Publication Items

J-Groups Urge Supreme Court To Toss Va. Ban on Out-of-State FOIA Requesters [1]

Should state freedom-of-information laws disqualify people or organizations from out of state from getting government records? Led by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, some 53 news media groups have urged the US Supreme Court to say no.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [3]
Government [4]
Region:
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [5]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about J-Groups Urge Supreme Court To Toss Va. Ban on Out-of-State FOIA Requesters [1]
Open-Access Science Publishing: Good for Journalists, and Good for Public [7]

The suicide earlier this month of open-access activist Aaron Swartz brings again to the fore the ongoing difficulty journalists have accessing published scientific studies that bear on key current and future policy issues. Photo of Swartz, credit Flickr/peretzp.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Science [8]
Policy [9]
Government [4]
Activism [10]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Open-Access Science Publishing: Good for Journalists, and Good for Public [7]
Why Does Congress Keep CRS Reports Secret? One Possible Answer [11]

Congress' motives for the nondisclosure bear scrutiny. Is it merely to sound smart or hog the glory of releasing them? A recent report by Manuel Quinones in E&E Daily suggests another motive: fiddling with inconvenient truths (or untruths).

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [4]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Why Does Congress Keep CRS Reports Secret? One Possible Answer [11]
Do Mainstream Media Disclose "Experts'" Links to Oil and Gas Industry? [12]

Too often stories fail to disclose such industry ties, which might call into question the experts' objectivity. The Checks and Balances Project, an energy watchdog group, did an analysis of coverage in 60 publications over a five-year period with very interesting results.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [3]
Energy & Fuel [13]
Economy & Business [14]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Do Mainstream Media Disclose "Experts'" Links to Oil and Gas Industry? [12]
EPA Withdraws Rule on Reporting Cadmium Health Studies [15]

EPA had on December 3, 2012, published a final rule requiring reporting of unpublished cadmium-related health and safety studies by manufacturers and importers. This rule prompted industry objections, resulting in EPA's withdrawal of the rule less than 2 weeks later.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Health [16]
Government [4]
Economy & Business [14]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about EPA Withdraws Rule on Reporting Cadmium Health Studies [15]
At Industry Urging, White House Buries Report on Toxic Threats to Children's Health [17]

If you want to know the latest on what chemicals might give your kids learning disabilities, asthma, and other health problems, the White House Office of Management and Budget intends to keep you in the dark. It has buried since March 2011 the 3rd edition of EPA's report "America's Children and the Environment."

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Health [16]
Government [4]
Economy & Business [14]
Chemicals [18]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about At Industry Urging, White House Buries Report on Toxic Threats to Children's Health [17]
Coal Slurry Database May Help Reporters Find Problem Impoundments [19]

A fatal November 30, 2012, collapse of part of a coal-slurry impoundment in West Virginia served as a reminder of safety issues that may not be adequately regulated in some states and localities. You can locate local coal-slurry impoundments and information on their status with an online public database.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [3]
Energy & Fuel [13]
Disasters [20]
Region:
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [5]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Coal Slurry Database May Help Reporters Find Problem Impoundments [19]
NRC Board Orders Calif. Nuclear Plant To Turn Over Withheld Records [21]

Is the public entitled to see documents that may bear on the safety of a for-profit utility's plan to restart the flaw-stricken San Onofre nuclear plant in California? Maybe not. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Atomic Safety and Licensing Board ruled the utility must turn the documents over to the board — but currently plans to keep them secret from the public.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Nuclear Power & Radiation [22]
Energy & Fuel [13]
Region:
California [23]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about NRC Board Orders Calif. Nuclear Plant To Turn Over Withheld Records [21]
Pennsylvania Newspapers Get Break in Fracking Disclosure Case [24]

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was joined by the Washington (PA) Observer-Reporter in a suit to unseal records of the July 2011 settlement of a case in which a family had sued four natural gas companies over damages they claimed were caused by hydraulic fracturing. The appeals court said a lower court had erred in throwing out the newspapers' case.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [3]
Energy & Fuel [13]
Region:
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [5]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Pennsylvania Newspapers Get Break in Fracking Disclosure Case [24]
SEJ Backs Member Threatened by Interior Secretary [25]

The Society of Environmental Journalists wrote Interior Secretary Ken Salazar about the Election Day incident of attempted intimidation in Colorado, when the Secretary threatened to "punch out" SEJ member Dave Philipps, senior investigative reporter with the Colorado Springs Gazette.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [3]
Government [4]
Region:
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [26]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about SEJ Backs Member Threatened by Interior Secretary [25]

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