Publication Items

Small Fry — How to Tell Compelling Stories About Obscure Species [1]

Getting people excited about large, charismatic wildlife is easy, but tiny, little-known or less-than-lovable species can be a tough sell. Journalists Bethany Brookshire and Douglas Main on why it’s important to include oddball organisms in your reporting and how to get audiences engaged. Pro tip: Building curiosity and caring for minor-league creatures often means being a bit self-centered.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [3]
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Health [5]
Forests [6]
Journalism & Media [7]
Science [8]
Wildlife [9]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [11]
International [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Small Fry — How to Tell Compelling Stories About Obscure Species [1]
Prize Winner Spurs Policy Change on Illinois PFAS Contamination [14]

When Illinois downplayed the results of long-delayed PFAS testing in the state’s public water supply, Chicago Tribune reporter Michael Hawthorne revisited a story he had first covered two decades before. His investigation uncovered dangerous practices threatening public health, won him accolades and moved the needle on state policy. How he went about it, in the new Inside Story Q&A.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [16]
Chemicals [17]
Environmental Justice [18]
Environmental Politics [19]
Environmental Studies [20]
Food [21]
Government [22]
Health [23]
Journalism & Media [7]
Policy [24]
Pollution [25]
Science [8]
Waste [26]
Water & Oceans [27]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [28]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Prize Winner Spurs Policy Change on Illinois PFAS Contamination [14]
When Disasters Hit, Nursing Homes Can Be Disasters Waiting To Happen [29]

In any disaster, among the most vulnerable populations are the residents of nursing homes. Yet many communities may simply not be ready to protect them, despite a complex patchwork of state, federal and local regulatory oversight. That means environmental journalists should get on the case, reporting the risk in their locales, advises the latest TipSheet. Insights, plus a dozen story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [30]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [31]
Environmental Justice [18]
Health [23]
Journalism & Media [7]
People & Population [32]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [11]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about When Disasters Hit, Nursing Homes Can Be Disasters Waiting To Happen [29]
2025 Journalists' Guide to Environment + Energy [33]

In this special report, “2025 Journalists’ Guide to Environment + Energy,” the SEJournal looks ahead in our ninth annual guide to key issues in the coming year. Check out the guide’s special forward-focused TipSheets, Backgrounders, WatchDogs, a new EJ TransitionWatch column and more. Plus, an overview analysis.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [34]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about 2025 Journalists' Guide to Environment + Energy [33]
How Climate Change Complicates the Refugee Crisis [35]

The displacement of populations by climate impacts, while not a new phenomenon in human history, is worsening in the face of global warming’s extreme weather patterns. Yet the extensive international regime to aid refugees doesn’t cover those migrating due to flooding, drought, natural disasters or climate change. Backgrounder considers the implications and how nations will respond to the new realities.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [36]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [31]
Environmental Politics [19]
People & Population [32]
Policy [24]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
California [37]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [38]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [39]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [11]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [40]
International [12]
Mexico [41]
Africa [42]
Antarctica & Arctic [43]
Asia [44]
Central America & the Caribbean [45]
Europe [46]
Middle East [47]
South America [48]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about How Climate Change Complicates the Refugee Crisis [35]
New-Look Landslide Risk Database Captures Potential Human Costs [49]

Susceptibility to landslides is more on the minds of environmental reporters, especially in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which caused hundreds of them. To get a better read on local landslide risk for local stories, Reporter’s Toolbox recommends an enhanced resource from the U.S. Geological Survey, which layers the risk data into easily readable map form.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [50]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [31]
Environmental Studies [20]
Journalism & Media [7]
People & Population [32]
Science [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Northwest (OR WA) [51]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [11]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about New-Look Landslide Risk Database Captures Potential Human Costs [49]
Future of Justice40 Program Hangs in Balance [52]

A Biden administration initiative that commits to allocating 40% of federal investments to disadvantaged communities plagued by overpollution is an environmental justice breakthrough, writes columnist Yessenia Funes. But it’s also a program with weaknesses, such as how it factors in race or keeps track of impacts. What is Justice40, what has it missed and what is its future?

SEJ Publication Types:
Voices of Environmental Justice [53]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [54]
Air [55]
Chemicals [17]
Climate Change [4]
Environmental Justice [18]
Environmental Politics [19]
Government [22]
Health [23]
Infrastructure [56]
Laws & Regulations [57]
People & Population [32]
Policy [24]
Pollution [25]
Waste [26]
Water & Oceans [27]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Future of Justice40 Program Hangs in Balance [52]
Scientist Recounts Great Barrier Reef’s ‘Final Battle’ [58]

The Great Barrier Reef is one of nature’s marvels, home to a startling array of life. It’s also the victim of forces rapidly bringing about its demise, from runoff to climate change. With “In Hot Water,” scientist Paul Hardisty recounts the struggle to save this remarkable ecosystem, amid forces of capital, politics and conflicting science. The latest BookShelf review from contributor Melody Kemp.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [59]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [16]
Biodiversity [3]
Chemicals [17]
Environmental Health [5]
Environmental Politics [19]
Fish & Fisheries [60]
Natural Resources [61]
Pollution [25]
Science [8]
Water & Oceans [27]
Region:
International [12]
Australia & Oceania [62]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Scientist Recounts Great Barrier Reef’s ‘Final Battle’ [58]
Sewage Sludge Can Spread the Harm of Many Toxic Chemicals [63]

What was once benignly dubbed biosolids is more accurately tagged toxic sludge. And some of it may be finding its way into our food. The latest TipSheet reports how that came to be despite (or perhaps because of) Clean Water Act regulation, and how hard it is to calculate the potential harms. Plus, more than a dozen reporting ideas and resources for this highly localizable story.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [30]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [16]
Environmental Politics [19]
Food [21]
Government [22]
Health [23]
Journalism & Media [7]
Laws & Regulations [57]
Pollution [25]
Waste [26]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Sewage Sludge Can Spread the Harm of Many Toxic Chemicals [63]
Better Communicating for the Climate [64]

What if the news, instead of inducing fear or anxiety, was rewarding for the brain? That question sparked the creation of a novel, game show–inspired approach to helping journalists unlock new ways of reporting, using healthier, more holistic communication techniques. Drawing on research from neuroscience, community psychology and journalism, “Jourpardy” offers fresh perspectives on how to avoid doom-and-gloom reporting.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [31]
Journalism & Media [7]
Science [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [10]
International [12]
Visibility:
Public [13]
- Read more about Better Communicating for the Climate [64]

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