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The SEJ WatchDog Alert

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.

WatchDog was compiled, edited and written by Joseph A. Davis, who directs the WatchDog Project, an activity of SEJ's Freedom of Information Task Force that reports on secrecy trends and supports reporters' efforts to make better use of FOIA.

Topics on the Beat: 
Journalism & Media
Public

Latest WatchDog Alert Items

March 5, 2014

  • House Passes Bipartisan FOIA Improvement Bill

    Don't polish your glasses — you read it right. Bipartisan. By a vote of 410-0. The bill makes several modest improvements in the Freedom of Information Act; it should strengthen the presumption in favor of disclosure of government records, authorize a central tracking system for FOIA requests and strengthen the role of the Office of Government Information Services.

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  • Many Powerful, Free PDF Scraping Tools Available for Data Journos

    We all know it. Some agencies and organizations publish data in PDF format to keep journalists and the public from using the raw data. Take heart. Help is on the way with one easy software tool — Tabula.

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  • Sunshine Week Starts March 16. Turn Over Some Rocks.

    Journalism and open-government groups will mount a host of special projects and forums March 16-22, 2014, to pry loose the secrets of a government that is supposed to be accountable to the public. Here are some key links and events.

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  • More CRS Reports on Environment/Energy Leaked by Unknown Source

    Congress funds and orders up a great array of non-partisan expert explainers on the issues of the day via the Congressional Research Service. Unfortunately, Congress does not think the voting public can handle the truth, and keeps the reports secret. We thank the anonymous leakers who give them to the Project on Government Secrecy.

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February 19, 2014

  • Appeals Court Radically Expands FOIA 'Safety' Exemption

    A federal appeals court created a sweeping and dangerous precedent January 22, 2014, when it ruled the U.S. public had no right to know whether it is endangered by failures of federal dam safety agencies to do their jobs. If the ruling stands, federal agencies could withhold from disclosure almost any information showing federal failure to protect the public from infrastructure dangers.

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  • Groups Urge TRI Reporting on Oil and Gas Extraction

    The oil and gas industry is not currently required to report toxic emissions from certain smaller operations — such as wells — because they do not fit EPA's definition of a TRI "facility." Yet 14 groups, led by the Environmental Integrity Project, have compiled and released data showing that oil and gas extraction facilities in just six states emitted ~8.5 million tons of toxic chemicals yearly.

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  • Legal Battle Looms on Drone Newsgathering

    Will the Federal Aviation Administration make drone journalism illegal? The first answer is likely to come soon. Connecticut journalist Pedro Rivera filed suit February 18, 2014, against Hartford police officers who he said violated his First Amendment rights to gather news.

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  • More Data Resources for Reporting on Energy

    A new USGS database gives you downloadable information on some 47,000 wind turbines in the United States. This allows environmental journalists to come up with all kinds of local, regional, or national stories about wind energy and its impacts.

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February 5, 2014

  • Photog Claims Damages from CalTrans, CHP for Arrest, False Report

    The California Highway Patrol lied in reports when it violated the First Amendment rights of news photographer Steve Eberhard of the Willitts News by illegally arresting him to intimidate newsgatherers at a protest site in July 2013, Eberhard says in a legal claim against CHP and Caltrans.

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  • EWG Database Helps Public, Journos Find Drinking Water Threats

    While EPA and local utilities make much data available online, the Environmental Working Group has compiled a tap water database that is much easier to use. It gathers data from the states as well as from EPA, and compiles city-by-city rankings of the best and worst drinking water quality. It also explains the health significance of contaminants and lists contaminants not regulated by EPA.

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