Publication Items

LWCF Grants Database a Boon for Environmental Reporters [1]

The Land and Water Conservation Fund, which takes money the feds get from offshore drilling and parcels it out to federal, state and local agencies for parks and conservation land, is a goldmine for environmental stories by enterprising reporters. And now InvestigateWest, a non-profit watchdog journalism outlet, has made LWCF sleuthing easier by compiling an easy-to-use database of LWCF grants made between 1965 and 2011.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Natural Resources [3]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about LWCF Grants Database a Boon for Environmental Reporters [1]
Read the Secret TTIP Trade Treaty Here [5]

The draft Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) treaty is still being kept secret from the hundreds of millions of people whom it will affect. It matters for environmental journalists as trade treaties often set up mechanisms for corporations to negate the environmental laws of signatory countries. Image: WikiLeaks. [6]

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [7]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about Read the Secret TTIP Trade Treaty Here [5]
Federal Agencies Pose Information Roadblocks to Health Journalists [9]

Environmental journalists are not alone in their frustrations with the federal officials who are supposed to help journalists get information about what government is doing. Now the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) has surveyed its members and found the federal government often blocks access to information that health care journalists seek.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Health [10]
Journalism & Media [11]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about Federal Agencies Pose Information Roadblocks to Health Journalists [9]
Grassley Nixes FOIA Exemption for Ag Checkoff Panels [12]

Senator Charles Grassley's opinion matters because he chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over FOIA. He also sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [13]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about Grassley Nixes FOIA Exemption for Ag Checkoff Panels [12]
What Will Next President Do For (or Against) Freedom of Information? [14]

Some commenters say Donald Trump has declared "war on the press." But Hillary Clinton has herself given little access to the news media during the campaign so far. Worse yet, parts of the news media seem to be making the problem worse, by not advocating for press freedom and open information. Profits and ratings have trumped the First Amendment.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [15]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about What Will Next President Do For (or Against) Freedom of Information? [14]
Early Departure of FOIA Ombud Stirs Unresolved Concerns [16]

Jim Holzer, head of the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), a post often called the FOIA Ombudsman, has decided to step down after less than a year on the job. Some Freedom of Information Act advocates are seeing this as a discouraging sign.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [15]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about Early Departure of FOIA Ombud Stirs Unresolved Concerns [16]
Green Climate Fund Disclosure Policy Raises Issues [17]

The multibillion-dollar Green Climate Fund, established after the 2009 Copenhagen climate talks to help developing countries adapt, offers many kinds of news to environmental reporters. So controversies around the fund's information disclosure policies are important.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about Green Climate Fund Disclosure Policy Raises Issues [17]
Interior Dept. Stonewalls Federal FOIA Ombud [18]

The U.S. Department of the Interior is not winning many awards for openness. A House subcommittee recently took up the complaint that Interior's Office of the Solicitor would not even honor the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) ombudsman's office with a response to repeated letters.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Politics [19]
Government [15]
Natural Resources [3]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about Interior Dept. Stonewalls Federal FOIA Ombud [18]
FOIA Turns 50 July 4; Can It Be Fixed? [20]

Open government groups have started a 50-day countdown to the law's 50th anniversary. It remains to be seen whether Congress can send President Obama a fix-FOIA bill by that date. Image: © Clipart.com. [21]

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [8]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about FOIA Turns 50 July 4; Can It Be Fixed? [20]
Public Land Photo-Fee Provisions Buried in Pending Energy Legislation [22]

The Senate-passed bill contains an explicit exemption from permits and fees for newsgathering. A House energy bill, now going to conference to be reconciled with the Senate bill, contains no newsgathering exemption. But that's not the end of the story. Image courtesy of NPS.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Politics [19]
Journalism & Media [11]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about Public Land Photo-Fee Provisions Buried in Pending Energy Legislation [22]

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