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"For several years I have had the occasion to work with the Society of Environmental Journalists, both as a journalist and as a funder (the Schumann Center made a substantial grant to SEJ three years ago.)
I regularly make use of their Web site, TipSheet and their freedom of information WatchDog project. Most recently I delivered the keynote address to their 2005 annual convention. My enthusiasm for these dogged, honest and essential journalists is boundless. Their work involves not just covering environmental news, but uncovering developments that communities need to know but which the powers-that-be would prefer to keep hidden. There is no other organization like SEJ in the country."
— Bill Moyers, author and broadcast journalist
"I write in support of the Society of Environmental
Journalists and the extraordinary contribution Joe
Davis and the WatchDog Project make in the fight for
open government."
Read the entire letter (requires
free Adobe Acrobat ®
reader) by
— Pete Weitzel, coordinator, Coalition of Journalists for Open Government
"I'll work with stellar organizations like the Investigative Reporters and Editors and the Society of Environmental Journalists to leverage our resources."
— Rick Rodriguez, president (2005 - 2006), American Society of Newspaper Editors, in a column he wrote for ASNE's magazine
The American Editor, March 2005 issue, and executive editor, The Sacramento Bee
SEJ was one of the seven winners of the
Society of Professional Journalists'
2003 Sunshine Awards. Through
this annual awards process, which is open and not
limited to journalists, SPJ's board of directors
and Freedom of Information Committee recognize
individuals and groups for making important
contributions in the area of open government. You
can see all of the winners of this year's SPJ
Sunshine Awards
here.
The Society of Environmental Journalists
won this year for creation of the
WatchDog
TipSheet, which keeps an eye on FOI issues
on behalf of its members. The newsletter is
available to SEJ members and journalists worldwide,
though it focuses on the United States. The award
recognizes the work of the SEJ
First Amendment Task Force, led
by Ken Ward Jr., and the work of Joe Davis,
TipSheet and
WatchDog TipSheet editor.
The SEJ board established its First
Amendment Task Force in March 2002 "to address
freedom-of-information, right-to-know, and other
news-gathering issues of concern to the pursuit
of environmental journalism." The board gave the
First Amendment Task Force these responsibilities:
- Monitor records access and other
right-to-know issues that affect the quality and
visibility of environmental journalism.
- Speak or write to actions that limit access to
information and inhibit journalists' ability to
cover the environment and related topics.
- Provide SEJ members with services to help them
obtain and use public records, and to deal with
efforts to withhold those records from them.
We encourage SEJ members to contact the
Task Force
chair with access issues and to visit our
FOI Resources website to see just
how serious we take these responsibilities.
While you're there, check out the latest issue of
WatchDog Tipsheet,
offering searchable archives of story ideas,
articles, updates, events and other information with
a focus on First Amendment issues of concern to
environmental journalists. Includes a
database of State FOI Resources and
Actions.
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"I thought the SEJ conference last year [2005] was, by far, the best journalism conference I have ever attended."
— Judy Muller, broadcast journalist (ABC Nightline, World News tonight) and assistant professor, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California
"The Society of
Environmental Journalists is an eminent professional
organization working hard to improve standards and
balance in environmental reporting. SEJ is a force
for the betterment of public debate on a critical
issue."
— Gregg Easterbrook, author and senior editor,
The New Republic
"I am writing simply to
express my support for the mission of the Society of
Environmental Journalists. I am convinced that it
is a worthwhile — even a necessary —
organization. And in my lexicon, "necessary" is
one of the highest possible forms of praise."
— Bill McKibben, author
"Having worked at a
series of small-town papers, I have to say SEJ has
proved an invaluable link for me. Without it, I
could have never explained corporate pollution,
tackled recycling and conservation issues or
addressed dozens of other environmental concerns
that appear in everyone's back yard, even those
in small towns. Small papers, and their not-so-well
paid reporters, do not have the resources to
read dozens of journals, attend scientific
conferences or enjoy any of the other perks
that would allow a reporter to truly stay
current on a complicated topic like the
environment. But with SEJ's help, I have a
good idea what today's environmental issues
are, learn ways I can get to information and
see how to make my readers understand these
issues. Without this group, I know our
environmental coverage would suffer greatly
and probably be forever limited to breaking
stories about the fight over the local landfill.
Thanks for all your work SEJ."
— Katie Hetrick, Press Enterprise,
Bloomsburg, PA
"Just looking through
some of the archived tipsheets and frankly, I'm blown
away. There's a lot of work put into those...great work. If you could, please
add me to the list."
— Russell Jones, line producer, MSNBC, who found SEJ online and
joined
"I look at the SEJ
website religiously every day to keep up to the
minute with the broad range of environmental
news and environmental journalism. It has
been an efficient and useful way to keep in
contact with my colleagues and, when necessary,
to ask for help. There is nothing else remotely
like it."
— Phil Shabecoff,
author; former environmental correspondent for
The New York Times; former publisher,
Greenwire, an environmental news
service
"Thanks for
recognizing the need to increase reporters
of color on the environmental beat. I now know
how important it is for reporters like myself
to cover such issues. Before attending the
conference I didn't know that there was even a
career in environmental journalism, much less
programs to prepare one for the field. Since
returning from the conference I have written
several articles and an editorial on environmental
issues."
— Aileen Harris Miller, Community Review, Decatur, GA
"Bless SEJ!!! I am a
returning college student majoring in environmental
studies. I continue to run into reasons to pursue
environmental journalism and your forum is
fabulous! What a great way for people like myself
to learn all about the field and how to go about
streamlining my education."
—
Cherie Campbell, student, OR
"I've only belonged to
SEJ for three years, but I can't imagine trying to
do my job without it. Environmental journalism is
one of the bright spots in our profession today,
and I am always astonished at the level of
knowledge, commitment and creativity among my
peers in SEJ. My colleagues are always "green" with
envy that I have such a resource, and that
environmental writers communicate with each
other in a way so many other journalists don't.
The listserv, SEJournal and the conferences have
introduced me to stories, sources and fellow
reporters that enrich my work every day.
Environmental coverage would be much the poorer
without the Society of Environmental Journalists."
— James Eli Shiffer, The News
& Observer, Raleigh, NC
"I would be honored
to serve on the advisory board of the Society of
Environmental Journalists."
—
Walter Cronkite, CBS news anchor, retired
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