With SEJ currently celebrating its 25th anniversary year, we asked some of the society’s founders — among them luminaries in the environmental journalism profession — to share their thoughts on what the organization has meant to the field, where SEJ is going next and what they see as the big environmental stories of our time. Here are their insights.
"Until fairly recently, Jonathan Lundgren enjoyed a stellar career as a government scientist. An entomologist who studies how agrichemicals affect the ecology of farm fields, he has published nearly 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals .... But recently, things have changed. His work has 'triggered an official campaign of harassment, hindrance, and retaliation' from his superiors, Lundgren alleged in an official complaint filed with USDA scientific integrity authorities last year."
The University of Missouri "safe space" incident on Nov 9, 2015 rekindled questions and debate about journalists' First Amendment right of access to spaces. One of the best practical guides to law on this issue is the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press publication, "A Reporter's Field Guide."
"A non-profit funded by the Coca-Cola Co. to combat obesity is disbanding following revelations about the beverage maker’s involvement with the group."
"The dean of Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism published a letter on Tuesday strongly disputing accusations by Exxon Mobil that journalists from the school had produced inaccurate and misleading articles about the company’s knowledge of the risks of climate change."
"ExxonMobil is hurling ethics accusations against a team of Columbia University journalists whose reporting helped stoke calls for probes into whether the company deliberately misled the public about climate change."
"Visiting Malaysia in November, Obama said he would raise concerns about government transparency and press freedom in his meeting with Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is embroiled in a financial scandal. At a town hall meeting, Obama spoke up for the press being 'able to report on what is happening in current affairs,' and for 'transparency and accountability.' Back home, though, Obama isn’t practicing what he preaches."
"Climate change has long been a highly polarizing topic in the United States, with Americans lining up on opposite sides depending on their politics and worldview. Now a scientific study sheds new light on the role played by corporate money in creating that divide."
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