Publication Items

Hurricane Season Brings Surprises, and Surprising Depth [1]

Atlantic hurricane season is underway, and our latest Issue Backgrounder helps reporters get prepared, not just for the inevitable surprises, but also for the new issues these storms are raising. Plus, as part of our recent series: An Inside Story on award-winning storm coverage [2] and a TipSheet on covering hurricanes [3].

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [4]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Studies [5]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Hurricane Season Brings Surprises, and Surprising Depth [1]
Summertime and the Air is (Cough) Unhealthy [8]

With summer heat in many cities comes worsening air pollution, and a crop of smog-related stories. This week's TipSheet explains how smog forms and harms health, then helps you report on local smog factors and learn if your area is in "nonattainment" with EPA ozone standards, themselves a shifting target under Trump.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [9]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [10]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Summertime and the Air is (Cough) Unhealthy [8]
Award-Winner Looks Ahead to Prospects of a Perfect Storm [2]

Extreme weather hypotheticals can be hard to cover. But when news teams Texas Tribune and ProPublica partnered on an award-winning investigation into how a major hurricane in Houston could kill thousands and cripple the national economy, they produced an innovative digital reporting package that brought home the human impacts.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [11]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [12]
Disasters [13]
Economy & Business [14]
Journalism & Media [15]
Region:
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [16]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Award-Winner Looks Ahead to Prospects of a Perfect Storm [2]
No ‘Day at the Beach’ with Pollution-related Closures [17]

Every summer, beaches are closed across the United States because of pollution that can bring disease to beachgoers. That suggests local stories, such as problems with sewage systems and algal blooms known as 'red tides.' The latest TipSheet shares resources and info to help you cover the local beach closure beat.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [9]
Topics on the Beat:
Health [18]
Journalism & Media [15]
Laws & Regulations [19]
Pollution [20]
Water & Oceans [21]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about No ‘Day at the Beach’ with Pollution-related Closures [17]
Using Social Media for Storytelling [22]

Find ways to enhance your digital storytelling with the first in a series of Reporter's Toolbox columns that look at the new generation of quick-to-learn, easy-to-use techniques. This week, we look at powerful (and free) tools found on some of the biggest social media sites: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [23]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [15]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Using Social Media for Storytelling [22]
Feds Scrub Climate Info; plus Libel Suit, Spill Catcher, Surveillance & Water Data [24]

As some warned, federal environmental agencies have begun to purge web info on topics like climate change. WatchDog TipSheet has that story, plus items about an unusual libel lawsuit, a news outfit using satellite for groundtruthing, a new source of online water data, how journalists can protect against surveillance and more.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [25]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [12]
Disasters [13]
Energy & Fuel [26]
Environmental Politics [27]
Government [28]
Journalism & Media [15]
Laws & Regulations [19]
Water & Oceans [21]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Feds Scrub Climate Info; plus Libel Suit, Spill Catcher, Surveillance & Water Data [24]
Get Ready for Hurricanes [3]

The 2017 hurricane season officially begins this week and experts say it may be worse than usual. So the latest TipSheet has sources and tools to help you prepare for your hurricane coverage. Understand the importance of landfall and storm path, find out about this year's big wild card, and get tips for staying safe.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [9]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [12]
Disasters [13]
Journalism & Media [15]
Region:
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [29]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [30]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [31]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [16]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Get Ready for Hurricanes [3]
Lead in Drinking Water Remains Widespread Problem [32]

More stories about lead contamination of drinking water are unfolding around the country, even as the Flint disaster lingers. A new Issue Backgrounder details how lead gets into drinking water, how it leads to health problems among the most prevalent in the United States, and what solutions might address the crisis.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [4]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [33]
Health [18]
Laws & Regulations [19]
People & Population [34]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Lead in Drinking Water Remains Widespread Problem [32]
Are You Ready for Flood Season? [35]

Flooding is no longer just a local disaster story. As the phenomenon worsens and spreads, it simultaneously raises issues like development, insurance, stormwater management and climate change. The latest TipSheet runs down longer-term angles of flooding, and offers sources and tools to better cover your own flood stories.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [9]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [13]
Journalism & Media [15]
Water & Oceans [21]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [30]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [31]
South America [36]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Are You Ready for Flood Season? [35]
Working with Leaks and Whistleblowers, Part Two [37]

In the second of a two-part WatchDog TipSheet on the relationship between journalists and whistleblowers, we take a closer look at how to apply basic security measures, the importance of obtaining documents and understanding the legal status of leaked information. And in case you missed it, Part One [38] of the series.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [25]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [39]
Environmental Politics [27]
Government [28]
Journalism & Media [15]
Laws & Regulations [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Working with Leaks and Whistleblowers, Part Two [37]

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