Publication Items

Rethinking Rural Reporting — How To Get Past the Cliches [1]

When covering rural America, mainstream media often defaults to stereotypes steeped in politics and ignores the diversity that actually exists there, as expanding news deserts exacerbate the problem. Reporter Claire Carlson on why this matters — including in discouraging investment around climate change or resource industries urban dwellers depend on. Here’s how journalists can report richer, more nuanced stories about rural people and places.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Climate Change [4]
Disasters [5]
Diversity [6]
Economy & Business [7]
Environmental Politics [8]
Government [9]
Journalism & Media [10]
People & Population [11]
Policy [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
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Unique Award-Winner Highlights Risks to Whales From Fight Over Fish [15]

Whales and fishers chasing the same catch can lead to serious impacts on marine mammals, including illegal shootings. To tell the story, journalist Nick Rahaim took an unusual tack — reporting while working as a deckhand on a fishing vessel. His award-winning account won praise for its balance, sourcing and insight. Rahaim talks about his approach in our Inside Story Q&A.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [16]
Topics on the Beat:
Economy & Business [7]
Fish & Fisheries [17]
Journalism & Media [10]
Natural Resources [18]
Science [19]
Water & Oceans [20]
Wildlife [21]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Alaska and Hawaii [22]
Visibility:
Public [14]
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Is Your Community Ready for Tornadoes? Are You? [23]

With more than 100 tornadoes hitting the United States so far this year, the latest TipSheet takes a closer look at how journalists can help their communities better prepare for these damaging and often deadly windstorms. Plus, more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources, from questions about warning systems and shelters to sources at weather agencies and for tornado-preparedness advice.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [24]
Topics on the Beat:
Disasters [5]
Journalism & Media [10]
People & Population [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [25]
Visibility:
Public [14]
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Why the Press Needs To Press for Senate Action on the PRESS Act [26]

A promising federal shield law that would protect journalists from jail for refusing to reveal sources months ago passed the House of Representatives but has since stalled in the Senate. The new WatchDog Opinion column can tell you why … and why this measure, dubbed the PRESS Act, matters so much for reporters, including those that cover climate and the environment.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [27]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [28]
Policy [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about Why the Press Needs To Press for Senate Action on the PRESS Act [26]
The EPA’s Power Plant Rule … We’ll See You in Court [29]

A new federal rule to cut power plant pollution and carbon dioxide emissions promises to escalate a yearslong, highly partisan battle at the core of U.S. climate change policy. Our Issue Backgrounder lays out the shifting regulatory approaches from the administrations of George W. Bush to Joe Biden, and notes the legal tug-of-war that has heightened the importance of another big player — the Supreme Court.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [30]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [31]
Climate Change [4]
Energy & Fuel [32]
Environmental Health [33]
Environmental Politics [8]
Government [9]
Laws & Regulations [28]
Policy [12]
Pollution [34]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
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From Reporter to Author — How I Published My First Book [35]

When freelancer Sophie Yeo first thought of writing a book, it seemed an impossible task. But with a successful website under her belt, she plunged in. Two missed deadlines and one baby later, she had her book, a history of the natural world titled “Nature’s Ghosts: The World We Lost and How To Bring It Back.” How she got there, and lessons learned, in the new Freelance Files.

SEJ Publication Types:
Freelance Files [36]
Topics on the Beat:
Biodiversity [37]
Environmental Health [33]
Journalism & Media [10]
Science [19]
Wildlife [21]
Region:
International [38]
Europe [39]
Visibility:
Public [14]
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New HeatRisk Data Site Helps Warn on Health Threats [40]

As global warming worsens heat-related illnesses, U.S. government agencies have refined a data tool whose greatest value may be to warn people about the extreme heat events that can send them to the emergency room or worse. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox explores the improved HeatRisk site and how its combination of climate and medical considerations refocuses attention on the vulnerable.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [41]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [4]
Consumer [42]
Disasters [5]
Health [43]
Journalism & Media [10]
People & Population [11]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
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‘Green’ Steel: Five Things To Know About the U.S. Transition [44]

Plans for two new U.S. facilities that will use hydrogen instead of coal to make steel hold the promise of decarbonizing this essential but dirty industry. But don’t expect overnight change. Reporter Maria Gallucci looks at the complexities of making the switch, from ditching the blast furnace to reducing pollution all along the supply chain.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [45]
Air [31]
Chemicals [46]
Climate Change [4]
Economy & Business [7]
Energy & Fuel [32]
Environmental Health [33]
Environmental Justice [47]
Environmental Politics [8]
Government [9]
Natural Resources [18]
Policy [12]
Pollution [34]
Science [19]
Technology [48]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [49]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [50]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [51]
International [38]
Europe [39]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about ‘Green’ Steel: Five Things To Know About the U.S. Transition [44]
‘Exvangelicals’ Memoir Explores Faith-Science Gap [52]

With her new memoir, “The Exvangelicals,” NPR correspondent Sarah McCammon, a one-time, award-winning environmental reporter, may not have written a book directly about environmental issues. Instead, writes BookShelf editor Tom Henry, her highly personal story about religion, science and betrayal offers an important, if indirect, message to those on the environment beat seeking to understand the faith community. Read his review.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [53]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [10]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [54]
Science [19]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
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New PFAS Drinking Water Rule Promises Local Stories [55]

New federal regulations governing a group of “forever chemicals” under the Safe Drinking Water Act — a rule years in the making — have important implications for local drinking water supplies and, per the latest TipSheet, local environment reporting. A look at the problem with PFAS, the complicated route to its regulation and more than a dozen story ideas and reporting resources.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [24]
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals [46]
Consumer [42]
Government [9]
Health [43]
Journalism & Media [10]
Laws & Regulations [28]
Policy [12]
Pollution [34]
Water & Oceans [20]
Region:
National (U.S.) [13]
Visibility:
Public [14]
- Read more about New PFAS Drinking Water Rule Promises Local Stories [55]

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