Publication Items

BP Deepwater Horizon Anniversary: Follow the Science [1]

In this, the second of two special SEJ TipSheets, the Advocate's Amy Wold provides you with a plethora of science-based information to cover the ongoing story of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, on the eve of the five-year anniversary. Photo: Officials assess sample processing and chain of custody protocol for handling specimens associated with the oil spill. Credit: NOAA.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [3]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Fish & Fisheries [6]
Natural Resources [7]
Science [8]
Water & Oceans [9]
Wildlife [10]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [11]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about BP Deepwater Horizon Anniversary: Follow the Science [1]
BP Deepwater Horizon Anniversary: Follow the Money [13]

April 20, 2015, marks the fifth anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the largest environmental disasters in U.S. history. The story is far from over. If you are covering the legacy of the spill, SEJ is offering two special TipSheets by the Advocate's Amy Wold that will help you get the facts and background. Photo: Oiled endangered Ridley's turtle. Credit: Carolyn Cole/ LA Times; courtesy NOAA.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [3]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Fish & Fisheries [6]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [7]
Pollution [15]
Water & Oceans [9]
Wildlife [10]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [11]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about BP Deepwater Horizon Anniversary: Follow the Money [13]
Coast Guard Spill Database Rendered Almost Useless for Reporters [16]

There used to be a searchable, online database of oil and chemical spill reports that reporters could turn to in an emergency to get insight into important breaking news. But ham-handed security efforts have sabotaged the public's right to know. Right now, emergency responders are working on a spill of a cancer-causing fuel additive known as MTBE. But news reporters probably couldn't get much if any helpful information from the database today (we checked).

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [3]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Government [18]
Military [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [21]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Coast Guard Spill Database Rendered Almost Useless for Reporters [16]
Media Coalition Wins Overturn of Blankenship Gag Order on Appeal [22]

After opposing gag and sealing orders in the trial of former Massey coal CEO Don Blankenship on charges of conspiracy to violate federal mine safety and health standards — and cover-up — a news media coalition led by Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press won access to the trial from a federal appeals court March 5, 2015.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [3]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [7]
Region:
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [23]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Media Coalition Wins Overturn of Blankenship Gag Order on Appeal [22]
News Media Coalition Appeals Gag Orders in Blankenship Case [24]

After a judge refused to reverse most of the secrecy ruling around the 2010 Upper Big Branch mine disaster caused by Massey Energy's safety violations, including indictment of the company's former CEO, media outlets appealed. Now a coalition of many more media groups, led by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, have filed a friend-of-the-court brief opposing the secrecy ruling as unconstitutional.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [3]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [7]
Region:
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [23]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about News Media Coalition Appeals Gag Orders in Blankenship Case [24]
Is Your Audience in an Oil Train Blast Zone? [25]

After a February 16, 2015, oil train derailment and explosion in West Virginia, new concerns have arisen over the public's right to know about the dangers oil trains pose to communities. Now trackside communities have some data and maps to help them protect themselves. Image: AP Photo/ Office of the Governor of West Virginia, Steven Wayne Rotsch.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [3]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Environmental Politics [26]
People & Population [27]
Region:
National (U.S.) [20]
California [28]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [23]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [29]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Is Your Audience in an Oil Train Blast Zone? [25]
Journalism Groups Oppose Photo Fees and Permits in Va. Local Parks [30]

A coalition of journalism and photography groups, including SEJ, objected to requirements for permits and fees for photography in the public parks of Fairfax County, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, DC. In a February 4, 2015, letter to the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA), the 14 groups asked the agency to revise its rules to protect photojournalists' First Amendment rights.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [31]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Region:
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [23]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Journalism Groups Oppose Photo Fees and Permits in Va. Local Parks [30]
Local Authority Slaps Permits, Fees on Photography in Parks [32]

Professional photojournalists may again be facing unconstitutional requirements for permits to work in public parks — this time at the county level in a well-heeled District of Columbia suburb. But Virginia's Fairfax County Park Authority is encountering pushback as they conduct an annual review of their fee policies at various park units.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [31]
Natural Resources [7]
Policy [33]
Region:
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [23]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Local Authority Slaps Permits, Fees on Photography in Parks [32]
"The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food" [34]

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [35]
Region:
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [36]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about "The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food" [34]
Committing to Collaboration: How Two Freelancers Pulled Off a Cross-Pacific Partnership [37]

Winnifred Bird and Jane Braxton Little, a former SEJ mentor program pair, describe (with humor!) the process of how they turned their shared interest in the Fukushima disaster's affect on forest ecosystems and rural communities into a successful writing collaboration.

SEJ Publication Types:
Freelance Files [38]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Health [5]
Forests [39]
Journalism & Media [31]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [40]
Region:
California [28]
Asia [41]
Europe [42]
Visibility:
Public [12]
- Read more about Committing to Collaboration: How Two Freelancers Pulled Off a Cross-Pacific Partnership [37]

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