Should a federal agency be able to tell a science reporter whom they can — and can't — interview? The issue exploded in September with publication of a deeply reported piece on the "close-hold embargo" by Scientific American. Photo: © Clipart.com.
"In Hollywood, films like “Deepwater Horizon” are not supposed to exist."
"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been arm-twisting journalists into relinquishing their reportorial independence, our investigation reveals. Other institutions are following suit".
"The Miami Herald filed suit Friday against Miami-Dade County seeking to force the county to disclose records showing the locations where mosquitoes carrying the Zika virus have been trapped."
"Four of the country's largest chemical companies have been accused of selling billions of dollars worth of harmful isocyanate chemicals but intentionally concealing their dangers to consumers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the past several decades."
"A federal court on Friday faulted U.S. EPA for releasing hundreds of pages of documents containing personal information of owners of livestock operations."
The Society of Environmental Journalists joined some 40 other journalism groups in a letter urging the White House to do more on improving the transparency of federal agencies. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest (pictured) had recently claimed President Obama had a good record on transparency in an August 30 letter to the New York Times. But journalism and open-government groups said plenty of problems remained — particularly press office interference with journalists' access to agency officials. See this WatchDog story.
"A reporter from Democracy Now! who documented security personnel with guard dogs working for Dakota Access Pipeline is facing criminal trespassing charges in Morton County."
For the latest installment of Between the Lines, an author Q & A, SEJournal book editor Tom Henry interviewed award-winning children’s nature book author Lynne Cherry, best known for“The Great Kapok Tree,” which sold more than a million copies and became a staple in elementary schools. Cherry speaks about her career, as well as her longstanding collaboration with the late Gary Braasch, a renowned photojournalist and past SEJ member who passed away March 7.
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