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The WatchDog has been published by the Society of Environmental Journalists for nearly two decades, relentlessly alerting journalists of threats to their ability to gather information and do their jobs. In 2020, SEJournal relaunched the WatchDog in a new form — as a regularly published opinion column advocating open information in a personal voice. The “voice” of the WatchDog is that of columnist Joseph A. Davis (pictured, right), who has been advocating First Amendment freedom for all that time and who has been covering the environment journalistically since the 1970s. Read more about the relaunch of the WatchDog Opinion column. And find the 2008-early 2020 archives of the former WatchDog Tipsheet here.

For questions and comments, or to suggest future columns, email WatchDog Opinion Editor Joseph A. Davis at sejournaleditor@sej.org.

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Latest WatchDog Items

October 16, 2024

  • Harris Must Shed More Light on Her Press Freedom Views

    Yes, press freedom advocates worry over the prospects of a Trump administration that considers journalists “the enemy of the people.” But the new WatchDog Opinion column argues the Harris campaign has, for its part, been uncomfortably quiet on those same issues. So it’s time for the Democratic presidential hopeful to answer some questions. WatchDog has 10 we should all be asking.

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September 18, 2024

  • Should Weather Data Really Be Withheld From the Public?

    Project 2025, which many consider a blueprint for a second Trump term, calls for breaking up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and pivoting its National Weather Service to commercial operations, shutting down its free flow of data to news outlets and others. WatchDog Opinion column argues a not-so-hidden motive is at the heart of these sweeping changes: the desire to obscure evidence of climate change.

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August 7, 2024

  • What Would a Second Trump Reign Mean for Press Freedom?

    The possibility of a second Trump administration has WatchDog Opinion sweating blood over the potential for a serious undermining of the press, whether by choking off access to public records, opening up libel laws that help protect journalists from libel suits by public figures or going to virtual war with the news media. What might be in store if Trump wins back the presidency?

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June 12, 2024

  • Why the Press Needs To Press for Senate Action on the PRESS Act

    A promising federal shield law that would protect journalists from jail for refusing to reveal sources months ago passed the House of Representatives but has since stalled in the Senate. The new WatchDog Opinion column can tell you why … and why this measure, dubbed the PRESS Act, matters so much for reporters, including those that cover climate and the environment.

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May 22, 2024

  • Fake Newspapers Fill Gaps Left by Disappearing Real Ones

    When corporate, often politicized entities create fake newspapers in communities without their own in order to control the news agenda, it’s called “pink slime news.” And its purveyors have made a significant target of environmental and energy issues, writes WatchDog Opinion. A look at the rise of “fake news” outlets, the decline of real ones and how to fight back.

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April 24, 2024

  • Will Zombie Ag-Gag Laws Ever Really Die?

    Laws that make undercover journalistic investigations of animal agriculture operations illegal violate the First Amendment, right? Not so clear, laments WatchDog Opinion, which points out that while the Supreme Court appeared to have struck down such laws just last year, it may now revisit the issue. Why it should matter not just to environmental reporters but to all journalists.

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March 13, 2024

  • Will AI Make It Easier To Limit Press Freedom?

    Artificial intelligence is at the confluence of forces — concentrated media ownership, the dominance of social media platforms — that are harming press freedoms and the work of journalists. But the WatchDog Opinion column warns AI may quickly further problems of disinformation and censorship. Here’s why, along with some hopeful responses from the journalism profession.

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February 14, 2024

  • Will New EPA Policy Make It Easier To Interview Its Experts?

    Environmental journalists commonly grouse about obstacles the press office at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency throws up when reporters want to talk to its scientists. Might a newly proposed scientific integrity policy help change that? The WatchDog Opinion column, which regularly joins in the censuring, says there’s a chance it could. But will it? Why the outlook is cloudy.

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January 17, 2024

  • Will Journalism Be a Crime in a Second Trump Administration?

    For environmental journalists who recall the first Trump administration’s hostility toward media, the prospects of a second Trump presidency are troubling. But not nearly as worrying, WatchDog Opinion writes, as what a Trump reelection would mean for press freedom as a whole, nor for the democracy that hinges on that freedom. Read why the risks of journalists being targeted are real.

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December 13, 2023

  • Self-Censorship Is Still Hiding in the Closet

    While government censorship may worry journalists, so should self-censorship. That’s the warning in this month’s WatchDog Opinion, whether self-censorship’s “chilling effect” is driven by fears of attack, legal or physical, or by distortions in what it means to be fair, a “bothsidesism” usually pushed by one-sided players. But the bottom line, the column argues, is that when the truth is knowable and known, journalists owe it to their audiences to make the call.

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