Publication Items

Tending a New Media Ecosystem [1]

When the Society of Environmental Journalists offered a platform for freelancers to have their voices heard, they showed up — and so did editors willing to lend advice and support. In the new Freelance Files column, co-editor Elyse Hauser takes a look at outcomes from a daylong connection space dedicated to freelance environmental journalists and their needs.

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 Tending a New Media Ecosystem [1]
Reporting From the Blue — An Ocean of Opportunities [7]

As a veteran of reporting on the marine environment, David Helvarg is encouraged by recent improvements in the quality of ocean journalism, but sees a pressing need for more hands on deck. Offering inspiration from his own career, he notes that the world’s rapidly changing oceans hold an abundance of stories and urges others to dive in and explore them.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [8]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [9]
Biodiversity [10]
Climate Change [11]
Disasters [12]
Environmental Health [13]
Fish & Fisheries [14]
Government [15]
Journalism & Media [3]
Natural Resources [16]
Science [17]
Technology [18]
Water & Oceans [19]
Wildlife [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [21]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [22]
International [5]
Canada [23]
Antarctica & Arctic [24]
Asia [25]
Australia & Oceania [26]
Central America & the Caribbean [27]
Middle East [28]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Reporting From the Blue — An Ocean of Opportunities [7]
CDC Data Is Copious, But Can You Trust It? [29]

When Reporter’s Toolbox scours a new dataset for your environment and energy reporting use, it asks a key question: Where does the data come from? This time, the answer serves more as a warning. The latest column looks at a previously stellar data source — the CDC — and finds it lacking. Here’s what you need to know.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [30]
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer [31]
Environmental Politics [32]
Government [15]
Health [33]
Journalism & Media [3]
Policy [34]
Science [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
International [5]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about CDC Data Is Copious, But Can You Trust It? [29]
Behind the Crime Rings Trafficking Sand [35]

An investigative journalism pair shone a light on an important but rarely reported subject with huge environmental consequences: the illegal trafficking of massive quantities of natural sand from African countries. Read an interview with Inside Story about their award-winning reporting and learn what surprised them most and how they overcame the story’s unique challenges.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [36]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [37]
Environmental Health [13]
Environmental Justice [38]
Natural Resources [16]
Region:
International [5]
Africa [39]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Behind the Crime Rings Trafficking Sand [35]
Are We Ready for the Next Pandemic? [40]

If you’ve been pondering what recent Cyclospora, Legionella and Ebola outbreaks tell us about the state of preparedness for future pandemics, Backgrounder has some sobering insights. A reminder of the uneven response to COVID-19 and a look forward at how current Trump administration policy has weakened public health structures and likely left us unready for what’s ahead.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [41]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [12]
Government [15]
Health [33]
People & Population [42]
Policy [34]
Science [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
International [5]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Are We Ready for the Next Pandemic? [40]
Wildfire Data, With Its Hair on Fire [43]

As wildfires rage in the U.S. West, Canada and other hot spots around the globe, reporters covering this environmental hazard in the United States can access high-quality data of exceptional timeliness via the Watch Duty app, finds the latest Reporter’s Toolbox. The tool offers everything from emergency notifications to data deep dives, all smartly integrated in its mapping interface.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [30]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [12]
Health [33]
Journalism & Media [3]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
California [44]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [45]
Northwest (OR WA) [46]
International [5]
Canada [23]
Europe [47]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Wildfire Data, With Its Hair on Fire [43]
Extremely Hot Weather Cooks Up Unusually Awful Air Pollution [48]

Summertime and the livin' is smoggy. American air may be clearer now than when the Clean Air Act was passed in 1970, but pollutants still abound. Heat and sunlight stoke chemical reactions that exacerbate health hazards. And worsening wildfires mix in harmful smoke. The latest TipSheet has more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [49]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [9]
Air [50]
Chemicals [51]
Climate Change [11]
Energy & Fuel [52]
Environmental Health [13]
Government [15]
Health [33]
Journalism & Media [3]
Laws & Regulations [53]
Pollution [54]
Transportation [55]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
International [5]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Extremely Hot Weather Cooks Up Unusually Awful Air Pollution [48]
Climate Data Site Spiked, Resurrected by Ex-NOAA Employees [56]

An effort by the Trump administration to tank a highly useful data source on climate change trends has met impressive resistance — in the form of a group of fired NOAA staffers who have rebuilt the climate.gov website stripped by the federal government. And as the latest Toolbox notes, it’s a great resource. Reacquaint yourself with it.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [30]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [9]
Climate Change [11]
Environmental Politics [32]
Environmental Studies [57]
Government [15]
Science [17]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
International [5]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Climate Data Site Spiked, Resurrected by Ex-NOAA Employees [56]
SEJournal Adds Two New Editors [58]

SEJournal welcomes two additions to our Publications masthead — veteran data/multimedia journalist Geoff McGhee and early-career freelancer Julie Zenderoudi. McGhee joins us as co-editor of our visual journalism column, EJ InSight. And Zenderoudi comes aboard as co-editor of Freelance Files. Learn more about them and watch for their contributions to our pages in the near future. Plus, two farewells.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [59]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [3]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
International [5]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about SEJournal Adds Two New Editors [58]
Great Lakes Steelmaking at a Crossroads [60]

The Great Lakes region is a top steel producer, but its coal-fired steel mills are also a major source of planet-warming emissions and health-harming pollution. Climate advocates, community members and workers have been pushing to clean up these facilities for decades. Now, foreign funding offers new hope for revitalizing and decarbonizing the region’s steel industry. Canary Media’s Maria Gallucci explains.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [8]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [9]
Air [50]
Climate Change [11]
Economy & Business [37]
Energy & Fuel [52]
Environmental Politics [32]
Government [15]
Health [33]
Natural Resources [16]
Pollution [54]
Technology [18]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [4]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [61]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [21]
International [5]
Asia [25]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Great Lakes Steelmaking at a Crossroads [60]

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