HIGHLIGHTS FROM SEJ
The Society of Environmental Journalists annual conference occurred September 5-9 at Stanford University. The event attracted a number of local NCSWANS, and featured several technical skills workshops that many science writers would find useful:
- Writing your own FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) letter to request government data not otherwise available.
- Satellite imagery for reporting stories.
- Mapping software to enhance investigative reporting and visualize information for readers.
- Use of EPA databases in digging for “investigative gold” and reporting stories.
Writing your own FOIA letter
Ken Ward Jr (The Charleston Gazette) and Patrick McGinley (West Virginia University Law School) explained the writing of typical FOIA letter, rights of journalists under the Freedom of Information Act, and strategies for following up on stalled FOIA requests.
The group discussed efforts underway by Senators Leahy (D-Vt) and Cornyn (R-Texas) to amend the FOI Act, in the form of bill S 849 (adopted by the Senate in August). They also discussed the impact of an executive order signed by President George W. Bush in 2005 which provides limited reforms while seeking to squelch others.
The panel directed attendees to several valuable FOIA information sources online, including:
- For learning your state’s public record laws: www.rcfp.org/tapping/index.cgi
- Info on the federal FOIA: www.rcfp.org/foiact/index.html
- Relevant court rulings: www.usdoj.gov/oip/foia_guide07.htm
- FOIA letter generators…
- Following FOIA-related developments:
Satellite imagery
Michael Jones (chief technology officer, Google Earth), Mark Brender (GeoEye Corp), and Luke Blair (USGS) discussed sources of satellite imagery available to journalists.
GeoEye, a major commercial satellite and remote sensing company, currently offers satellite imagery down to 1 meter resolution (obtained via its IKonos satellite, launched 1999). Much of its image collection is available free of charge to journalists. Images can be searched online at www.geoeye.com. Specific journalist inquiries for images can be directed to Brender, VP of Marketing and Communications at GeoEye.
The group also discussed three other open sources for satellite imagery, including:
- World Wind - which utilizes imagery from NASA’s Landsat satellites. WorldWind 1.4 software can be downloaded free from the website.
- Google Earth
- ESRI’s ArcGIS ExplorerDownloadable software package.
Mapping software
Dave Poulson (Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, Michigan State University) stepped journalists through an introductory lesson on using ArcGIS 9.2 mapping software in the reporting of stories and the development of story graphics. The software is available online at Esri.com.
Poulson showed how journalists can use this basic software to overlay various types of freely-available information in a typical community, such as…
- Locations of homes and schools
- Locations of water wells
- Locations of natural waterways
- Coordinates of known positive tests for environmental contaminants such as PCBs
- Coordinates of disease / illness clusters
Poulson noted how the mapping approach can be used not only to dig deeper into ongoing stories, but also to trawl for new stories.
EPA databases
Joseph Davis (Project Director, Watchdog; Editor, SEJ TipSheet) walked journalists through the capabilities of the EPA’s Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) software. RSEI is freely available by request for the EPA provides information on ordering the CD-ROM. This software package allows users to search and analyze the EPA’s database (known as TRI, or Toxic Release Inventory) of reported sources of toxic chemical release, such as factories and power plants. This data can then be overlaid with other geographic data, including epidemiological data.
- Doug Fox
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