Journalist says new head of EPA should make it more open to news media and the public

Charleston Gazette Reporter Ken Ward Jr., who spent more than a decade as chairman of the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Freedom of Information Task Force, opines on his Coal Tattoo blog that the woman nominated to head of the Environmental Protection Agency needs to put to rest the organization's history of making it difficult for journalists to obtain pertinent information. Gina McCarthy, above, who was scheduled for a confirmation hearing today, "has chosen in the past to defend EPA’s secrecy and its arrogance in ignoring the press," Ward writes.

Journalists struggle to get information from EPA, and according to a statement from SEJ "are regularly required to submit written questions, even on the simplest daily stories," Ward writes "Interview requests are rarely granted. Delays are routine. Replies, when they do come, are from press officers, not scientists or policymakers. Answers to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act also are routinely delayed. The policy is counterproductive to accurate reporting and inimical to the American public’s right to know about important health and environmental issues."

The EPA should "allow more open and direct access to administrators, policymakers and the scientists whose research guides government decisions," SEJ said. Ward concludes, "As journalists, we are working on behalf of our readers, viewers and listeners to produce timely, accurate and complete reporting on important environmental and health issues. The administration works for them, too. Shouldn’t it have the same goals?" (Read more)