Publication Items

Iowa Outlaws Some Undercover Investigations As Other States Mull Bills [1]

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (pictured) signed the so-called "Ag Gag" bill into law March 2, 2012, making it a crime to obtain access to an agricultural facility "under false pretenses" — without defining "false pretenses." Does this apply to hidden cameras? Animal rights activists have often resorted to hidden cameras — and shared with news media photos and videos of shocking cruelty to animals.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [3]
Government [4]
Region:
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [5]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Iowa Outlaws Some Undercover Investigations As Other States Mull Bills [1]
Va. Supreme Court Denies Cuccinelli Access to Climate Scientist Emails [7]

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R, pictured at left), who avows himself a global warming skeptic, had sought from the University of Virginia grant applications by former U.Va. climate scientist Michael Mann, creator of the "hockey stick" graph, and emails between Mann and other scientists.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [8]
Climate Change [9]
Region:
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [10]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Va. Supreme Court Denies Cuccinelli Access to Climate Scientist Emails [7]
SEJ Members Toast New Books and Projects on Wide Range of Science, Environment Topics [11]

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [12]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about SEJ Members Toast New Books and Projects on Wide Range of Science, Environment Topics [11]
So Now You’re A Freelancer. Here Are Some Very Important Things To Consider. [13]

Bud Ward covers topics of interest to freelancers, including cash flow, incorporation, health insurance, business expenses and more.

SEJ Publication Types:
Freelance Files [15]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [3]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about So Now You’re A Freelancer. Here Are Some Very Important Things To Consider. [13]
Toolbox: Covering Stormwater Pollution and Control [16]

Stormwater becomes a big media story during disasters such as floods and hurricane surges, and it's essential to cover the basics then. But there are dozens of related issues that can contribute to the disaster, and covering them in advance can help your audience understand ways of possibly preventing the peak crises.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Planning & Growth [18]
Pollution [19]
Water & Oceans [20]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Toolbox: Covering Stormwater Pollution and Control [16]
SEJ’s 2011 Annual Conference in Miami Achieves Many Firsts, Setting New Standard [21]

SEJ News

By JAY LETTO

The Miami extravaganza was easily SEJ’s most ambitious annual conference ever. The star-studded Wednesday evening opening reception set the stage for a whirlwind of activity and news-making field trips and presentations that kept members running and writing till they collapsed Sunday morning at the peaceful Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.
SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ News [12]
Region:
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [22]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about SEJ’s 2011 Annual Conference in Miami Achieves Many Firsts, Setting New Standard [21]
Transparency Watch Project Raises Serious Concerns About Government Access [23]

SEJ President Carolyn Whetzel discusses a recent project by Columbia Journalism Review and ProPublica which revealed it’s not just SEJ members who have a tough time gaining access to federal information or scheduling interviews with scientists or other experts at federal agencies.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJ Presidents Report [24]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Transparency Watch Project Raises Serious Concerns About Government Access [23]
Despite High Court, Navy Keeps WA Town in Dark on Explosion Threat [25]

A landmark Supreme Court decision awarded Port Townsend residents the right to know about the potential location of explosives on the Indian Island Naval Magazine near their town. After losing the case, the Defense Department bolstered its legal grounds for secrecy by asking Congress to slip into the 2012 Defense Authorization an amendment creating a new statutory exemption to FOIA for the DOD.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Military [26]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Disasters [27]
Region:
Northwest (OR WA) [28]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Despite High Court, Navy Keeps WA Town in Dark on Explosion Threat [25]
Should Taxpayers Be Able To Read the Research They Pay For? Congress Not Sure [29]

A bill that would mandate open public access, free of charge, to papers resulting from federally funded research is currently languishing in the GOP-controlled House. Private for-profit publishing companies aim to stop it, preserving their control over the science publishing market. One of these is Elsevier, the largest single academic publisher in the world, currently being boycotted by almost 7,000 researchers worldwide.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Politics [30]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Should Taxpayers Be Able To Read the Research They Pay For? Congress Not Sure [29]
Mining Industry Threatens Journals To Keep Diesel Exposure Data Secret [31]

The Patton Boggs lobbying firm, which represents the mining industry, has sent letters threatening unspecified legal action against four scientific journals if they publish results of a study about the exposure of miners to diesel emissions, according to Science magazine.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Natural Resources [32]
Energy & Fuel [33]
Economy & Business [34]
Visibility:
Public [6]
- Read more about Mining Industry Threatens Journals To Keep Diesel Exposure Data Secret [31]

SEJ News

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