Publication Items

Small Fry — How to Tell Compelling Stories About Obscure Species [1]

Getting people excited about large, charismatic wildlife is easy, but tiny, little-known or less-than-lovable species can be a tough sell. Journalists Bethany Brookshire and Douglas Main on why it’s important to include oddball organisms in your reporting and how to get audiences engaged. Pro tip: Building curiosity and caring for minor-league creatures often means being a bit self-centered.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [3]
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Forests [6]
Journalism & Media [7]
Science [8]
Wildlife [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [11]
International [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Small Fry — How to Tell Compelling Stories About Obscure Species [1]
When Disasters Hit, Nursing Homes Can Be Disasters Waiting To Happen [14]

In any disaster, among the most vulnerable populations are the residents of nursing homes. Yet many communities may simply not be ready to protect them, despite a complex patchwork of state, federal and local regulatory oversight. That means environmental journalists should get on the case, reporting the risk in their locales, advises the latest TipSheet. Insights, plus a dozen story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [16]
Environmental Justice [17]
Health [18]
Journalism & Media [7]
People & Population [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [11]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about When Disasters Hit, Nursing Homes Can Be Disasters Waiting To Happen [14]
How Climate Change Complicates the Refugee Crisis [20]

The displacement of populations by climate impacts, while not a new phenomenon in human history, is worsening in the face of global warming’s extreme weather patterns. Yet the extensive international regime to aid refugees doesn’t cover those migrating due to flooding, drought, natural disasters or climate change. Backgrounder considers the implications and how nations will respond to the new realities.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [21]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [16]
Environmental Politics [22]
People & Population [19]
Policy [23]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
California [24]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [25]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [26]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [11]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [27]
International [12]
Mexico [28]
Africa [29]
Antarctica & Arctic [30]
Asia [31]
Central America & the Caribbean [32]
Europe [33]
Middle East [34]
South America [35]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about How Climate Change Complicates the Refugee Crisis [20]
New-Look Landslide Risk Database Captures Potential Human Costs [36]

Susceptibility to landslides is more on the minds of environmental reporters, especially in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which caused hundreds of them. To get a better read on local landslide risk for local stories, Reporter’s Toolbox recommends an enhanced resource from the U.S. Geological Survey, which layers the risk data into easily readable map form.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [37]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [16]
Environmental Studies [38]
Journalism & Media [7]
People & Population [19]
Science [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Northwest (OR WA) [39]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [11]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about New-Look Landslide Risk Database Captures Potential Human Costs [36]
Future of Justice40 Program Hangs in Balance [40]

A Biden administration initiative that commits to allocating 40% of federal investments to disadvantaged communities plagued by overpollution is an environmental justice breakthrough, writes columnist Yessenia Funes. But it’s also a program with weaknesses, such as how it factors in race or keeps track of impacts. What is Justice40, what has it missed and what is its future?

SEJ Publication Types:
Voices of Environmental Justice [41]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [42]
Air [43]
Chemicals [44]
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Justice [17]
Environmental Politics [22]
Government [45]
Health [18]
Infrastructure [46]
Laws & Regulations [47]
People & Population [19]
Policy [23]
Pollution [48]
Waste [49]
Water & Oceans [50]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Future of Justice40 Program Hangs in Balance [40]
Better Communicating for the Climate [51]

What if the news, instead of inducing fear or anxiety, was rewarding for the brain? That question sparked the creation of a novel, game show–inspired approach to helping journalists unlock new ways of reporting, using healthier, more holistic communication techniques. Drawing on research from neuroscience, community psychology and journalism, “Jourpardy” offers fresh perspectives on how to avoid doom-and-gloom reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [16]
Journalism & Media [7]
Science [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Better Communicating for the Climate [51]
Is Climate Data at Risk From Natural Disasters? [52]

When Hurricane Helene ravaged a swath of the Southeast in September, leaving at least 230 people dead, it also temporarily took out a critical repository of climate data in Asheville, North Carolina. That got Reporter’s Toolbox thinking about the risks to some of the nation’s other important storehouses of environmental information, whether from extreme weather, hackers or politics. Here’s a shortlist.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [37]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [16]
Environmental Politics [22]
Environmental Studies [38]
Government [45]
Science [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [53]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [11]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Is Climate Data at Risk From Natural Disasters? [52]
Will Your Local Dam Turn Deadly in the Next Big Storm? [54]

The devastating death toll and damage from Hurricane Helene are a dire warning of the risks of extreme weather and flooding. But one notable hazard is that such flooding may overwhelm any one of the thousands of small, neglected U.S. dams. TipSheet examines the issue and offers more than a dozen story angles and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [16]
Infrastructure [46]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [47]
Water & Oceans [50]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
California [24]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [26]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [11]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Will Your Local Dam Turn Deadly in the Next Big Storm? [54]
Does Kamala Harris Have a Green Streak? [55]

While Kamala Harris has provided little detail about what her environment and energy policies would be as president, her record has been enough to win her the quick support of most major environmental groups, finds the latest Issue Backgrounder. A look at her record on the Green New Deal and fracking, her presidential environmental platform and her contrasts with GOP rival Donald Trump.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [21]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [42]
Climate Change [4]
Energy & Fuel [56]
Environmental Politics [22]
Government [45]
Infrastructure [46]
Laws & Regulations [47]
Policy [23]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
California [24]
International [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Does Kamala Harris Have a Green Streak? [55]
Coequal Catastrophes — Quammen on Climate Change, Extinction and Epidemics [57]

Biodiversity loss can seem like a remote and abstract problem that pales in comparison to climate worries. But award-winning author David Quammen sees them as coequal threats, along with emerging diseases, and encourages journalists to illuminate the relationships between them. His advice includes getting out of big cities to see the extinction crisis firsthand and weaving humor and hope into your writing.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [3]
Chemicals [44]
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Studies [38]
Health [18]
Journalism & Media [7]
Pollution [48]
Science [8]
Wildlife [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Coequal Catastrophes — Quammen on Climate Change, Extinction and Epidemics [57]

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