"“I’ve really never seen anything like this”: Reporters and news photographers describe being roughed up, arrested and shot with projectiles while covering demonstrations across the country."
Hazardous waste and floodwaters don’t typically mix well together. So when a Michigan dam recently burst, and flooded not just the local community, but also threatened a nearby Superfund site, it prompted Reporter’s Toolbox to look at how environmental journalists could track similar threats in their areas, especially as climate change raises the risks of similar disasters.
To cover the wide range of challenges affecting his Mountain State, a small market beat reporter won plaudits first by becoming a close student of the issues and then boiling them down to the basics for his audience. Inside Story’s Q&A explores the resulting award-winning journalism on topics like water law and public lands, groundwater pollution and protected species.
"The legislation could inflict harsh new punishments on Black protesters opposing a massive complex of plastics plants on what are likely slave burial grounds."
There have been multiple incidents over the last few days of police spraying tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets at journalists covering demonstrations and unrest sparked by the death of George Floyd, who died in police custody in Minneapolis last week. These assaults represent an attack on the freedoms to which all Americans are entitled under the U.S. Constitution. SEJ calls on all law enforcement officers and agencies to respect journalists’ First Amendment right to cover the demonstrations as well as police conduct. The people have a right to know, more than ever before, during this critical time.
See SEJ's growing list of resources, articles, webinars and funding opportunities to keep yourself safe while reporting.
"President Donald Trump suggested to a news reporter they were being "politically correct" for wearing a face mask during a press conference at the Rose Garden of the White House on Tuesday afternoon."
Unheeded warnings are the hallmark of many disasters. And with coronavirus still hobbling the nation, communities and journalists must now watch for all the ways COVID-19 could make even the most familiar hazards far worse. Prepare with this extensive Backgrounder, which touches on issues around evacuations and emergency readiness when facing storms, fires, toxic releases and more.
As the United States restarts fitfully following the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, one source of controversy — and of numerous local or regional environmental stories — is what to do at the nation’s park system. The latest TipSheet explains why public access to these national treasures is so contentious, then provides numerous story ideas and reporting resources.
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