Publication Items

Journalists Detained at Texas Protest of Keystone XL Pipeline [1]

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 [3]
Energy & Fuel [4]
Activism [5]
Region:
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [6]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Journalists Detained at Texas Protest of Keystone XL Pipeline [1]
SPJ Publishes Useful Resource List for Access to Information [8]

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 [9]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about SPJ Publishes Useful Resource List for Access to Information [8]
EPA To Propose Downgrading Access to Annual Drinking Water Quality Reports? [10]

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 [11]
Laws & Regulations [12]
Government [9]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about EPA To Propose Downgrading Access to Annual Drinking Water Quality Reports? [10]
Polar Bear Scientist Cleared; Interior Dept. Still Under Openness Cloud [13]

Five years after wildlife biologist Charles Monnett's 2006 observations of dead polar bears, believed to have drowned because of disappearing Arctic ice, Interior started an investigation of Monnett's science. The findings — partially published September 28, 2012 — were confused and contained no findings of scientific misconduct.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans [11]
Science [14]
Government [9]
Environmental Politics [15]
Climate Change [16]
Wildlife [17]
Region:
Antarctica & Arctic [18]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Polar Bear Scientist Cleared; Interior Dept. Still Under Openness Cloud [13]
Federal FOIA System Begins Evolving Via New Online Portal [19]

While it still has a long way to go to reach its potential, the new "FOIAonline" web portal benefits environmental reporters now. Submit and track FOIA requests online to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and more.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Technology [20]
Government [9]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Federal FOIA System Begins Evolving Via New Online Portal [19]
Colin McDonald Puts Boots on the Ground [21]

Nadia White interviews San Antonio Express-News reporter Colin McDonald, who's built his newspaper career at the intersection of environmental news and adventure writing.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [23]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [3]
Region:
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [6]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Colin McDonald Puts Boots on the Ground [21]
SEJournal Summer/Fall 2012, Vol. 22 No. 2,3 [22]

In this issue: How Carson's Silent Spring shapes modern environmentalism; Florida's lost wildlife highways; an interview with San Antonio Express-News enviro-adventure reporter Colin McDonald; bridging the journalism/science divide; SEJ Awards winners; EPA's ECHO database, your two-faced best friend; and more.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJournal Online [24]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [25]
Climate Change [16]
Pollution [26]
Technology [20]
Water & Oceans [11]
Wildlife [17]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about SEJournal Summer/Fall 2012, Vol. 22 No. 2,3 [22]
Can You Find Local Stories in FAA Wildlife Strike Database? [27]

Should passengers taking off from — or landing at — your local airport worry about bird strikes? You can find information leading to a few answers in the Federal Aviation Administration's online, searchable FAA Wildlife Strike Database.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Wildlife [17]
Transportation [28]
Disasters [29]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Can You Find Local Stories in FAA Wildlife Strike Database? [27]
More Secret CRS Backgrounders Written at Public Expense [30]

The Congressional Research Service regularly produces objective and informative background material on matters of interest to environmental journalists. Because Congress refuses to release these reports to the public, the WatchDog links to leaked versions published by the Project on Government Secrecy of the Federation of American Scientists.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [9]
Climate Change [16]
Military [31]
Transportation [28]
Water & Oceans [11]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about More Secret CRS Backgrounders Written at Public Expense [30]
Obama Administration Gets Only So-So Openness Grades for 2012 [32]

For an administration that trumpeted its open-government agenda on its first day in office, the Obama administration has not lived up to all the heightened expectations. A new annual report card by OpenTheGovernment.org, a watchdog group devoted to freedom of information, spells out some of the details.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [9]
Visibility:
Public [7]
- Read more about Obama Administration Gets Only So-So Openness Grades for 2012 [32]

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