Publication Items

An Editor’s Eye View to Successful Pitching [1]

The not-so-simple act of pitching story ideas is among the biggest challenges facing freelance environmental reporters. Is the pitch smartly targeted, thoroughly researched, well-crafted? Our new Freelance Files co-editor Marianne Messina spoke to four top-level editors at well-known outlets to get their perspectives on making a successful pitch. Learn why outlets need you, what they look for and how to avoid basic mistakes.

SEJ Publication Types:
Freelance Files [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [3]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
International [5]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about An Editor’s Eye View to Successful Pitching [1]
U.S. Fuel Exports To Profit Industry, Slam Consumers [7]

‘Energy dominance’ is a Trump catchphrase whose meaning may be vague — since the U.S. is already the world’s top producer of oil and natural gas. But one thing that does seem clear, per the new Backgrounder, is that a flood of new U.S. permits to export gas will likely mean higher energy prices for U.S. customers.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [8]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [9]
Consumer [10]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Politics [12]
Policy [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
International [5]
Canada [14]
Mexico [15]
Europe [16]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about U.S. Fuel Exports To Profit Industry, Slam Consumers [7]
Follow the Money … for Lobbying State Legislatures [17]

With many states dominated by a few powerful industries — whether oil, mining or agriculture — the influence of campaign dollars can have an outsize effect on legislation, even to the point of corruption, notes the latest Reporter’s Toolbox. So while the U.S. Congress may be languishing, environmental journalists can dig up stories on lobbying at the state level using a powerful data source.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [18]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [19]
Agriculture [20]
Economy & Business [21]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Politics [12]
Government [22]
Journalism & Media [3]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Policy [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [24]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [25]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [26]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Follow the Money … for Lobbying State Legislatures [17]
Hazardous Risk Reporting Resource at Risk of Trump Blackout [27]

Hazardous sites around the United States are supposed to have disaster plans, which make for a localizable story environmental journalists can tell to help protect their communities. The problem, reports TipSheet, is that a key federal database of these plans may be shut down by the Trump administration. More on the Risk Management Program, efforts to protect the data and how reporters can use it.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [28]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [29]
Disasters [30]
Environmental Health [31]
Environmental Politics [12]
Government [22]
Health [32]
Journalism & Media [3]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Pollution [33]
Waste [34]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Hazardous Risk Reporting Resource at Risk of Trump Blackout [27]
‘A Myriad of Voices’ Tells of Restoring a Swamp in Crisis [35]

When a pair of journalists reported on a degraded Colombian mangrove swamp, they turned to two local fishermen to help tell the story, tapping into their experience as they worked to repair the ecosystem that fed their community. In the latest Inside Story Q&A, reporter Jacobo Patiño Giraldo explains their successful use of primary source solutions journalism.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [36]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [19]
Biodiversity [37]
Environmental Health [31]
Environmental Justice [38]
Fish & Fisheries [39]
Forests [40]
Journalism & Media [3]
Natural Resources [41]
People & Population [42]
Water & Oceans [43]
Region:
International [5]
South America [44]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about ‘A Myriad of Voices’ Tells of Restoring a Swamp in Crisis [35]
Trump Pick To Head Secretive Agency Adept at Stifling Info, Regs [45]

A little-known federal office where some say environmental and other regulations go to die may soon be led by a Trump loyalist best known as an indicted co-conspirator in the plot to overthrow the 2020 election. What is OIRA? And who is Trump’s pick to lead the powerful subagency? WatchDog Opinion has answers and some worrying questions, along with resources for reporters to dig further.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [46]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [21]
Environmental Politics [12]
Government [22]
Journalism & Media [3]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Policy [13]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Trump Pick To Head Secretive Agency Adept at Stifling Info, Regs [45]
Desperately Seeking Data? OECD Has Loads [47]

If the possibility of a politically driven dearth of data for your climate and environment reporting has you on edge, the new Reporter’s Toolbox just may have something to soothe your nerves: A data source from beyond the grasp of the Trump administration and outside the boundaries of the United States. Take a quick tour of environmental data from the OECD.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [18]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [20]
Air [48]
Biodiversity [37]
Chemicals [29]
Climate Change [9]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Studies [49]
Fish & Fisheries [39]
Health [32]
Journalism & Media [3]
Natural Resources [41]
Pollution [33]
Transportation [50]
Waste [34]
Water & Oceans [43]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
International [5]
Europe [16]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Desperately Seeking Data? OECD Has Loads [47]
New Angle for Reporting on Oil and Gas Industry — Radioactive Waste [51]

Industry experts and government regulators have long known that radionuclides reside in oil and natural gas. Yet radioactive emissions and waste continue to threaten the lives of workers and community members across the country. Investigative journalist Justin Nobel on the opportunities and urgent need for reporters to drill into a story steeped in questions of accountability, health and justice.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [52]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [19]
Air [48]
Chemicals [29]
Climate Change [9]
Consumer [10]
Economy & Business [21]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Health [31]
Environmental Politics [12]
Environmental Studies [49]
Government [22]
Health [32]
Journalism & Media [3]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Natural Resources [41]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [53]
People & Population [42]
Policy [13]
Pollution [33]
Science [54]
Technology [55]
Waste [34]
Water & Oceans [43]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [56]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [24]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [25]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [57]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [58]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [59]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [26]
International [5]
Canada [14]
South America [44]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about New Angle for Reporting on Oil and Gas Industry — Radioactive Waste [51]
With Climate, an Undercurrent of Violence [60]

In his ambitious first book, “The Heat and the Fury: On the Frontlines of Climate Violence,” journalist Peter Schwartzstein explores how climate change explains conflict, even war. BookShelf editor Tom Henry calls it a deeply researched volume that makes a strong case for the connections between global warming, political instability and violence, not just in poorer regions but for the richer West as well.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [61]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [9]
Disasters [30]
Environmental Health [31]
Environmental Justice [38]
Environmental Politics [12]
Government [22]
Military [62]
Natural Resources [41]
People & Population [42]
Policy [13]
Water & Oceans [43]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
International [5]
Africa [63]
Asia [64]
Europe [16]
Middle East [65]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about With Climate, an Undercurrent of Violence [60]
Will Science Be Stifled at the EPA? [66]

Anti-science policies are being instituted by the Trump administration at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other federal offices, reports the latest Backgrounder. That makes it especially challenging to keep politics out of decision-making around everything from natural disasters to public health. An examination of scientific integrity under Trump 2.0 and what environmental journalists should watch for.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [8]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [29]
Climate Change [9]
Disasters [30]
Environmental Justice [38]
Environmental Politics [12]
Government [22]
Health [32]
Infrastructure [67]
Journalism & Media [3]
Laws & Regulations [23]
Policy [13]
Pollution [33]
Science [54]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Will Science Be Stifled at the EPA? [66]

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