Alaska and Hawaii [47]
California [22]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [15]
International [5]
Canada [40]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Between the Lines — Author Explores Experience of Living Through Climate Change [41]
Dredging for Data on Wetlands Permits [48]

In the second of two parts on how to report locally on wetlands permitting, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox helps you muck around an Army Corps of Engineers “permit finder” database that’s accurate and particularly good for zooming in on map-based geographic data. Plus, see the part one TipSheet [49] on how reemerging wetlands controversy brings the issue to your area.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [8]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [3]
Natural Resources [30]
Water & Oceans [50]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Dredging for Data on Wetlands Permits [48]
Gathering Offers Sobering Look Ahead at 2024, But With Glimmers of Hope [51]

Top environmental journalists and others at the Society of Environmental Journalists annual “Journalists’ Guide to Environment and Energy” program foresee some challenging realities to cover in 2024, most notably with the ongoing impacts of climate change. Bright signs emerged as well. Read our take, watch the event video [52] and visit our full “2024 Journalists’ Guide to Environment + Energy [53]” special report.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [54]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [9]
Biodiversity [55]
Chemicals [56]
Climate Change [10]
Disasters [19]
Environmental Health [27]
Environmental Justice [20]
Environmental Politics [44]
Fish & Fisheries [57]
Forests [29]
Health [21]
Journalism & Media [3]
Natural Resources [30]
People & Population [45]
Policy [32]
Pollution [12]
Water & Oceans [50]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Alaska and Hawaii [47]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [15]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [16]
International [5]
South America [58]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Gathering Offers Sobering Look Ahead at 2024, But With Glimmers of Hope [51]
Covering Food Systems — The Next Climate Action Battleground [59]

Freelance food systems reporter Thin Lei Win believes that if the world doesn’t change the way it produces, processes, transports, consumes and discards food, climate change will worsen and hunger levels will spike. But she also worries that powerful interests want to keep the status quo and cites parallels with the tobacco and fossil fuel industries. More in Freelance Files, including places for freelancers to pitch climate-food stories.

SEJ Publication Types:
Freelance Files [60]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [25]
Climate Change [10]
Consumer [61]
Economy & Business [26]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Food [62]
Journalism & Media [3]
People & Population [45]
Policy [32]
Pollution [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
International [5]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Covering Food Systems — The Next Climate Action Battleground [59]
Reporting on Environmental Solutions and Equity — at a Watershed Scale [63]

Reporting on interconnected ecosystems lends itself to better environmental stories, and so tracing how water moves across landscapes, communities, industries and regulatory schemes can help the public connect the dots. That’s how Annie Ropeik, who helps run the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, sees the watershed beat. She shares expert views and offers insights for environment journalists to use in their reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [64]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [43]
Agriculture [25]
Climate Change [10]
Diversity [65]
Economy & Business [26]
Environmental Health [27]
Environmental Justice [20]
Environmental Politics [44]
Environmental Studies [28]
Government [66]
Health [21]
Infrastructure [67]
Journalism & Media [3]
Laws & Regulations [68]
Natural Resources [30]
Planning & Growth [31]
Policy [32]
Pollution [12]
Water & Oceans [50]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [69]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [35]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [14]
Northwest (OR WA) [70]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [15]
International [5]
Canada [40]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Reporting on Environmental Solutions and Equity — at a Watershed Scale [63]

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