Second Edition: Quality v. schlock journalism

Earlier in June, we established a novel award – the purpose being to compare good environmental journalism with what we call “stenography of government spin” or what other prominent media experts have dubbed “lapdogs” or “enablers”. see:”You’re Doing a Heck of a Job, Brownie” http://blog.nj.com/njv_bill_wolfe/2008/06/youre_doing_a_heck_of_a_job_br.html
Today, we continue in that vein with a focus on the coverage of a story about toxic site cleanups.
Last week, we broke a major story by releasing a US EPA Inspector General’s Report that severely criticized both EPA and NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
See: EPA REPORT BLASTS NEW JERSEY TOXIC CLEAN-UPS http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=1068
EPA’s own IG criticized EPA for poor oversight of the NJ DEP in supervising the progress of cleanup of delegated federal Superfund cases. EPA’s hands off “flexible” “partnership” approach to traditional federal oversight failed to hold the State accountable.
The EPA IG blasted the NJ DEP for gross mismanagement and lack of enforcement of toxic site cleanups. Importantly, the EPA IG Report demolished DEP’s excuse for failure. DEP persistently has blamed lack of staff resources and thousands of cases for backlogs and delays in cleanup. But, the IG found that DEP could provide no evidence to support this claim, so the IG called BS on this DEP argument. Instead, the IG found that DEP failure was a result of lack of enforcement, priorities, mandatory cleanup timetables, and public involvement and oversight.
The story received page one coverage across NJ and generated editorials that strongly criticized the NJ DEP.
Based on that coverage, the Murrow/Orwell is issued jointly to Sandy Bauers of the Philadelphia Inquirer for this story:
Report: inaction delaying cleanup of hazardous waste http://www.philly.com/inquirer/breaking/news_breaking/20080619_Report__inaction_delaying_cleanup_of_hazardous_waste.html
and to Matthew McGrath of the Asbury Park Press for this story:
DEP, EPA at odds over cleanup of Brick Superfund site
STATE FAULTED: Report urges EPA be put in charge
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008806260581
Bauers did a nice job of holding government officials accountable and presenting the key public policy issues from the IG Report. More importantly, Bauers was the only reporter to understand the significance of the IG Report and its links in undermining the justification for pending state legislation to privatize toxic site cleanup.
McGrath did an excellent job connecting the national and policy story to local conditions at the Brick landfill. His work illustrates why local officials – who have no expertise, conflicting interests in development, and cozy relationships with State DEP regulators – are the last people that should be involved in site cleanups or rendering judgement on the causes for failure and slow pace of cleanup.
The lapdog goes to Joe Tyrrell of the Star Ledger for this story:
Toxic site cleanup roles at issue – State labels report by the EPA ‘biased’
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
BY JOE TYRRELL
Star-Ledger Staff
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/somerset/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1214368611122650.xml&coll=1&thispage=1
Tyrrell drank the DEP Kool-Aid.
DEP claims the EPA IG Report is biased because it focuses criticism on DEP sites and not EPA sites. First, that claim is absurd, because the IG did in fact criticize EPA.
Second, and more importantly, the DEP’s bias claim is patently false, because the EPA IG was directed to conduct its review of State lead Superfund cases. Focus on State (NJ DEP) management was precisely what The IG was directed to concentrate on. This apparently was lost on Tyrrrell because he reported DEP “bias” spin as fact. How can the Report be biased when the IG was directed to look at State performance?
Worse, by relying exclusively on local officials – the least credible sources on this issue due to lack of expertise and political and economic conflicts – Tyrrell essentially provides cover and affirms DEP bias claim and excuse for delays.
It is not as if any of these facts were a mystery – they were written in the IG Report and several excellent newspapers days before Tyrrrell wrote his story.
Finally, Tyrrell – while serving as stenographer for DEP’s discredited excuses – completely missed the State level policy context and implications of the IG Report. Tyrrell failed to reach out to report other views that would balance the DEP and local perspectives he apparently accepted at face value.
Heck of a job Joe! You provided cover right on time – just when DEP needed it!