Publication Items

As a critical Election Day approaches, WatchDog Opinion considers how journalism might benefit from a shift in congressional power — whether through control over appropriations, oversight and confirmations, or through passage of press freedom bills. But much remains unknown, and other things are unlikely to change, like the presidential animus toward the press. A look at some of the possibilities.

As a veteran of reporting on the marine environment, David Helvarg is encouraged by recent improvements in the quality of ocean journalism, but sees a pressing need for more hands on deck. Offering inspiration from his own career, he notes that the world’s rapidly changing oceans hold an abundance of stories and urges others to dive in and explore them.

TV journalist Jacob Soboroff grew up in Pacific Palisades, so when the Los Angeles neighborhood was swept by wildfires in 2024, he reported from familiar sites as they burned. He writes about the experience in “Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires and America’s New Age of Disaster,” whose strength BookShelf contributor Jennifer Weeks says is its street-level descriptions of chasing the fast-developing story. Read her review.

An investigative journalism pair shone a light on an important but rarely reported subject with huge environmental consequences: the illegal trafficking of massive quantities of natural sand from African countries. Read an interview with Inside Story about their award-winning reporting and learn what surprised them most and how they overcame the story’s unique challenges.