Publication Items

News Media Complaints About PIO "Minders" Won't Go Away [1]

Washington Post reporter Paul Farhi has published a story detailing the unfolding of the Obama spin-control saga and the resulting uneasy standoff. Several SEJ members are mentioned, as is Tom Reynolds (pictured), Associate Administrator for EPA's Office of Public Affairs, who justified press office chaperoning of agency experts and portrayed the typical reporter as inexperienced and ignorant.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Politics [3]
Government [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about News Media Complaints About PIO "Minders" Won't Go Away [1]
SEJ Appeals EPA Stonewalling of FOIA on Media Policy [6]

The U.S. EPA has been stonewalling a June 2014 SEJ request for documents describing its policies for dealing with news media. Now SEJ is appealing the long delay in responding to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by calling it what it is — a denial of information.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Politics [3]
Government [4]
Policy [7]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about SEJ Appeals EPA Stonewalling of FOIA on Media Policy [6]
BP Deepwater Horizon Anniversary: Follow the Science [8]

In this, the second of two special SEJ TipSheets, the Advocate's Amy Wold provides you with a plethora of science-based information to cover the ongoing story of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, on the eve of the five-year anniversary. Photo: Officials assess sample processing and chain of custody protocol for handling specimens associated with the oil spill. Credit: NOAA.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [9]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [10]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Health [12]
Fish & Fisheries [13]
Natural Resources [14]
Science [15]
Water & Oceans [16]
Wildlife [17]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [18]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about BP Deepwater Horizon Anniversary: Follow the Science [8]
BP Deepwater Horizon Anniversary: Follow the Money [19]

April 20, 2015, marks the fifth anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the largest environmental disasters in U.S. history. The story is far from over. If you are covering the legacy of the spill, SEJ is offering two special TipSheets by the Advocate's Amy Wold that will help you get the facts and background. Photo: Oiled endangered Ridley's turtle. Credit: Carolyn Cole/ LA Times; courtesy NOAA.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [9]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [10]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Environmental Health [12]
Fish & Fisheries [13]
Laws & Regulations [20]
Natural Resources [14]
Pollution [21]
Water & Oceans [16]
Wildlife [17]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [18]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about BP Deepwater Horizon Anniversary: Follow the Money [19]
Climate Explorer Brings Data to Life [22]

Climate Central science writer John Upton explains how to use the visualization tool that brings to virtual life the climate- and weather-related data generated by the 13 federal agencies that collaborate to form the U.S. Global Change Research Program.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [23]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [24]
Technology [25]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Climate Explorer Brings Data to Life [22]
SEJournal Winter 2015, Vol. 24 No. 4 [26]

In this issue: Conflict over environment and energy in 2015; nonprofit news rescues environmental journalism, or not; freelance digital journalism founders; using ground journalism, striking visuals for complex global stories; SEJ's diversity struggles; bringing to life climate- and weather-related data; free digital tools for EJ educators, students; interview with Jörg Friedrichs, author, “The Future Is Not What It Used to Be: Climate Change and Energy Scarcity;” and book reviews.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJournal Online [27]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about SEJournal Winter 2015, Vol. 24 No. 4 [26]
Coast Guard Spill Database Rendered Almost Useless for Reporters [28]

There used to be a searchable, online database of oil and chemical spill reports that reporters could turn to in an emergency to get insight into important breaking news. But ham-handed security efforts have sabotaged the public's right to know. Right now, emergency responders are working on a spill of a cancer-causing fuel additive known as MTBE. But news reporters probably couldn't get much if any helpful information from the database today (we checked).

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [10]
Energy & Fuel [11]
Government [4]
Military [29]
Region:
National (U.S.) [30]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [31]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Coast Guard Spill Database Rendered Almost Useless for Reporters [28]
EPA Gets a "D" Grade on Information Access from Watchdog Group [32]

The score came from the Center for Effective Government, which now awards the scores annually. Much of the score is based on the agency's performance under the Freedom of Information Act. EPA was one of the few agencies whose grade actually went down since 2014.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about EPA Gets a "D" Grade on Information Access from Watchdog Group [32]
FOIA-Strengthening Bills Come Back to Life in House and Senate [33]

A bill to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act awaits Senate floor action. But the Obama administration, which once pledged to be the most open in history, has so far been strangely silent. Crickets. "Worries from the agencies are whispered into lawmakers' ears," wrote E&E Publishing's Kevin Bogardus.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [4]
Laws & Regulations [20]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about FOIA-Strengthening Bills Come Back to Life in House and Senate [33]
Media Coalition Wins Overturn of Blankenship Gag Order on Appeal [34]

After opposing gag and sealing orders in the trial of former Massey coal CEO Don Blankenship on charges of conspiracy to violate federal mine safety and health standards — and cover-up — a news media coalition led by Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press won access to the trial from a federal appeals court March 5, 2015.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [10]
Laws & Regulations [20]
Natural Resources [14]
Region:
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [35]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Media Coalition Wins Overturn of Blankenship Gag Order on Appeal [34]

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