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

October 6, 2010

Interior Cedes to Critics on Scientific Integrity

The revised policy puts the onus on political appointees as well as scientists, declares a presumption of openness in public access to scientific information generated at the agency, and affirms the right of scientific employees to talk to news media and investigative agencies.

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Spill Panel Complains Transocean Bars Access to Documents, Witness

The owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded, resulting in the April 2010 Gulf oil spill disaster, is refusing to provide safety documents or a spokesperson to testify to a federal investigative panel.

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Canada Quashing Climate Science: Critics

The press policy documents, obtained by Margaret Munro of Postmedia News, reveal scientists must get permission to talk to the press — and climate science and oil sands are off limits. Any statements on those topics must be approved by political appointees at the ministerial level.

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Cell-Phone Industry Seeks To Silence Right-to-Know Demands

The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association has filed suit against San Francisco in response to a right-to-know ordinance it passed guaranteeing consumers information about how much electromagnetic radiation their cell phones were exposing them to.

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September 22, 2010

Federal Cops to Gulf Journos: Don't Dig, It's Illegal

Watch the video: Pensacola TV reporter Dan Thomas is accosted by USFWS and NPS after finding layers of crude oil (with his toy shovel) less than a foot below the surface — giving the lie to BP and government claims that beaches had been cleaned.

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More Resources for Digging Into the Gulf Spill Story

Despite the new, apparently unwritten law against digging journalistically into the impacts of the spill, there are information resources here that may help you dig into other oil/environment stories as well.

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Court: BLM Must Release Names of Grazing Permit Holders

The decision could eventually force disclosure for holders of some 18,000 permits across 160 million acres in the West.

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TSA Likens Photographers to Terrorists

The Transportation Security Administration's recent poster shows a photographer in a hoodie taking pictures at an airport and urging people to call the cops if they saw such a thing.

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Government Secrecy Over Pipeline Location, Regulatory Neglect Challenged

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration withholds data about pipeline condition and inspections, meaning pipeline explosions caused by preventable and fixable corrosion are far more likely to kill Americans than any caused by terrorists.

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September 8, 2010

Where's BP's Blowout Preventer? Justice Department Won't Say

The FBI's effort to inspire confidence by trying to hide the 300-ton, five-story-high, object of national interest might have backfired.

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The SEJ WatchDog Alert

Latest WatchDog Alert Items

October 6, 2010

Interior Cedes to Critics on Scientific Integrity

Spill Panel Complains Transocean Bars Access to Documents, Witness

Canada Quashing Climate Science: Critics

Cell-Phone Industry Seeks To Silence Right-to-Know Demands

September 22, 2010

Federal Cops to Gulf Journos: Don't Dig, It's Illegal

More Resources for Digging Into the Gulf Spill Story

Court: BLM Must Release Names of Grazing Permit Holders

TSA Likens Photographers to Terrorists

Government Secrecy Over Pipeline Location, Regulatory Neglect Challenged

September 8, 2010

Where's BP's Blowout Preventer? Justice Department Won't Say

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