Publication Items

LEPCs, SERCs, Should Aid Journos Covering Chem Threats. Does Yours? [1]

Many local and state agencies, set up under a 1986 federal law to inform the public, are a great resource for stories at the local, state, and even national level. Some don't — often based on a fear that terrorists could use the information to harm people. Here's how to find yours.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Disasters [4]
Government [5]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about LEPCs, SERCs, Should Aid Journos Covering Chem Threats. Does Yours? [1]
Citizens Group Says Libel Suit from Landfill Company Meant To Silence [7]

Black Belt Citizens Fighting for Health and Justice says the landfill, which has accepted millions of pounds of coal ash from the 2008 Tennessee spill, violates their civil rights. The community surrounding the landfill is predominantly poor and African-American.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [8]
Laws & Regulations [9]
People & Population [10]
Waste [11]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [12]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Citizens Group Says Libel Suit from Landfill Company Meant To Silence [7]
Can House, Senate, Meld FOIA Bills In Politicized Election Year? [13]

The Congressional Research Service has compiled a side-by-side analysis comparing the two bills. With only a few months of real work remaining in this volatile election year, it is not a sure thing that Congress will clear the legislation. Open-government groups on March 16, 2016, urged Obama to declare support for the legislation.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [5]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Can House, Senate, Meld FOIA Bills In Politicized Election Year? [13]
Money Woes Weaken Media's Ability To Defend 1st Amendment: Editors [14]

A survey of 66 top-level U.S. editors suggests that the media's ability to defend the First Amendment is wilting — and that lack of money is one of the problems. The survey was conducted by a partnership of Knight Foundation, the American Society of News Editors, the Associated Press Media Editors, and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [15]
Laws & Regulations [9]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Money Woes Weaken Media's Ability To Defend 1st Amendment: Editors [14]
Secret Congressional Reports of Interest to Environmental Reporters [16]

Thanks to the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy, we can share some recent CRS reports of interest to environmental journalists.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [17]
Air [18]
Chemicals [3]
Energy & Fuel [19]
Food [20]
Military [21]
Pollution [22]
Science [23]
Water & Oceans [24]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Secret Congressional Reports of Interest to Environmental Reporters [16]
Finding Pipelines Near You with Databases [25]

For environmental reporters, pipelines are a frequent source of major news stories. Enterprising journalists may want to find nearby pipelines before they leak or blow up. The National Pipeline Mapping System is a basic tool that can help.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [4]
Energy & Fuel [19]
Technology [26]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Finding Pipelines Near You with Databases [25]
Do Arizona Journalists Have To Show Their Papers? [27]

Access to legislatures is critical to journalistic coverage of government — at least if government is to be accountable and democratic. So it caused a stir when Arizona House Speaker David Gowan (R) banned reporters from the floor unless they passed extensive background checks.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [5]
Region:
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [28]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Do Arizona Journalists Have To Show Their Papers? [27]
Oil Lobby Group Part of Government — Doesn't Have To Disclose [29]

The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) lobbied successfully to pass and preserve the "Halliburton Loophole," which exempts the oil and gas industry from the law requiring disclosure of toxic fracking chemicals.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Energy & Fuel [19]
Environmental Politics [30]
Pollution [22]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Oil Lobby Group Part of Government — Doesn't Have To Disclose [29]
High-Hazard Chem Plants — Can Secrecy Substitute for Safety? [31]

Reflexive secrecy has been a hallmark of government efforts to deal with highly hazardous chemical facilities in recent decades. Another reminder of that secrecy came in an April 11, 2016, piece in Greenwire by Sam Pearson. Photo: [32] The fertilizer plant in West, Texas, that exploded in 2013, killing 15 people, by Shane Torgerson, courtesy of Wikipedia.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [3]
Disasters [4]
Environmental Politics [30]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about High-Hazard Chem Plants — Can Secrecy Substitute for Safety? [31]
Climate Documentarian Motivated by the Heart [33]

“Gasland” filmmaker Josh Fox is back with what may be the longest film title in recent documentary history — “How to Let Go of the World (and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change).” And it looks like another game-changer. JoAnn Valenti reviews the film

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [34]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [8]
Climate Change [35]
Journalism & Media [15]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Climate Documentarian Motivated by the Heart [33]

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