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 11, 2015

Journalism Groups Oppose Photo Fees and Permits in Va. Local Parks

A coalition of journalism and photography groups, including SEJ, objected to requirements for permits and fees for photography in the public parks of Fairfax County, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, DC. In a February 4, 2015, letter to the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA), the 14 groups asked the agency to revise its rules to protect photojournalists' First Amendment rights.

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January 28, 2015

With Environmental Rules at Stake, Dark Money Set To Flood 2016 U.S. Elections

Are megabucks from fossil fuels and other big industries corrupting the election of federal government officials? The U.S. public has little chance of knowing under current rules that are bringing "dark money" to ascendancy in American politics.

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Latest EPA Release of Toxics Data Offers Leads to Environmental Stories

The U.S. EPA has unveiled analysis of its most recent Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data (for 2013). The TRI provides a useful starting point for finding not only local and regional hotspots, but also significant trends.

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Canadian Public Not Allowed To Know Kinder Morgan Pipeline Emergency Plan

The expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline in Canada by the multibillion-dollar Houston firm Kinder Morgan is, to say the least, controversial. So it did not help instill public confidence when Canada's National Energy Board on Jan 16, 2015, ruled that Kinder Morgan did not have to make public its emergency response plans for spills and fires.

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Local Authority Slaps Permits, Fees on Photography in Parks

Professional photojournalists may again be facing unconstitutional requirements for permits to work in public parks — this time at the county level in a well-heeled District of Columbia suburb. But Virginia's Fairfax County Park Authority is encountering pushback as they conduct an annual review of their fee policies at various park units.

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January 14, 2015

Waiting for Ansel Adams: Will 114th Congress Legalize Park Photography?

You may have read in recent WatchDogs about controversial federal laws and rules that could restrict photojournalism in federal parks, forests, and rangelands. Now comes the "Ansel Adams bill" that would make it legal to do an activity that is Constitutionally protected. Only someone has to introduce the bill. Photo: Ansel Adams, by J. Malcolm Greany.

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Arrest of Four Near Hog Farm Tests Utah's "Ag Gag" Law

One way to deal with bad press is to make it illegal. Exposés of inhumane conditions at feedlots and slaughterhouses are being made illegal by state legislatures that pass "ag gag" laws. Now a case in Utah is challenging whether industrial agriculture's claims of secrecy trump the eating public's right to know. Image: Sows in 7'x2' Smithfield Foods gestation crates. By Humane Society of the US [CC], 2010.

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Groups Sue EPA for Data on Toxic Fracking Chemicals

The industry got Congress in 2005 to block the public from knowing about these chemicals, which can end up in people's drinking water. But the enviro groups, led by the Environmental Integrity Project, want to use a different law to help unlock the data.

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More Secret Reports from Congressional Research Service

Nobody has ever explained why Congress refuses to release the tax-funded explainers produced by the Congressional Research Service. They are a gold standard for journalists needing quick background. Here are some recent CRS reports relevant to environmental journalists, helpfully released by the Federation of American Scientists.

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December 17, 2014

FOIA Reform Is Dead; Long Live FOIA Reform

Legislation to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act, a key journalist's tool, died in the final hours of the do-nothing 113th Congress — but hopes remain that the coming 114th Congress could pass the bipartisan package. The bill's Senate passage was delayed by a "hold" placed on it by retiring Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), whose reasons were not clearly explained but were apparently due to banking interests' fears.

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The SEJ WatchDog Alert

Latest WatchDog Alert Items

February 11, 2015

Journalism Groups Oppose Photo Fees and Permits in Va. Local Parks

January 28, 2015

With Environmental Rules at Stake, Dark Money Set To Flood 2016 U.S. Elections

Latest EPA Release of Toxics Data Offers Leads to Environmental Stories

Canadian Public Not Allowed To Know Kinder Morgan Pipeline Emergency Plan

Local Authority Slaps Permits, Fees on Photography in Parks

January 14, 2015

Waiting for Ansel Adams: Will 114th Congress Legalize Park Photography?

Arrest of Four Near Hog Farm Tests Utah's "Ag Gag" Law

Groups Sue EPA for Data on Toxic Fracking Chemicals

More Secret Reports from Congressional Research Service

December 17, 2014

FOIA Reform Is Dead; Long Live FOIA Reform

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