Publication Items

Obama Signs Whistleblower Bill [1]

President Obama on November 27, 2012, signed into law a bill beefing up previously flimsy protections for federal employee whistleblowers who disclose waste, fraud, and abuse. The legislation was supported by good-government watchdog groups.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [3]
Government [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Obama Signs Whistleblower Bill [1]
Access to Fracking Info — Still Bad — Improved by Non-Gov Web Initiatives [6]

A geeky nonprofit watchdog group has done what government and private industry have failed to do; the group, SkyTruth, has made data about the ingredients in fracking fluid easily accessible to the public.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [7]
Health [8]
Energy & Fuel [9]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Access to Fracking Info — Still Bad — Improved by Non-Gov Web Initiatives [6]
Congress Sends Bill Strengthening Whistleblower Protection to Obama's Desk [10]

Whistleblowers are key sources for investigative journalists. The bill, approved by unanimous consent in the House and Senate, was hailed by watchdog groups Government Accountability Project and Project on Government Oversight, who had fought for its passage.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [3]
Government [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Congress Sends Bill Strengthening Whistleblower Protection to Obama's Desk [10]
ABC News Urges Judge To Toss Out "Pink Slime" Defamation Suit [11]

In September, South Dakota meat processor Beef Products, Inc., had sued ABC, some of its anchors and correspondents, and a USDA microbiologist under South Dakota law for reporting on the controversial meat filler. The company said it would oppose the October 31st motion to dismiss.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [3]
Food [12]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about ABC News Urges Judge To Toss Out "Pink Slime" Defamation Suit [11]
When News Embargoes May Endanger Public Health [13]

When NPR's David Schultz wanted to report last month on whether extra mumps vaccinations given in 2009 to Jewish children in the NYC area had worked or had side effects, he ran up against an embargo imposed by the journal Pediatrics. If you worry about how embargoes affect journalists' access, you may want to follow Embargo Watch.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [14]
Health [8]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about When News Embargoes May Endanger Public Health [13]
Some Resources for Covering Environmental Disasters [15]

Superstorm Sandy was a wake-up call on many levels — especially as a lesson on the need to be prepared for disasters. Here are some reporting tools that may come in handy.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [14]
Disasters [16]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Some Resources for Covering Environmental Disasters [15]
Secret CRS Reports on Environmental Topics Published [17]

Here are more Congressional Research Service reports relevant to the environment/energy beat, published by the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Transportation [18]
Energy & Fuel [9]
Disasters [16]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Secret CRS Reports on Environmental Topics Published [17]
Traveling Florida’s Lost Wildlife Highways [19]

Freelance writer and photographer Roger Archibald tells the tale of the 2012 Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition, which sought to reclaim a tenuous natural migratory route that the state’s surviving endemic wildlife might once again follow.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [21]
Topics on the Beat:
Natural Resources [22]
Planning & Growth [23]
Transportation [18]
Wildlife [24]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [25]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Traveling Florida’s Lost Wildlife Highways [19]
State, Federal Whistleblower Rules a Key Tool for Journalists [26]

Watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility's new guide to state whistleblower laws starts with a map — click on any state to link to its whistleblower law and other related info. Federally, there is currently a bill in play in Congress which would strengthen the notoriously weak federal whistleblower protections.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [3]
Journalism & Media [14]
Government [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about State, Federal Whistleblower Rules a Key Tool for Journalists [26]
Groups Petition EPA To Disclose Fracking Emissions [27]

The gas industry won itself an exemption from disclosure requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act in 2005. But now environmentalists have a new angle, claiming EPA has authority to compel disclosure under a different law (the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act) — and urging EPA to use it.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [7]
Government [4]
Energy & Fuel [9]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Groups Petition EPA To Disclose Fracking Emissions [27]

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