Covering Sprawl, Science, and Chickens
SEJ takes action on FOI issues: 1) On April 25, 2013 a delegation from SEJ met with US EPA's public-affairs brass to discuss the agency's chronic stonewalling of journalists' requests for interviews and information. Here's a report. 2) The Justice Department secretly obtains phone records of AP reporters and editors. Read SEJ's response.
"How ‘balanced’ coverage helped sustain the bogus claim that childhood vaccines can cause autism"
"A coalition of progressive groups is pulling its ads from Facebook in protest over political positions taken by the organization started by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg."
"With the muzzling of scientists, Harper’s obsession with controlling the message verges on the Orwellian."
"Dan Rather called it 'the most watched load of garbage in the memory of man.' It was 1987. A small town businessman had what seemed like a promising idea, to transport New York trash by barge to a landfill in North Carolina, where it would be converted into methane to heat homes. And then the news media latched on to the story."
"Following the fertilizer plant blast, Texas cited terror concerns in withholding information on dangerous chemicals. Some say that secrecy deprives citizens of the ability to make decisions about their safety."
"Three Los Angeles council members want the city to pull pension money from the investment firms that own Tribune if they sell the Los Angeles Times to buyers who don’t support 'professional and objective journalism.' Councilman Bill Rosendahl says: 'Frankly what I hear about the Koch brothers, if it’s true, it’s the end of journalism.'"
"Environmental groups on Monday announced a new ad campaign that highlights ExxonMobil's massive oil spill in Arkansas last month. The ads will be concentrated in the Washington, D.C., Metro's Foggy Bottom station, which is used by many State Department employees commuting to work, as the agency considers whether to approve the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline."