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

June 22, 2016

Leaked: New Secret CRS Explainers for the Environment-Energy Beat

Here are some recent Congressional Research Service reports relevant to the environment and energy beat, thanks to the Federation of American Scientists' Government Secrecy Project.

VIEW ARTICLE

June 8, 2016

What Will Next President Do For (or Against) Freedom of Information?

Some commenters say Donald Trump has declared "war on the press." But Hillary Clinton has herself given little access to the news media during the campaign so far. Worse yet, parts of the news media seem to be making the problem worse, by not advocating for press freedom and open information. Profits and ratings have trumped the First Amendment.

VIEW ARTICLE
Read the Secret TTIP Trade Treaty Here

The draft Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) treaty is still being kept secret from the hundreds of millions of people whom it will affect. It matters for environmental journalists as trade treaties often set up mechanisms for corporations to negate the environmental laws of signatory countries. Image: WikiLeaks.

VIEW ARTICLE
Federal Agencies Pose Information Roadblocks to Health Journalists

Environmental journalists are not alone in their frustrations with the federal officials who are supposed to help journalists get information about what government is doing. Now the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) has surveyed its members and found the federal government often blocks access to information that health care journalists seek.

VIEW ARTICLE
Grassley Nixes FOIA Exemption for Ag Checkoff Panels

Senator Charles Grassley's opinion matters because he chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over FOIA. He also sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee.

VIEW ARTICLE
LWCF Grants Database a Boon for Environmental Reporters

The Land and Water Conservation Fund, which takes money the feds get from offshore drilling and parcels it out to federal, state and local agencies for parks and conservation land, is a goldmine for environmental stories by enterprising reporters. And now InvestigateWest, a non-profit watchdog journalism outlet, has made LWCF sleuthing easier by compiling an easy-to-use database of LWCF grants made between 1965 and 2011.

VIEW ARTICLE

May 25, 2016

Public Land Photo-Fee Provisions Buried in Pending Energy Legislation

The Senate-passed bill contains an explicit exemption from permits and fees for newsgathering. A House energy bill, now going to conference to be reconciled with the Senate bill, contains no newsgathering exemption. But that's not the end of the story. Image courtesy of NPS.

VIEW ARTICLE
Green Climate Fund Disclosure Policy Raises Issues

The multibillion-dollar Green Climate Fund, established after the 2009 Copenhagen climate talks to help developing countries adapt, offers many kinds of news to environmental reporters. So controversies around the fund's information disclosure policies are important.

VIEW ARTICLE
FOIA Turns 50 July 4; Can It Be Fixed?

Open government groups have started a 50-day countdown to the law's 50th anniversary. It remains to be seen whether Congress can send President Obama a fix-FOIA bill by that date. Image: © Clipart.com.

VIEW ARTICLE
Early Departure of FOIA Ombud Stirs Unresolved Concerns

Jim Holzer, head of the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS), a post often called the FOIA Ombudsman, has decided to step down after less than a year on the job. Some Freedom of Information Act advocates are seeing this as a discouraging sign.

VIEW ARTICLE

The SEJ WatchDog Alert

Latest WatchDog Alert Items

June 22, 2016

Leaked: New Secret CRS Explainers for the Environment-Energy Beat

June 8, 2016

What Will Next President Do For (or Against) Freedom of Information?

Read the Secret TTIP Trade Treaty Here

Federal Agencies Pose Information Roadblocks to Health Journalists

Grassley Nixes FOIA Exemption for Ag Checkoff Panels

LWCF Grants Database a Boon for Environmental Reporters

May 25, 2016

Public Land Photo-Fee Provisions Buried in Pending Energy Legislation

Green Climate Fund Disclosure Policy Raises Issues

FOIA Turns 50 July 4; Can It Be Fixed?

Early Departure of FOIA Ombud Stirs Unresolved Concerns

Pages

Search Publications

Browse Publications

Subscriptions