Publication Items

State, Federal Whistleblower Rules a Key Tool for Journalists [1]

Watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility's new guide to state whistleblower laws starts with a map — click on any state to link to its whistleblower law and other related info. Federally, there is currently a bill in play in Congress which would strengthen the notoriously weak federal whistleblower protections.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [3]
Journalism & Media [4]
Government [5]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about State, Federal Whistleblower Rules a Key Tool for Journalists [1]
Groups Petition EPA To Disclose Fracking Emissions [7]

The gas industry won itself an exemption from disclosure requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act in 2005. But now environmentalists have a new angle, claiming EPA has authority to compel disclosure under a different law (the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act) — and urging EPA to use it.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [8]
Government [5]
Energy & Fuel [9]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Groups Petition EPA To Disclose Fracking Emissions [7]
Journalists Complain About PIO "Minders" [10]

Gripes about PIO policies are not new. Now an article in the Society of Professional Journalists' Quill magazine takes the complaint to a higher level, arguing PIO restrictions are not aimed at access and accuracy, and urging journalists to resist the PIO requirements in their own work — and to work together nationally to elevate the PIO censorship issue.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [4]
Environmental Politics [11]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Journalists Complain About PIO "Minders" [10]
Enviros Urge EPA Not To Weaken Drinking Water Reports [12]

Fifteen environmental and public health groups say EPA had not allowed sufficient time for public review, only put relevant information into its docket at the last minute, and emphasized easing a "burden" utilities had lived with for years at the expense of protecting the public.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [8]
Laws & Regulations [3]
Health [13]
Government [5]
Activism [14]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Enviros Urge EPA Not To Weaken Drinking Water Reports [12]
Feds Trust Private Contractors To Make Calls on FOIA Secrets [15]

Danielle Ivory reports for Bloomberg: "At least 25 federal agencies are outsourcing parts of the FOIA process. The contractors, sometimes using workers with security clearances, are building FOIA software, corresponding with requesters, redacting documents and recommending what information should be withheld."

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [5]
Economy & Business [16]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Feds Trust Private Contractors To Make Calls on FOIA Secrets [15]
Reporters Committee Offers Guide to FOIA Appeals Process [17]

RCFP's new online guide to appealing federal FOIA decisions, written by smart, experienced media lawyers, "will be particularly useful to independent journalists and those at news organizations who don’t have ready access to legal counsel to help file appeals."

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [4]
Government [5]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Reporters Committee Offers Guide to FOIA Appeals Process [17]
Proposal Could Restrict Public Access to NOAA Fisheries Data [18]

NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service is considering a rule which could restrict public access to important data on commercial fishing — and overfishing. This data includes federally required public records paid for by taxpayers. The watchdog group OMB Watch criticized the proposed rule's handling of confidential information

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [3]
Fish & Fisheries [19]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Proposal Could Restrict Public Access to NOAA Fisheries Data [18]
Journalists Detained at Texas Protest of Keystone XL Pipeline [20]

The two New York Times journalists were working on private land with the permission of the landowner, near Winnsboro in northeast Texas, when they were detained, according to the online energy publication FuelFix. The 78-year-old owner of the land, who objects to the routing of the pipeline across it, was also arrested for trespassing on her own land.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [4]
Energy & Fuel [9]
Activism [14]
Region:
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [21]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Journalists Detained at Texas Protest of Keystone XL Pipeline [20]
SPJ Publishes Useful Resource List for Access to Information [22]

The list, recently published by the Society of Professional Journalists, includes items ranging from the FOIA letter generator from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press to Charles Davis' "The Art of Access" blog.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [5]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about SPJ Publishes Useful Resource List for Access to Information [22]
EPA To Propose Downgrading Access to Annual Drinking Water Quality Reports? [23]

Some utilities want to get rid of the requirement — substituting online notification, even for water customers who lack Internet connections. A legislative effort to ease the notification requirement failed in the Senate in summer 2012. Now EPA is starting procedures which might lead to doing the same thing by rulemaking. Deadline for comments is October 11, 2012.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [8]
Laws & Regulations [3]
Government [5]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about EPA To Propose Downgrading Access to Annual Drinking Water Quality Reports? [23]

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