Publication Items

How Much Longer Will Insurers Cover Wildfire Loss Near You? [1]

With wildfire exploding across the West this season, it may not be long before insurance companies worried about houses built along the wildland-urban interface try to raise premiums or drop policies altogether. It’s already happening in California, which is pushing back. Will it happen in your region as well? TipSheet has the backstory, plus a range of reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [3]
Consumer [4]
Disasters [5]
Planning & Growth [6]
Region:
National (U.S.) [7]
California [8]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [9]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [10]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [11]
Northwest (OR WA) [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about How Much Longer Will Insurers Cover Wildfire Loss Near You? [1]
Tracking Respiratory Health Risks From Wildfire Smoke [14]

Respiratory risks are high on the public health agenda these days amid the COVID-19 pandemic. So when Reporter’s Toolbox noticed some exemplary reporting on how West Coast wildfires were polluting the air, it took a look under the hood to see how other environmental journalists might use the same data sets for localized stories.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [16]
Climate Change [3]
Disasters [5]
Health [17]
Journalism & Media [18]
Pollution [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [7]
California [8]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [11]
Northwest (OR WA) [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Tracking Respiratory Health Risks From Wildfire Smoke [14]
Bringing Stories Home Under Lockdown, With Remote Video Interviews [20]

They’ve long been a staple of the news business. But now, with the pandemic continuing to keep journalists from their subjects, remote video interviews have become an essential tool. And even newbie video reporters can quickly learn the basics. Science video producer Eli Kintisch shares a quick eight-step remote video setup and some simple tricks of the trade, in this SEJournal how-to.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [21]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [22]
Agriculture [23]
Air [16]
Biodiversity [24]
Chemicals [25]
Climate Change [3]
Consumer [4]
Disasters [5]
Economy & Business [26]
Energy & Fuel [27]
Environmental Health [28]
Environmental Politics [29]
Environmental Studies [30]
Fish & Fisheries [31]
Food [32]
Forests [33]
Government [34]
Health [17]
Journalism & Media [18]
Laws & Regulations [35]
Military [36]
Natural Resources [37]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [38]
Other or All [39]
People & Population [40]
Planning & Growth [6]
Policy [41]
Pollution [19]
Science [42]
Technology [43]
Transportation [44]
Waste [45]
Water & Oceans [46]
Region:
National (U.S.) [7]
Alaska and Hawaii [47]
California [8]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [9]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [10]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [48]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [11]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [49]
Northwest (OR WA) [12]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [50]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [51]
International [52]
Canada [53]
Mexico [54]
Africa [55]
Antarctica & Arctic [56]
Asia [57]
Australia & Oceania [58]
Central America & the Caribbean [59]
Europe [60]
Middle East [61]
South America [62]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Bringing Stories Home Under Lockdown, With Remote Video Interviews [20]
Start Tracking Wildfires Before Things Get Hot [63]

With little (and big) fires just about everywhere these days, reporters could use help tracking the myriad blazes. Fortunately, firefighting experts have developed some handy databases that journalists can tap into to better cover this story. Plus, other kinds of data tools to keep on top of fire hazards. And SEJ’s new “Issue: Wildfire [64]” resource page, which includes wildfire headlines from EJToday and more wildfire stories from SEJournal.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [3]
Disasters [5]
Forests [33]
Journalism & Media [18]
People & Population [40]
Region:
National (U.S.) [7]
California [8]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [11]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Start Tracking Wildfires Before Things Get Hot [63]
F/8, N95 and Be There — Wildfire Photojournalism in the Pandemic Era [65]

Safety has long been an element of smart disaster photojournalism. But there’s a new dimension to the risk now — coronavirus. Wildfire photographer Helen Richardson writes in the latest EJ InSight column about how to protect yourself, how to be prepared and how to get the story. Plus, a photo slidehow [66] and a case study [67] on confronting the journalistic challenges in one major fire.

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ InSight [68]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [5]
Health [17]
Journalism & Media [18]
Region:
National (U.S.) [7]
California [8]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [11]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about F/8, N95 and Be There — Wildfire Photojournalism in the Pandemic Era [65]
“Billionaire Wilderness: The Ultra-Wealthy and the Remaking of the American West” [69]

It’s a site of stunning natural beauty. It’s also the place with America’s worst income inequality. A new book details how Wyoming’s Teton County elite have, perhaps unwittingly, used their extreme wealth to remake the region through conservation easements and donations to environmental causes, but remain blind to the needs of the area’s poorer residents. The latest BookShelf review explains.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [70]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [22]
Economy & Business [26]
Environmental Politics [29]
Natural Resources [37]
People & Population [40]
Region:
National (U.S.) [7]
California [8]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [11]
Northwest (OR WA) [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about “Billionaire Wilderness: The Ultra-Wealthy and the Remaking of the American West” [69]
Disaster Preparedness Key Amid Pandemic [71]

Unheeded warnings are the hallmark of many disasters. And with coronavirus still hobbling the nation, communities and journalists must now watch for all the ways COVID-19 could make even the most familiar hazards far worse. Prepare with this extensive Backgrounder, which touches on issues around evacuations and emergency readiness when facing storms, fires, toxic releases and more.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [72]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [16]
Chemicals [25]
Disasters [5]
Environmental Health [28]
Government [34]
Health [17]
Journalism & Media [18]
Laws & Regulations [35]
People & Population [40]
Planning & Growth [6]
Policy [41]
Region:
National (U.S.) [7]
California [8]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [9]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [48]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Disaster Preparedness Key Amid Pandemic [71]
No Drought of Data, As Climate Dries U.S. [73]

With drought can come fire, and with megadrought, routine reporting becomes disaster headlines. Reporter’s Toolbox gets you to the bottom of the drought data sources that help determine what’s ahead for your region, sorting through the complicated set of federal drought monitoring agencies and resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [23]
Climate Change [3]
Disasters [5]
Environmental Studies [30]
Government [34]
Journalism & Media [18]
Natural Resources [37]
Science [42]
Water & Oceans [46]
Region:
National (U.S.) [7]
California [8]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [10]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [11]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [50]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [51]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about No Drought of Data, As Climate Dries U.S. [73]
Could Combined Sewer Overflows Be a COVID-19 Threat? [74]

For reporters investigating the coronavirus-environment connection, you might look to the untreated sewage that can sometimes overflow municipal systems during wet weather, possibly bringing the novel pathogen to beaches and other places where people can get sick from it. The latest TipSheet takes a look at the reality, plus provides story ideas and reporter resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [5]
Environmental Health [28]
Environmental Studies [30]
Government [34]
Health [17]
Journalism & Media [18]
Laws & Regulations [35]
People & Population [40]
Pollution [19]
Waste [45]
Water & Oceans [46]
Region:
National (U.S.) [7]
California [8]
International [52]
Europe [60]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Could Combined Sewer Overflows Be a COVID-19 Threat? [74]
Go-To Books for Understanding and Surviving a Pandemic [75]

If you’re looking for perspective in your reporting connected with the coronavirus story, it might help to turn to the extensive library of non-fiction books offering insight into disease and epidemics. Our own Bob Wyss offers a helping hand, with a select list of the most useful texts. Plus, links to resource lists for many more, in the latest BookShelf.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [70]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [5]
Environmental Health [28]
Health [17]
Journalism & Media [18]
People & Population [40]
Science [42]
Region:
National (U.S.) [7]
California [8]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [10]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [49]
International [52]
Central America & the Caribbean [59]
Europe [60]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Go-To Books for Understanding and Surviving a Pandemic [75]

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