Summary of News Media Listening Session
National Dialogue On Access to Environmental Information
National Press Club
Washington, DC
April 23, 2008
Quick Summary: Media Representatives
The media representatives want EPA to provide environmental information in a clear, concise format. They want to have facts (not necessarily interpretations); metadata; and basic information about EPA’s roles, legislation, regulations, and programs. They would like to know the context and historical perspective for this information.
The media need immediate access to environmental information – especially through direct contact with EPA staff. If they don’t get a quick response, it may be too late to write their story.
The media representatives focused heavily on the politicization of obtaining information from EPA. They are concerned that the Press Office is not responsive to their environmental questions and does not refer them to appropriate EPA experts.
Increasingly, reporters are doing their own data analysis, and seek downloadable spreadsheets.
Librarians, libraries, and reading rooms are all critical resources for these media representatives. They want a place to browse through recent EPA and other environmental publications, and place high value on the assistance they receive from librarians.
These media representatives go to www.epa.gov for general environmental information. However, they do not use the search engine since it provides too many hits that are not organized in a logical or easy-to-use way.
While some media representatives use RSS feeds and blogs, they have concerns about the accuracy and timeliness of other new Web technologies, such as Wikis.
A key component of the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Dialogue on Access to Environmental Information is a series of facilitated listening sessions to elicit input on the types of environmental information that EPA’s stakeholders use, how they use it, and their preferred formats, channels, and venues for obtaining this information. This report summarizes inputs from a National Dialogue Listening Session with media (including print, online, radio, and television) representatives from the Washington, D.C. area. The Appendix at the end of this document provides information about the participants, including their job titles, affiliations, job descriptions, and how they use environmental information in their work.
Types of Environmental and Public Health Information that Participants Use Media representatives shared experiences and perspectives regarding the topics they report on most frequently, including characteristics that tend to make data and information more or less useful to their work.
The media representatives indicated that they cover a wide variety of environmental issues, with one participant saying she works on stories ranging from global issues to actions that individuals have taken to improve the environment. However, they agreed that air pollution, water pollution, pesticides, and climate change (including “spin-off” issues related to climate change) are all topics that they have covered frequently. Compared to other federal agencies, they feel that EPA does a good job of making information available information on line. One participant commented that the Office of Air Quality, Planning & Standards (OAQPS) is the best in this regard, the Office of Transportation & Air Quality (OTAQ) is not quite as good, and that EPA’s web-based information on climate change is still in the beginning stages and not particularly useful.
In addition to specific environmental information topics, the media representatives are interested in obtaining a better understanding of EPA’s roles (e.g., regulation enforcement, data collection) and being informed of EPA’s actions (e.g., one media representative stated that the National Dialogue on Access for Environmental Information and the stakeholder listening sessions are examples of the kind of topics of interest to reporters).
When asked about important environmental information characteristics, the media representative mentioned several key attributes. In terms of the scale of information that the media seek, the representatives need information at all levels – from local and regional data to international information. They would like to be able to access documentation and metadata in order to know what type of information EPA collects, how current it is, and its source, but are concerned that it is difficult to find metadata on www.epa.gov.
The media representatives also noted that they need basic information presented in a clear, concise way. Environmental laws and programs are not easy to understand (e.g., the Clean Air Act) and they would benefit from better descriptions of these EPA laws and programs. Participants suggested that EPA more frequently utilize a “drill down” approach on its web site, beginning with non-technical summary information, and ending with detailed, full text materials, including data and metadata as appropriate. It would be helpful if EPA provided background information on the environmental programs and issues that are the “news of the day.”
“Good national reporters need quick, good, factual information.”
They also indicated their need for the history and context of environmental data – how have air pollution levels changed over time? what levels are safe? what are the EPA standards? what do the data mean? what makes an issue important? They understand that other organizations, such as the Sierra Club and American Enterprise Institute, will interpret environmental information in ways that are on the opposite ends of the spectrum. The media representatives look to EPA for the environmental “facts” and unbiased information. For example, if they are reporting on air pollution, they might want to know about current and historical air pollution levels and the fuel efficiency of different types of cars, but would not ask EPA if SUVs are “good” or “bad.”
Not surprisingly, the media representatives said that they work under short deadlines. They also indicated that while they use the EPA Web site to get general information, they rely on connections with people, via email, phone contact, or in person, to get the specific information that they need in a timely manner. They raised concerns about problems in obtaining information directly from EPA personnel, including:
-
EPA requires the media to first contact the Press Office to obtain desired environmental information. However, it is not uncommon for press officers to not know detailed answers to technical questions, or be able to immediately provide contact information for EPA staff able to address a particular issue. The media representatives noted that a good model is the U.S. Geological Service press office, which provides quick, on-line responses from Agency scientists. The media representatives recommend that the EPA Press Office maintain a list of “pre-cleared” experts on various environmental issues and refer the media to the appropriate experts.
"Information is being guarded by the politicals"
“Pretty immediate access to people is very important. If I call someone in the morning and they don’t call back until the afternoon, that’s a problem. It is useless if you don’t hear from them until the next day. Several years ago you could walk around EPA and chat with people in their offices.”
- The media representatives find that the press office will not receive phone calls, preferring to communicate by email. However, the press office doesn’t always respond to the media’s inquiries. One media representative noted that FBI staff meet with him to explain the basic information he needs but he cannot receive similar assistance from EPA staff.
- The media representatives stated that they would like EPA to provide more effective notification of EPA events. Other agencies (e.g., the Department of Justice) send daily or weekly emails describing scheduled agency speeches and activities. However, one media representative said he has to read Inside EPA to find out what is happening at the Agency. Another representative said that the few emails he does receive are often irrelevant to him, and another noted that she cannot figure out how to get on the press list.
-
Some information is available only through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which often takes too long for reporters on deadline. The media representatives wonder why certain information, such as EPA correspondence with Congress, cannot be made public.
Uses of Environmental and Public Heath Information
As illustrated by the media’s need for factual information about the history, context, and issues related to environmental information, the media report on environmental issues that are of interest to their readers and/or reflect the issues of the day. One journalist stated that people like regional and local stories. Another said that her organization looks for positive ideas for its stories, and that approaching EPA to obtain information for these stories is getting more and more difficult.
Formats for Environmental and Public Health Information
When asked if they preferred to receive environmental information in any particular formats, the media representatives mentioned hard copy products, electronic spreadsheets, the docket system, and software information products.
Several of the media representatives lamented the fact that the EPA phone book is no longer published. It provided phone numbers for all EPA staff within an organizational context so that users could determine where EPA staff worked (i.e., EPA office, division, branch) and their job title. While they liked the paper version of the phone book, the media representatives said an electronic version would also be helpful. The paper version of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Public Data Release (PDR) was also a favorite document among the media representatives.
One media representative noted that environmental reporting is increasingly database driven, and that downloadable spreadsheets that journalists can manipulate are very useful (e.g., TRI Explorer) – the journalists say that by analyzing these data they sometimes discover information that the Agency is not aware of (or had not publicized). Other media representatives frequently use the docket system and stated it would be more useful to them if comments (including the names of the submitters) could be put into the system more quickly. They noted that the Federal Courts make filings instantly available to the public, and offer the public an email alert system to notify them when an item has been filed.
In terms of software, one media representative mentioned Risk Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) as a useful information product that could be even more helpful if it could be made more accessible and usable for non-technical users.
Channels and Venues for Delivery of Environmental and Public Health Information
The media representatives need to access environmental information via channels that provide them with accurate, authoritative, concise, easy-to-understand information in a very timely manner. As described above, while they use Web sites to obtain general information, they tend to prefer approaches involving personal contact.
They noted that they do not often use the www.epa.gov search engine because it doesn’t provide relevant information in a logical order. Adding the capability to sort results by relevance and/or date would be extremely helpful. One of the media representatives finds that the EPA Browse Topics resource, which provides a hierarchical subject index, can be a helpful way to find information on the EPA Web site.
“There is nothing in the world like a good librarian.”
The media representatives would like to obtain information from librarians, who are trained to help people find the specific data they need. They also value the availability of a physical space within EPA (e.g., a library, reading room, or press room), where they can browse through written EPA materials, journals, and other recently published resources. They do not have much experience with the EPA Ask a Librarian feature, and find that the EPA hotlines provide rote information that may be helpful to the public but is not suitable for their needs (e.g., media representatives indicate that hotlines are frequently serviced by non-EPA contractors who cannot express EPA’s official position on issues and, instead, refer them to the EPA Press Office).
“Wikis and collaboration work in agencies and labs, where people share knowledge. This is how real science gets done and it would be great if these could be shared with the media.
Appendix
Participant Summary
Group IV: the Media
The information in the following table, compiled from participant sign-in sheets, summarizes key data about the participants. As shown, the eight media participants work at print and online publications as well as for radio and television. The include reporters, editors, publishers, anchors, and producers.
Summary of Media Representatives |
||
Publication Name |
Job Title |
Job Description |
Print and Online Publications |
||
Inside EPA |
Publisher |
Focuses on newsletters and online news, especially domestic pollution control policy |
Inside EPA |
Associate Editor |
Works on print and online environmental policy at the federal level |
The Philadelphia Inquirer |
Staff Writer |
Newspaper reporter |
Online Publications |
||
Society of Environmental Journalists (WatchDog, SEJ Tipsheet, Environmental Journalism Today) |
Editor |
Reports on the coverage of environmental issues, including information access. |
BNA Daily Environment Report |
Reporter |
Contributes to daily newsletter and Web site. |
Environment and Energy Publishing (Greenwire, E&E Daily) |
Reporter (EPA and water issues) |
Contributes to online publications covering national and international environment and energy news. |
Radio |
||
Federal News Radio AM 1050 |
Anchor/Columnist |
Hosts daily radio show about activities and developments within and about federal agencies |
Television |
||
Voice of America TV |
Producer |
Produces “backgrounders,” general information, news, and features for TV with special emphasis on environmental issues |
Types of Environmental Information
The media participants provided the following information about the types of environmental information they use:
- EPA and Congressional affairs
- Agency rulemaking
- Interaction with Congress
- Domestic pollution control policy
- National and international environment and energy news
- Reports on the coverage of environmental information and on information access, including information available from EPA and information access issues
- Environmental policy at federal level
- EPA’s collection, organization, and dissemination of information
- Air pollution
- Climate change
Uses of Environmental Information
The media representatives indicated that they use environmental information in the following ways:
- “We’re interested in keeping our readers up-to-date with all EPA doings”
- To provide background on stories
- To confirm information and arguments provided by various sources
- Research for environmental stories