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Steaming mad | We’re hot as hell and we’re not going to take it any more COMMENTARY Senate inaction on global warming leads environmentalist, author and grassroots organizer Bill McKibben to have a Howard Beale moment. He proposes three steps to establish a politics of global warming. 
'Regulatory capture' | The BP disaster underscores government as the problem, not the solution ASK THIS After decades of planned neglect, mismanagement and ideological attack, the American government, across the board, has gotten out of the way of corporate America – and the country is paying a heavy price. Obama promised to make government service “cool” again. Ask him to show where he's doing that.
| Keep asking: Why did the BP spill happen, and what’s next? ASK THIS Questions for scientists, for the Obama administration, and for BP. There’s a lot the experts just don’t know. For example, how adaptive is the fish life cycle? And, based on past spills, how likely is it to recover?
| A little context for the BP oil spill: It isn't the Apocalypse COMMENTARY The Gulf of Mexico spill is a calamity with enormous costs. Nevertheless, writes Ken Ringle, there are factors at work, observed in similar calamities years ago, that suggest the damage to the environment may be less than is widely feared, and reporters should be alert to them.
From Nieman Reports | Mining the coal beat: Keeping watch over an 'outlaw' industry SHOWCASE In its Summer 2009 issue, Nieman Reports continues to focus on investigative reporting. In one piece, Ken Ward, Jr., a leading writer on the coal industry, explains how a coal firm reported, on its own, that it violated water pollution limits 4,500 times over a 5-year period—and how, in response, regulators did absolutely nothing. Nada. (From Nieman Reports.)
The new administration | Nine climate questions for President Obama ASK THIS What's Obama's strategy for dealing with climate change? Former Shorenstein Fellow Eric Pooley writes that it is time for the president to make clear what sort of climate-change legislation he’s looking for -- not by wading into the all the minutiae, but by explaining to the American people why a climate bill is important and what basic principles he thinks should guide it.
Q&A with Mike Roselle | Civil disobedience at Coal River Mountain ASK THIS An activist protesting mountaintop removal in West Virginia says people's garbage is more regulated than fly ash and sludge from coal mining. He asks what gives mining companies 'the right to disregard every environmental law and regulation that we have to protect our air and water?'
The new administration | What will Obama do when goals collide? ASK THIS| January 12, 2009 Going green is indeed one way to create jobs. But it can also lead to higher food costs, higher fuel costs and the erosion of property rights. Public Citizen's Tyson Slocum wants to know Obama's views on the various tradeoffs involved.
A role for Twitter | Why are Tennessee residents buried in coal ash? ASK THIS West Virginia reporter Ken Ward, Jr., an expert on the coal industry, says some good reporting has been done on the Dec. 22 TVA dam break, but a lot more needs to be done—including following the paper trail to find out why the dam broke in the first place.
A historic turning point? | What will the next president do about global warming? ASK THIS McCain, Clinton, Obama all back a cap-and-trade program, something Bush rejected early on. Reporters should now ask the candidates how they would follow through on their campaign pledges.
Measuring commitment | Global warming: How much is too much for the White House? ASK THIS President Bush says he's committed to fighting global warming. So why won't the White House say how much the United States and other countries should reduce global warming pollution? Alden Meyer of the Union of Concerned Scientists suggests this and other questions reporters should ask.
The environment and the 2008 elections | Coal to liquids—silver bullet or coal-state pork? ASK THIS Making liquid fuel out of coal is a costly process both in dollars and energy expended, and it’s no environmental bargain, either. So why do Barack Obama and others favor it? (The first in an occasional series on environmental issues in the 2008 elections.)
Regulatory hurdle | The EU's growing impact on American business and consumers ASK THIS The European Union is increasingly setting standards that American firms must meet to remain competitive in the global marketplace. The standards affect costs and quality of life in all parts of the U.S., and deserve more notice in the press.
After Katrina | A reporter’s checklist for emergency preparedness ASK THIS Hurricane Katrina demonstrated that responses to disaster may not be adequate even where the dangers are well known. Reporters should find out how prepared for disaster their cities are.
Breathtaking new fortunes | The wealth puzzle: There’s a lot of money someplace, but where? ASK THIS The IRS estimates, from records obtained from credit card companies, that one to two million U.S. citizens have offshore bank accounts. If they are using them to avoid taxes, it’s at least in part because the government encourages them.
No more secrets | Questions for the Times and Judith Miller ASK THIS The newspaper of record needs to set the record straight on its own involvement in the Plame investigation – and the run-up to war in Iraq.
Profits up, jobs down | 'Comfortable media companies losing sight of their mission' COMMENTARY Michael Bugeja of Iowa State questions internships without pay, convergence, and the proper place for reporters’ posteriors.
Useful in all 50 states | Center for Public Integrity tracks influence peddling SHOWCASE ‘LobbyWatch’ manager notes that twice as much is spent on lobbying as on campaign finance but it gets about one-tenth of the coverage.
Religion and politics | How about looking at the Democrats' 'secular' problem? ASK THIS A poll conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life says that only 29 percent of Americans believe the Democratic Party is 'friendly toward religion.' As Laura Olson notes, that's a good starting point for reporters.
A tradional, observant Catholic | How relevant is religion in the John Roberts confirmation process? ASK THIS Religion is playing an increasingly important and relevant role in American politics. What role will it play, if any, in the Senate confirmation hearings for Chief Justice nominee John Roberts?
A matter of emphasis | Gas prices aren’t at a record high (yet) but health care costs are ASK THIS Increases at the pump make news because they are dramatic but only medical care prices are advancing far beyond the level of inflation, and they are doing so month after month. [Editor's note, Sept. 1: No longer true; gas prices are now at record levels.]
Improving education | Have local leaders abandoned the public schools? ASK THIS Overhauling America's worst public schools is a hugely challenging task, but it must be done. Yet as long as our leaders are able to opt out of public schools - without anyone pressing them about their obligation to those left behind - that's less likely to happen.
Follow the money | Taking a harder look at possible gasoline price-gouging ASK THIS The research director of Public Citizen's Energy Program says the press is too quick to conclude that price increases are simply due to supply and demand. Reporters, he says, aren't asking the right questions.
Gas prices | Where the pain is ASK THIS For some people, stratospheric gas prices are the biggest news story of the year. Here are a few questions that ought to be answered.
The media game | What do leading Republicans have to say about the executive branch's fake news videos? ASK THIS If Bush's allies are critical, then the propaganda charge can't be written off as mere partisan bickering.
'Welcome to Doomsday' | Understanding religious fervor is a key to reporting politics ASK THIS Bill Moyers writes in a New York Review essay on political religion: 'The delusional…has come in from the fringe to influence the seats of power.'
Legacy of Watergate | Would you use the adjective 'heroic' to describe the American news media? COMMENTARY Anthony Lewis on broadcasters who sound like a cheering section, a government that would charge $372,799 for an FOIA request, and a press that, overall, isn’t exactly heroic.
Next target? | A guide to reporting on relations between the U.S. and Iran ASK THIS News organizations were stung by their pre-Iraq invasion coverage; here are some questions they should be asking about Iran
Make it a beat | Important questions about Social Security ASK THIS The press needs to dig beyond the political rhetoric and make sure people understand what's motivating the push for private accounts, and what's at stake.
Bush’s National Guard service | The Boccardi-Thornburgh report leaves some questions unanswered COMMENTARY Phil Meyer writes that the CBS investigative panel focuses more on procedures and less on the story itself, and that it offers at least one promising lead for reporters to pick up on.
One a month, maybe? | More presidential press conferences, please ASK THIS The White House correspondents missed their first chance to ask Bush to hold more sessions with them.
Tools | Tipsheet points to hot environmental stories SHOWCASE A tipsheet from the Society of Environmental Journalists exposes government attempts to keep important environmental information secret – and calls attention to great watchdog reporting.
Consider the Consequences | Why not relax EPA pollution standards to help lower gas prices? ASK THIS| June 16, 2004 Several states already have asked the Bush administration to relax EPA rules requiring the use of cleaner but more costly gasoline blends. Reporters need to cover the long-term consequences of such an action, not just its short-term savings.
The season's just starting | What’s fueling all the fires in Florida and the West? ASK THIS| June 11, 2004 There are stories to be done on why major fires are occurring more frequently, burning hotter and spreading farther and faster than they used to.
Measuring up | What's the progress with 'leave no child behind?' ASK THIS| May 05, 2004 Is it a great idea or a sham and how is it working in your area?
Environment | Time is running out for covering the environment ASK THIS The eminent scientist Edward O. Wilson writes on questions reporters should be asking candidates on global warming, water shortages and other vital issues.
Calling all readers | Wanted: Tough questions for the presidential debates ASK THIS The Internet can make the presidential debates better. NiemanWatchdog.org will make it happen – with your help.
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