Publication Items

Environmental Digital Storytelling — A Best-in-Show Sampler [1]

As part of its periodic survey of the compelling work by digital journalists using data and multimedia, Reporter’s Toolbox looks at some favorite projects in the last year or so. On the list are granular maps and spinning globes, compelling photo essays and clickable storytelling. But the heart of the best digital journalism, Toolbox reminds us, is that it matters. And these do.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Chemicals [4]
Climate Change [5]
Diversity [6]
Environmental Justice [7]
Fish & Fisheries [8]
Food [9]
Health [10]
Infrastructure [11]
Journalism & Media [12]
Natural Resources [13]
People & Population [14]
Pollution [15]
Water & Oceans [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [18]
International [19]
Canada [20]
Africa [21]
Asia [22]
Europe [23]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about Environmental Digital Storytelling — A Best-in-Show Sampler [1]
Recycled Sewage Water — Overcoming the ‘Yuck Factor’ [25]

Toilet-to-tap water jokes aside, the technology and economics of turning sewage into potable drinking water is increasingly seen as a remedy for water-stressed communities. The new BookShelf review of “Purified: How Recycled Sewage is Transforming Our Water,” explains how water shortages, climate change, unsustainable growth and other factors have led some communities, most recently Los Angeles, to consider going “all in” on purified wastewater.

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [26]
Topics on the Beat:
Infrastructure [11]
Policy [27]
Science [28]
Technology [29]
Waste [30]
Water & Oceans [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
California [31]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [32]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [33]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [34]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about Recycled Sewage Water — Overcoming the ‘Yuck Factor’ [25]
U.S. Offshore Wind May Not Stay Becalmed for Long [35]

While the first offshore wind turbine started sending power into the U.S. grid just last month, and the renewable power source has enthusiastic support from the Biden administration, the industry has been slowed by politics, high interest rates and supply chain problems. But the latest Issue Backgrounder explores why offshore wind can be expected to succeed.

SEJ Publication Types:
Backgrounders [36]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Economy & Business [37]
Energy & Fuel [38]
Environmental Health [39]
Environmental Politics [40]
Fish & Fisheries [8]
Government [41]
Infrastructure [11]
Laws & Regulations [42]
Natural Resources [13]
Policy [27]
Water & Oceans [16]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Northeast (CT MA ME NH NJ NY RI VT) [18]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about U.S. Offshore Wind May Not Stay Becalmed for Long [35]
Want To Protect Your Sources? It Helps To Know the Law [43]

With climate-related legal disputes playing out worldwide, we could see more environmental journalists facing subpoenas to access their newsgathering materials and reveal their sources. Case in point: the legal battle embroiling a news nonprofit over its coverage of pipeline protests. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press’ Chris Young looks at shield laws and resources to help deal with legal threats to your journalistic integrity.

SEJ Publication Types:
Features [44]
Topics on the Beat:
Activism [45]
Energy & Fuel [38]
Government [41]
Journalism & Media [12]
Laws & Regulations [42]
Natural Resources [13]
Policy [27]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Alaska and Hawaii [46]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [32]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [47]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about Want To Protect Your Sources? It Helps To Know the Law [43]
Climate Health Impacts Can Multiply Local Story Possibilities [48]

The connection between global warming and human health is worrying many public health experts, as some climate change-induced ecological shifts have worsened the potential spread of infectious diseases, including in North America. The latest TipSheet takes a closer look at a half-dozen climate-related diseases that environmental journalists might watch for local and regional stories. Plus, resources to report on the issue.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [49]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Health [10]
People & Population [14]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
International [19]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about Climate Health Impacts Can Multiply Local Story Possibilities [48]
Self-Censorship Is Still Hiding in the Closet [50]

While government censorship may worry journalists, so should self-censorship. That’s the warning in this month’s WatchDog Opinion, whether self-censorship’s “chilling effect” is driven by fears of attack, legal or physical, or by distortions in what it means to be fair, a “bothsidesism” usually pushed by one-sided players. But the bottom line, the column argues, is that when the truth is knowable and known, journalists owe it to their audiences to make the call.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog [51]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
International [19]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about Self-Censorship Is Still Hiding in the Closet [50]
Student Journalists Show the Way on Data With Methane Flaring Project [52]

The global warming gas methane was much in the news at the start of the just-ended COP28 climate meeting, with a final Biden administration rule to trim releases by the fossil fuel industry. But when it comes to good journalism on the problem, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox spotlights the work of a team of journalism students who used sophisticated satellite data to tell the story of underreported methane flaring at drilling sites.

SEJ Publication Types:
Reporters Toolbox [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Air [53]
Climate Change [5]
Energy & Fuel [38]
Journalism & Media [12]
Pollution [15]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [54]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [47]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [33]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [34]
International [19]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about Student Journalists Show the Way on Data With Methane Flaring Project [52]
Capturing the Invisible — Photographing Extreme Heat Waves [55]

If extreme heat seems an unusual subject for December, the new EJ InSight column reminds us that among the natural disasters sweeping 2023 were waves of devastating global highs. Yet telling that story visually is an enormous challenge, acknowledges former LA Times photo editor Silvia Rázgová, who shares insights into how to portray the seriousness of extreme heat, getting beyond the cliches and connecting (safely) with its dangerous reality.

SEJ Publication Types:
EJ InSight [56]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [5]
Disasters [57]
Environmental Justice [7]
Health [10]
Journalism & Media [12]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
California [31]
SE (AL AR FL GA KY LA MS NC PR SC TN) [33]
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX) [34]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about Capturing the Invisible — Photographing Extreme Heat Waves [55]
Reporter Unravels Complex Dynamic Between Climate Change and Nature [58]

Nature-based climate solutions have become a much-talked-of topic, one that journalist Gabriel Popkin turned into a loose beat through which to explore the complicated realities beyond some easy narratives. The resulting stories were published widely to high praise, and in the latest Inside Story Q&A, Popkin spoke about his efforts and offered up five critical factors for producing original, impactful journalism.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story [59]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [3]
Climate Change [5]
Economy & Business [37]
Energy & Fuel [38]
Environmental Health [39]
Environmental Justice [7]
Environmental Studies [60]
Forests [61]
Journalism & Media [12]
Natural Resources [13]
Planning & Growth [62]
Policy [27]
Science [28]
Technology [29]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [63]
International [19]
Europe [23]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about Reporter Unravels Complex Dynamic Between Climate Change and Nature [58]
How the Simple Backyard Bird Feeder Can Lift Local Environment Reporting [64]

If a remedy for global environmental woes is needed, look no farther than the feathered creatures that flit colorfully about the local winter landscape, drawn by feeders multiplied by the lockdown. The new TipSheet explores how backyard birding offers opportunities for how-to or why-to stories that can offer deeper ecological insights. Ten story ideas and a half-dozen resources to get you started.

SEJ Publication Types:
TipSheet [49]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [12]
Wildlife [65]
Region:
National (U.S.) [17]
International [19]
Canada [20]
Visibility:
Public [24]
- Read more about How the Simple Backyard Bird Feeder Can Lift Local Environment Reporting [64]

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