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TipSheet is a biweekly source for story ideas, background, interview leads and reporting tools for journalists who cover news of the environment.

For questions and comments, or to suggest future TipSheets, email the TipSheet Editor Joseph A. Davis at sejournaleditor@sej.org.

Journalists can receive TipSheet free by subscribing to the SEJournal Online, the digital news magazine of the Society of Environmental Journalists. Subscribe to the e-newsletter here. TipSheet is also available through the searchable archive below and via RSS feed.


Latest TipSheet Items

October 31, 2017

  • With ice and snow ahead, it's time to start thinking about road salt — its use may make driving safer, but can also cause real harm to the environment. This week's TipSheet clears the road for your reporting on this potential hazard, detailing its risks, outlining its alternatives and offering story ideas.

October 24, 2017

  • Halloween may remind many of the spookier side of bats. But these unique flying mammals provide important ecosystem services — and that's just one of the many reasons why environmental reporters might want to write about them. This week's TipSheet looks at covering bats, the habitat loss that's leaving many species threatened and the growing fungal plague that's wiping out many colonies. Resources and more.

October 17, 2017

October 10, 2017

October 3, 2017

September 26, 2017

  • Flooding disasters can unleash some nasty substances into the environment, whether from Superfund sites, sewage plants or petrochemical and other industrial facilities handling toxic and hazardous materials.This week's TipSheet identifies some of the biggest risks, and offers starting points for your local reporting.

September 19, 2017

  • A hurricane's storm surge is an unpredictable and fast-moving killer, a phenomenon reporters must prepare to cover before it hits. This week's TipSheet explains how, with background on the complex factors that lead to storm surge, and resources to help you report on this very real risk in real time.

     

September 12, 2017

  • The complex workings of the U.S. Congress create reporting challenges for all kinds of journalists, including environmental ones. But our latest TipSheet provides half a dozen key resources to help you get the job done better, whether from inside or outside the Beltway. 

September 5, 2017

  • Disaster cleanup from Hurricane Harvey is now bound up in Washington's brewing budget-related brouhaha, as Congress tries to fix the National Flood Insurance Program before authorization runs out at the end of September. The latest TipSheet explains, plus offers ideas and resources for localizing flood insurance stories.

August 29, 2017

  • Tick populations are on the rise in the United States, bringing higher risk of serious tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease and a host of others. That offers a chance to tell the story of the environmental factors behind the spread, such as climate change and rising deer populations. The latest TipSheet explains.

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