Journalism & Media

Major storms hit hard and fast. Successful on-the-ground coverage requires advance prep and consideration of how to deal with challenges. Seasoned reporter Emily Foxhall has learned a lot from Hurricane Harvey and other disasters — sometimes the hard way. She shares tips for planning, packing and getting colleagues back home to help with logistics, plus some reminders about self-care.

What brought together two teams of student reporters, half a dozen states and 1,000 miles apart? For one, the high environmental cost of chemical fertilizer. For another, a pair of dedicated journalism teachers. Cynthia Barnett and Sara Shipley Hiles share how they took the project from daydream to reality, brought students into the field and got pickup from numerous news outlets, in the latest EJ Academy.

Long-growing concern over dangerous “forever” chemicals has drawn the attention of federal and state policymakers, local communities and the utilities that provide their drinking water. But little about regulating PFAS will be quick or easy, making it a major environmental and public health story for years to come. Issue Backgrounder unfolds the regulatory moves, the politics and the larger implications of PFAS policy.