Publication Items

Wyoming Data Trespass Law Faces Court Test [1]

Federal District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl on December 28, 2015, ruled that a lawsuit filed by journalism and environmental groups challenging the constitutionality of Wyoming's law could continue. The state had moved to dismiss the suit.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [3]
Region:
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [4]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Wyoming Data Trespass Law Faces Court Test [1]
New Power Plant Database Offers Local Stories for New Energy Era [6]

Electric power is often news for environmental journalists. A new database from the Energy Information Administration offers a hunting ground for stories relevant to today's changing energy scene.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [7]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about New Power Plant Database Offers Local Stories for New Energy Era [6]
New Report Documents Extractive Industries' Payments [8]

Journalists reporting on energy and natural resources just got a new data resource: a report from the U.S. Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). Want to know what the government gets paid for coal, oil, and mining on federal lands? It has pretty good answers.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Energy & Fuel [7]
Natural Resources [9]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about New Report Documents Extractive Industries' Payments [8]
Wyden Questions FBI on Requirement for ID from FOIA Requesters [10]

A new online FOIA portal being tested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation requires requesters to provide government-issued IDs. That brought a letter seeking explanation from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR, pictured).

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [11]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Wyden Questions FBI on Requirement for ID from FOIA Requesters [10]
J-Groups Meet with WH Press Secretary, Seek More Openness [12]

Representatives of a coalition of 53 journalism groups met December 15, 2015, with White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest. The groups, including SEJ and Society of Professional Journalists, have complained about agency press offices obstructing reporters' access to officials and information.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [11]
Journalism & Media [13]
Region:
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [14]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about J-Groups Meet with WH Press Secretary, Seek More Openness [12]
Read the Reports Congress Doesn't Want You To Read [15]

Here are some reports of possible interest to environmental journalists from the Congressional Research Service (CRS). Congress does not release them to the public, but the Union of Concerned Scientists' Government Secrecy Project does.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [16]
Chemicals [17]
Economy & Business [18]
Energy & Fuel [7]
Government [11]
Laws & Regulations [3]
Military [19]
Transportation [20]
Water & Oceans [21]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Read the Reports Congress Doesn't Want You To Read [15]
Will the FAA Drone Registry Have a FOIA Exemption? [22]

It's never too early for journalists to complain about secrecy. Case in point: the database of drone owners which the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plans to register. A key task force recently recommended that the database be exempt from the federal Freedom of Information Act.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [3]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Will the FAA Drone Registry Have a FOIA Exemption? [22]
Consumer Complaints Data Can Spark Stories on Environment, Energy [23]

States often keep consumer complaint data, and it may be available under public records laws. The nonprofit consumer group Truth in Advertising recently finished a review of all 50 U.S. states' consumer complaint databases — and how easy they were to access.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer [24]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Consumer Complaints Data Can Spark Stories on Environment, Energy [23]
The Buck Stops with "Senior Press Official Number One" [25]

One reason for thinking the White House endorses and enforces tight message control is the fact that many agency press secretaries come from a background of working on presidential elections campaigns. Journalism groups have raised their hopes now that a meeting with the White House has been scheduled mid-December. At the meeting will be representatives of SEJ, the Society of Professional Journalists and possibly others, representing concerns of a coalition of more than 50 other j-groups.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [11]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about The Buck Stops with "Senior Press Official Number One" [25]
Access to Places: A Few Basics for Journalists [26]

The University of Missouri "safe space" incident on Nov 9, 2015 rekindled questions and debate about journalists' First Amendment right of access to spaces. One of the best practical guides to law on this issue is the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press publication, "A Reporter's Field Guide."

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [13]
Laws & Regulations [3]
Region:
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [27]
Visibility:
Public [5]
- Read more about Access to Places: A Few Basics for Journalists [26]

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