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

February 13, 2013

Does New Interior Draft Put Fracking Data Under Industry Thumb?

A leaked draft of the replacement rule suggested Interior would leave handling of fracking data to the industry-run "FracFocus" project, which has come under criticism by environmental and watchdog groups for being hard to use and incomplete.

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January 30, 2013

TRI National Analysis Dangles Leads for Investigative Stories

EPA had already released preliminary TRI data for the latest available year (2011), but its National Analysis makes for easier reporting as data is collated by state. It also offers analyses by industry sector and of toxics handling by collating the parent companies of each facility nationwide.

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Sunshine Week, March 10-16, Shines Flashlight on Dark Corners of Government

Sunshine Week is a great opportunity for journalists to do the most important part of the job: spotlighting the very news that government officials are uncomfortable about disclosing. The website includes examples of good freedom-of-information stories, permission-free cartoons, logos and icons, and many all-purpose story ideas.

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Group Sues California over Enforcement of Fracking Disclosure

The Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity filed suit in Alameda County Superior Court charging that the California Department of Conservation's Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources was not following the state's own law.

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Climate Assessment Revives Memories of White House Science Suppression

The release this month of the draft National Climate Assessment garnered many headlines. But little notice went to the fact that it was released at all. Earlier versions of this assessment of climate change's impacts on the U.S. were suppressed — and even "unpublished". But a few voices did take note of the Assessment's release.

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Children's Health Report Released after Reporter Exposes OMB Blockade

Sunlight cures many ills. A month after watchdog Sheila Kaplan exposed a White House blackout of an EPA report on children's environmental health, the Obama administration uncorked it. Of course, the timing may have had something to do with the election as well; EPA announced its publication January 25, just a few days after the inauguration.

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January 16, 2013

Political Appointees Bared To Journos in Digital "Plum Book"

The Plum Book, a list of most major federal political appointments that is published every four years, has long been a starting point for juicy stories — but hard to use because it was only published in print. Now it has been digitized. That makes it grist for data journalists.

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Open-Access Science Publishing: Good for Journalists, and Good for Public

The suicide earlier this month of open-access activist Aaron Swartz brings again to the fore the ongoing difficulty journalists have accessing published scientific studies that bear on key current and future policy issues. Photo of Swartz, credit Flickr/peretzp.

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J-Groups Urge Supreme Court To Toss Va. Ban on Out-of-State FOIA Requesters

Should state freedom-of-information laws disqualify people or organizations from out of state from getting government records? Led by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, some 53 news media groups have urged the US Supreme Court to say no.

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January 2, 2013

EPA Withdraws Rule on Reporting Cadmium Health Studies

EPA had on December 3, 2012, published a final rule requiring reporting of unpublished cadmium-related health and safety studies by manufacturers and importers. This rule prompted industry objections, resulting in EPA's withdrawal of the rule less than 2 weeks later.

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The SEJ WatchDog Alert

Latest WatchDog Alert Items

February 13, 2013

Does New Interior Draft Put Fracking Data Under Industry Thumb?

January 30, 2013

TRI National Analysis Dangles Leads for Investigative Stories

Sunshine Week, March 10-16, Shines Flashlight on Dark Corners of Government

Group Sues California over Enforcement of Fracking Disclosure

Climate Assessment Revives Memories of White House Science Suppression

Children's Health Report Released after Reporter Exposes OMB Blockade

January 16, 2013

Political Appointees Bared To Journos in Digital "Plum Book"

Open-Access Science Publishing: Good for Journalists, and Good for Public

J-Groups Urge Supreme Court To Toss Va. Ban on Out-of-State FOIA Requesters

January 2, 2013

EPA Withdraws Rule on Reporting Cadmium Health Studies

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