Publication Items

Bringing Personal Perspective to Disaster [1]

TV journalist Jacob Soboroff grew up in Pacific Palisades, so when the Los Angeles neighborhood was swept by wildfires in 2024, he reported from familiar sites as they burned. He writes about the experience in “Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires and America’s New Age of Disaster,” whose strength BookShelf contributor Jennifer Weeks says is its street-level descriptions of chasing the fast-developing story. Read her review.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [3]
Journalism & Media [4]
People & Population [5]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
California [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Bringing Personal Perspective to Disaster [1]
Is Your Local Wildlife Refuge a Refuge No More? [9]

There’s a long history of hunting and fishing in the federal refuge and hatchery system. But the Trump administration has now thrown the doors wide, opening millions of acres in hundreds of locales across much of the country. TipSheet examines what’s missing in this dramatic policy shift, and offers insights and resources for reporting on the impact on the nearest refuge to you.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [11]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Politics [13]
Fish & Fisheries [14]
Forests [15]
Government [16]
Journalism & Media [4]
Natural Resources [17]
Policy [18]
Wildlife [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Is Your Local Wildlife Refuge a Refuge No More? [9]
Grazing Data Unlocks Public Land Stories [20]

The Interior Department keeps an extensive database of thousands of permits it issues to use federal lands for grazing livestock. And as the latest Reporter’s Toolbox notes, that data can readily be used as an investigative tool to look for one thing the government would rather the public not see — a penchant for permit partiality.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [21]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [22]
Economy & Business [23]
Environmental Politics [13]
Government [16]
Journalism & Media [4]
Natural Resources [17]
Policy [18]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [24]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [25]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Grazing Data Unlocks Public Land Stories [20]
Closing the Trust Gap With Environmental Justice Communities [26]

Communities impacted by environmental justice issues often view the media with wariness deeply rooted in history. But some journalists and EJ advocates are working together to forge a better relationship. While recognizing the challenges, they offer encouragement with a set of guiding principles for reporters who want to gain the trust of communities and tell accurate, respectful and impactful environmental stories.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [27]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [28]
Climate Change [29]
Environmental Justice [30]
Health [31]
Journalism & Media [4]
People & Population [5]
Planning & Growth [32]
Policy [18]
Pollution [33]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [34]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [35]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Closing the Trust Gap With Environmental Justice Communities [26]
Counting Heat Deaths When Official Data Is Deceptive [36]

Climate change’s real impact is difficult to measure when it comes to heat-related illness and death. That’s due, in large part, to the way health agencies count — or actually undercount — the numbers. But the latest TipSheet spotlights an approach journalists can use to tally the true toll. Plus, additional reporting resources to cover the story in your community.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [29]
Health [31]
Journalism & Media [4]
People & Population [5]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Counting Heat Deaths When Official Data Is Deceptive [36]
Walking the Walk Along the Pacific Crest Trail [37]

A summer newsroom fellowship led student scientist Bing Lin to travel a mountainous length of a storied North American footpath and turn the experience into an award-winning series for a leading environmental journalism outlet. In the new EJ Academy, he recounts what he learned — amid numerous challenges — about reporting, writing and photography, and his reasons for being on the trail.

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ Academy [38]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [4]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
California [7]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Walking the Walk Along the Pacific Crest Trail [37]
OSHA Has Data. Does It Have Safety and Health? [39]

Occupational exposure to toxic chemicals can serve as an early warning system for broader public risks, just one reason the extensive data gathered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is a valuable tool for environmental journalists — even if much of the resulting reporting focuses on agency failings. Reporter’s Toolbox on OSHA datasets.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [21]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [40]
Economy & Business [23]
Environmental Politics [13]
Health [31]
Journalism & Media [4]
Laws & Regulations [41]
Policy [18]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about OSHA Has Data. Does It Have Safety and Health? [39]
Farm Bill Stuck in the Mud? [42]

The Farm Bill — omnibus legislation that affects the food supply of millions of Americans, as well as their air, water and soil — is bogged down in hyperpartisan division. But as Backgrounder outlines, environmental journalists would be wise to track how Congress ultimately uses it to address matters like land and water conservation, rural water supply and pollution, pesticides and more.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [43]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [22]
Chemicals [40]
Climate Change [29]
Consumer [44]
Economy & Business [23]
Environmental Health [12]
Environmental Politics [13]
Food [45]
Government [16]
Laws & Regulations [41]
People & Population [5]
Policy [18]
Pollution [33]
Water & Oceans [46]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Farm Bill Stuck in the Mud? [42]
Electric Shadyland — the Riddle of Rising Energy Bills [47]

While the Iran war has certainly brought on soaring oil prices, the rise in residential electricity costs may stem as much from the actions of a labyrinthine complex of federal and state utility regulators, writes the latest TipSheet. Start unraveling the factors here, with the backstory, and more than a dozen questions to ask and resources to tap.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [10]
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer [44]
Energy & Fuel [48]
Infrastructure [49]
Journalism & Media [4]
Laws & Regulations [41]
Policy [18]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Electric Shadyland — the Riddle of Rising Energy Bills [47]
Decarbonizing Energy Systems With Clean Firm Power [50]

Solar and wind power are critical for combating climate change, but some energy experts warn they won’t be enough. Their vision for an emissions-free grid depends on technologies ranging from long-duration batteries to nuclear reactors. Journalist Nicolás Rivero on clean firm power’s potential, the challenges ahead and how Big Tech is driving the pursuit of always-on zero-carbon electricity.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [27]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [29]
Economy & Business [23]
Energy & Fuel [48]
Government [16]
Infrastructure [49]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [51]
Policy [18]
Pollution [33]
Science [52]
Technology [53]
Region:
National (U.S.) [6]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [34]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [54]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [55]
Visibility:
Public [8]
- Read more about Decarbonizing Energy Systems With Clean Firm Power [50]

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