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Unearthing Unpublished Reports to Congress from Federal Agencies: The Birth of a New Journalism Research Technique [1]

[1]

Attorney and journalist Michael Ravnitzky offers a strategy for accessing unpublished reports: direct a public records request to agencies of interest for all reports not posted on the agency's website, within a specific time frame and not limited by topic.

Useful Links [2]
Visibility: 
Public [3]
Government [4]
Journalism & Media [5]

EPA Releases Bush-Suppressed Endangerment Finding [6]

Persistence pays off for Greenwire reporter Darren Samuelsohn who filed his first Freedom of Information Act request for it back in July 2008, re-filed it in January 2009 at the start of the Obama administration, and finally received it October 13, 2009.

SEJ Publication Types: 
WatchDog TipSheet [7]
Topics on the Beat: 
Government [4]
Journalism & Media [5]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [8]
Visibility: 
Public [3]

"Environmental Journalism Program Halted" [9]

"Columbia University’s dual masters program in environmental journalism has been suspended, according to the school’s Web site ...." The reason: "the current weakness in the job market for environmental journalists,"

Journalism & Media [5]
Public [3]
National (U.S.) [8]
Source: NYTimes [10], 10/21/2009

"Cable Channel Will Get New Wildlife Focus" [11]

"Fox Cable Networks and the National Geographic Channel announced Thursday that they would start a new program service that would focus on natural history and wildlife."
Journalism & Media [5]
Public [3]
International [12]
Source: NYTimes [13], 10/16/2009

"A Look Into Coal Country" [14]

"A new documentary film sets out to show how mining for coal affects the people who live in Coal Country."
Journalism & Media [5]
Public [3]
National (U.S.) [8]
Source: Environment Report [15], 10/09/2009

Do E-Journalists Have a "Document Cloud" in Their Future? [16]

An online compendium of key source documents behind all the big stories seems on its way for future reference from ProPublica, thanks to a Knight News Challenge $719,500 grant.
SEJ Publication Types: 
WatchDog TipSheet [7]
Topics on the Beat: 
Journalism & Media [5]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [8]
Visibility: 
Public [3]

Sen. Schumer Pushes Back Against WH Effort To Weaken Shield Law [17]

A federal law protecting reporters who maintain the confidentiality of their sources is currently stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee as Obama breaks campaign promise.
SEJ Publication Types: 
WatchDog TipSheet [7]
Topics on the Beat: 
Laws & Regulations [18]
Government [4]
Journalism & Media [5]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [8]
Visibility: 
Public [3]

"Dogfighting Case Gets Its Day In Court" [19]

The Supreme court will hear a major free speech case today that could restrict how environmental journalists do their jobs.
Journalism & Media [5]
Public [3]
National (U.S.) [8]
Source: NPR [20], 10/06/2009

Senate Dents Shield Law for Reporters [21]

A de facto filibuster by several Republicans, plus quibbling by some Democrats, caused a long-awaited markup of bill S 448 to end with no action.
SEJ Publication Types: 
WatchDog TipSheet [7]
Topics on the Beat: 
Laws & Regulations [18]
Government [4]
Journalism & Media [5]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [8]
Visibility: 
Public [3]

Tapping the "Fishbowl" — Is EPA Doing Some Things Right on FOI? [22]

OMB Watch, a fierce FOI advocacy group, says EPA has been working hard to push hitherto restricted data out to the public, citing the earliest-ever release of TRI data, monitoring data on atrazine in water, and more.
SEJ Publication Types: 
WatchDog TipSheet [7]
Topics on the Beat: 
Government [4]
Journalism & Media [5]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [8]
Visibility: 
Public [3]

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Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/library/government/unearthing-unpublished-reports-congress-federal-agencies-the-birth-a-new-journali [2] https://www.sej.org/category/library/useful-links [3] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/81 [4] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/government [5] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media [6] https://www.sej.org/publications/watchdog-tipsheet/epa-releases-bush-suppressed-endangerment-finding [7] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication/watchdog-tipsheet [8] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national [9] https://www.sej.org/headlines/environmental-journalism-program-halted [10] http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/environmental-journalism-program-halted/ [11] https://www.sej.org/headlines/cable-channel-will-get-new-wildlife-focus [12] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international [13] http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/business/media/16fox.html?ref=earth [14] https://www.sej.org/headlines/a-look-into-coal-country-0 [15] http://www.environmentreport.org/story.php?story_id=4691 [16] https://www.sej.org/publications/watchdog-tipsheet/do-e-journalists-have-a-document-cloud-their-future [17] https://www.sej.org/publications/watchdog-tipsheet/sen-schumer-pushes-back-against-wh-effort-to-weaken-shield-law [18] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/laws [19] https://www.sej.org/headlines/dogfighting-case-gets-its-day-in-court [20] http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113515573 [21] https://www.sej.org/publications/watchdog-tipsheet/senate-dents-shield-law-reporters [22] https://www.sej.org/publications/government/tapping-fishbowl-%E2%80%94-is-epa-doing-some-things-right-foi [23] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media?page=559 [24] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media?page=556 [25] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media?page=557 [26] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media?page=558 [27] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media?page=561 [28] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media?page=562 [29] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media?page=563 [30] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media?page=564 [31] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media?page=584