"At a time when the nation is desperate for authoritative information about the coronavirus pandemic, the country's foremost agency for fighting infectious disease outbreaks has gone conspicuously silent."
SEJ has compiled articles, resources, funding opportunities and events to aid in your reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the second of a two-part return from hiatus recast as an opinion column from SEJournal Online’s Joseph A. Davis, WatchDog looks at freedom of information developments at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Interior. Plus, check out part one for more on the column relaunch and for background on open-information activities by the Society of Environmental Journalists, as well as a look at the lack of government openness around coronavirus.
“Scared to cautiously optimistic” is how journalism educators are responding to the rapid ramp-up to remote learning in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, per the latest EJ Academy. Choosing between teaching live or “on tape,” whether to stick with existing curricula halfway through the term or tear it up to cover the contagion, and staying connected to students.
The momentous COVID-19 outbreak has many, many reporting angles — environment and energy stories certainly among them. Our latest Issue Backgrounder has an extensive rundown on possible ways in for environment and energy reporters, including everything from respiratory disease and air pollution to science denial and climate change, and more. Plus, pending passage of a massive congressional aid package. And an earlier TipSheet on how journalists can prepare for public health emergencies.
"The Bureau of Land Management missed a key deadline in an ongoing lawsuit over Freedom of Information Act requests due to the agency's response to the COVID-19 outbreaks."
The WatchDog Alert (formerly WatchDog TipSheet from 2008-2019) was a regular source of story ideas, articles, updates, events and other information with a focus on freedom-of-information issues of concern to environmental journalists in both the United States and Canada.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has assembled some information and guidelines for journalists on FOI, First Amendment and open-government issues coming up as a result of the coronavirus emergency.
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