Journalism & Media

The Washington Post, which over the years has set a standard for good science journalism, may be falling on hard times now that it has let so many of its reporters go. While still strong in original science reporting compared to many other daily newspapers in the U.S., the Post has taken to reprinting press releases from universities and science organizations. This has spawned questions about the transparency of the practice and the objectivity of what Post readers are reading.

"Keeping track of the billions of dollars to be spent on natural resources restoration projects in Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states in the aftermath of the BP oil spill was the top issue raised during an impromptu roundtable of environmental leaders in New Orleans this week."

"A controversy flared in January when environmentalists learned that Radio Disney had joined with the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program to tour elementary schools and science centers, teaching about the energy industry. They worried that the show sold children a positive image of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking — the process of pumping millions of gallons of water and chemicals underground to break rock to free oil and gas."

"When chemical companies hired Grant Gillham in 2007 to manage a campaign in defense of flame retardants in couches and other consumer goods, Gillham recalled being "assured that the scientific information they had supporting the safety and effectiveness of their products was valid."

"Just weeks after a TransCanada natural gas pipeline exploded and left thousands of residents without gas in sub-zero temperatures, a CBC News investigation uncovered a 2011 report, buried by federal regulators, that criticized the company “for ‘inadequate’ field inspections and ‘ineffective’ management.”"

"Keystone XL pipeline records are being sought by the Sierra Club in a lawsuit claiming the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has to make public documents related to its review of TransCanada Corp.’s project."

"ALBANY — After four rounds of hearings, hundreds of thousands of public comments, two governors and a pair of voluminous draft reports, New York’s review of hydraulic fracturing is now taking place entirely behind closed doors."