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Reporter's Toolbox

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Reporter's Toolbox is a regular column focused on the world of data journalism, with an emphasis on data tools, techniques and database resources that journalists can use to improve their environmental reporting.

For questions and comments, or to suggest future Reporter's Toolboxes, email Toolbox Editor Joseph A. Davis at sejournaleditor@sej.org.

Journalists can receive Reporter's Toolbox free by subscribing to the SEJournal Online, the digital news magazine of the Society of Environmental Journalists. Subscribe to the e-newsletter here.

Public

January 31, 2024

January 17, 2024

  • Watershed Data … for the Rest of Us

    If you find yourself covering local waterways and are not a numbers geek but still want good-quality, easy-to-use data to inform your reporting, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox has a handy web app for you. “How’s My Waterway” uses numerous authoritative government datasets in a straightforward format that’s super easy to explore. Get started with intro videos, webcasts, widgets and a ZIP code-based map.

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January 3, 2024

  • Environmental Digital Storytelling — A Best-in-Show Sampler

    As part of its periodic survey of the compelling work by digital journalists using data and multimedia, Reporter’s Toolbox looks at some favorite projects in the last year or so. On the list are granular maps and spinning globes, compelling photo essays and clickable storytelling. But the heart of the best digital journalism, Toolbox reminds us, is that it matters. And these do.

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December 13, 2023

  • Student Journalists Show the Way on Data With Methane Flaring Project

    The global warming gas methane was much in the news at the start of the just-ended COP28 climate meeting, with a final Biden administration rule to trim releases by the fossil fuel industry. But when it comes to good journalism on the problem, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox spotlights the work of a team of journalism students who used sophisticated satellite data to tell the story of underreported methane flaring at drilling sites.

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November 29, 2023

  • Dredging for Data on Wetlands Permits

    In the second of two parts on how to report locally on wetlands permitting, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox helps you muck around an Army Corps of Engineers “permit finder” database that’s accurate and particularly good for zooming in on map-based geographic data. Plus, see the part one TipSheet on how reemerging wetlands controversy brings the issue to your area.

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November 15, 2023

  • Data Portal Takes Measure of Water Quality

    A sprawling governmental data portal provides millions of water quality records that with a little groundtruthing environmental journalists can use to tell stories that range from problems with pathogens in failing treatment plants to beach closures and fish consumption advisories. The latest Toolbox points the way to the Water Quality Exchange, while offering caveats, questions to ask and storytelling tips.

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November 1, 2023

  • New Climate Vulnerability Index Made for Local, Regional Stories

    For environmental journalists looking to get granular on their coverage of climate risk, Reporter’s Toolbox recommends a new collaborative effort that integrates dozens of separate datasets to provide insights down to the census-tract level. Because it can also be cross-indexed by subjects like health and socioeconomics, it’s particularly useful for environmental justice reporting. Toolbox walks you through the new Climate Vulnerability Index.

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October 18, 2023

  • Here’s Your Handy Doomsday Dataviz Dashboard

    If you’re harboring serious doubts about the climate future but want to be prepared to cover it, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox offers up a seasonably ghoulish list of a dozen and a half great visualization sources to help tell the story. And lest it leave you spooked, remember, as the saying goes, everything will be OK in the end. And if it's not OK, it's not the end.

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October 4, 2023

  • CDC Data Offer Multiplicity of Starting Points for Environmental Health Stories

    For reporters seeking stories that connect environmental and health issues, there may be no better — or more wide-ranging — place to start than with high-quality data from the Centers for Disease Control’s wide range of datasets. The latest Reporter’s Toolbox looks into where the CDC’s data originates from and how that affects its usefulness, and offers up a helpful overview of CDC data surveys.

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September 20, 2023

  • Top Data Sources Can Help Cover the Larger Wildfire Story

    In the aftermath of breaking wildfire news, when environmental journalists are looking to tell the bigger picture story, there are myriad resources that provide data and insight. To help you sort through it all, the latest Reporter’s Toolbox scans eight powerful data portals that provide everything from real-time tracking and satellite data to risk analysis and health impacts.

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SEJournal Online is the digital news magazine of the Society of Environmental Journalists. Learn more about SEJournal Online, including submission, subscription and advertising information.