Publication Items

Amid the Fog of Policy, Reporting on Pesticide Regulation [1]

Pesticides are a big environmental story. And under Trump, they are much in the news. But pesticide regulation, and its political, environmental and public health fallout, is an older and more complex tale. The Backgrounder explains how the rules work (and don't), and provides leads and resources for your reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Chemicals [4]
Economy & Business [5]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Food [8]
Government [9]
Health [10]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Amid the Fog of Policy, Reporting on Pesticide Regulation [1]
Court Strikes Down “Ag-Gag” Law; plus a Journalist’s Legal Guide; State Shield for Climate Research and More [15]

A federal court has ruled unconstitutional a Utah law that made undercover filming of livestock operations illegal. What's it mean for similar laws elsewhere? The latest WatchDog has the story, plus news on protecting whistleblowers, a digital journalist's legal guide, shielding of climate info and leaked government reports.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [16]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [17]
Agriculture [3]
Climate Change [18]
Economy & Business [5]
Energy & Fuel [19]
Environmental Health [6]
Environmental Politics [7]
Food [8]
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [20]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [21]
Policy [22]
Water & Oceans [23]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [13]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [24]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [25]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [26]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Court Strikes Down “Ag-Gag” Law; plus a Journalist’s Legal Guide; State Shield for Climate Research and More [15]
Interior Appropriations — Dead on Arrival and Live at Five [27]

Even though big proposed budget cuts may be DOA for the Interior Department, it doesn't mean there aren't a wide range of land and resource-related stories emerging from the debates. The latest TipSheet sets the scene and offers a half-dozen ways to localize the Interior Department funding story.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [19]
Environmental Politics [7]
Forests [29]
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [20]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Natural Resources [30]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [13]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [31]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [24]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [26]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [32]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Interior Appropriations — Dead on Arrival and Live at Five [27]
Sundance Festival a Megaphone for Climate Concerns [33]

For the first time, Sundance Film Festival spotlighted a single theme, and it was climate change. Documentaries highlighting the issue including a sequel to Al Gore's blockbuster, as well as more than a dozen other films dealing with issues like coral reefs, recyling, changing landscapes and rainforest destruction.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [34]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [17]
Agriculture [3]
Climate Change [18]
Energy & Fuel [19]
Environmental Politics [7]
Fish & Fisheries [35]
Forests [29]
Natural Resources [30]
People & Population [36]
Policy [22]
Waste [37]
Water & Oceans [23]
Wildlife [38]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Alaska and Hawaii [39]
California [40]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [13]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [24]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [32]
International [41]
Mexico [42]
Africa [43]
Australia & Oceania [44]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Sundance Festival a Megaphone for Climate Concerns [33]
WatchDog Group Sues for Records as Pruitt Confirmation Vote Nears & More [45]

The latest WatchDog TipSheet details an open-records case against U.S. EPA nominee Scott Pruitt (shown), the scoop on an Agriculture Department animal welfare database that vanished then returned, a reporter busted at Standing Rock, plus items on whistleblowers, coal-ash and more.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [16]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [17]
Agriculture [3]
Energy & Fuel [19]
Environmental Politics [7]
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [20]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [21]
Policy [22]
Pollution [46]
Waste [37]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [13]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [26]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [32]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about WatchDog Group Sues for Records as Pruitt Confirmation Vote Nears & More [45]
Pipelines and Energy Infrastructure Pose Conflict [47]

Oil pipelines like the Keystone XL and Dakota Access are back at the center of a political firestorm, with a new executive order from President Trump just a few days into his new administration giving them the go-ahead. But it's just the beginning — many other pipelines, for both gas and oil, have been proposed.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [18]
Energy & Fuel [19]
Environmental Politics [7]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Transportation [48]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [13]
Canada [49]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Pipelines and Energy Infrastructure Pose Conflict [47]
Covering Wildfire Is No Longer Seasonal Work [50]

Deadly fires that swept Tennessee are harbingers of a new normal for these massive burns, driven by drought and climate factors to become a year-round, multi-region phenomenon. Our in-depth backgrounder offers dozens of resources, plus tips and ideas for improving your wildfire coverage.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [18]
Disasters [51]
Forests [29]
Journalism & Media [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [12]
California [40]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [13]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [24]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [25]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [26]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [32]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Covering Wildfire Is No Longer Seasonal Work [50]
Farm News Fires Cartoonist for Lampooning Ag Firm CEOs' Pay [52]

The Iowa-based publication Farm News has fired an editorial cartoonist who had contributed to the publication for 21 years. His crime: pointing out that the CEOs of Monsanto, Dupont Pioneer and John Deere made far more than average farmers.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [16]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Economy & Business [5]
Food [8]
Journalism & Media [20]
Region:
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Farm News Fires Cartoonist for Lampooning Ag Firm CEOs' Pay [52]
Maine Law Hid Threats to Public from Oil Trains [53]

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 [16]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [51]
Energy & Fuel [19]
Government [9]
Laws & Regulations [11]
People & Population [36]
Transportation [48]
Region:
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [54]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [13]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [31]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [24]
Northwest (OR WA) [55]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Maine Law Hid Threats to Public from Oil Trains [53]
Access to Places: A Few Basics for Journalists [56]

The University of Missouri "safe space" incident on Nov 9, 2015 rekindled questions and debate about journalists' First Amendment right of access to spaces. One of the best practical guides to law on this issue is the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press publication, "A Reporter's Field Guide."

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [16]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [20]
Laws & Regulations [11]
Region:
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Access to Places: A Few Basics for Journalists [56]

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