Public

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Oct. 16, 2007, to create a federal shield law which would offer limited protection for reporters from being compelled to disclose confidential sources.

The Interior Department has proposed codifying its rules on photography, filming, and sound-recording on public lands it administers. Some newsgatherers are worried that the rules would hurt their ability to do their jobs.

It was news when the White House censored testimony prepared in October 2007 by Centers for Disease Control Director Julie Gerberding - testimony detailing the health hazards likely to result from climate change.

EPA on March 26, 2008, delivered a report Congress had demanded on its plan to reopen the agency's shuttered libraries.

A rule issued April 16, 2008, ostensibly to keep the public safe from shipments of highly hazardous materials by rail, has been little-understood by the public.

In this issue: Duke conference: Babbitt, Browner, McGinty headlined program that drew 400 to Durham; Survey probes journalists, student knowledge of global warming data...for the complete hotlinked table of contents, click on the journal cover.

President Barack Obama signalled that open access to information will be a top priority for his administration, issuing two memos to all executive agencies and one executive order at a January 21, 2009, session open to reporters and cabinet members.

In this issue: The first conference: Inaugural SEJ gathering draws 250 to Boulder; Coverage of military contamination in N.J. a textbook example of dogged reporting; SEJ members elect new board, amend bylaws; more.

 

In this issue: War and recession: reporters still optimistic on job security, future; U.S. Senator Tim Wirth, host of experts slated for first SEJ national conference; a reporter's reflections on Kuwait 's devastation; traffic in rare plants and animals; indispensable reference texts; more.