Toxic spills, acid rain, poor air quality-scarcely a day goes by without a report in the press on an environmental risk issue. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in New Jersey, a leading state in the production of chemicals, and the state with the largest number of Superfund cleanup sites. How accurate and how extensive is environmental risk reporting in the New Jersey press, and what can be done to improve the quality of its coverage of environmental risk? And what can we learn from the New Jersey experience?Environmental Risk and the Press sets out to answer these questions. The authors explore the strengths and weaknesses of environmental risk reporting in New Jersey by evaluating the state's best environmental risk stories. They find that even the best stories have a number of problems, and they develop a number of concrete recommendations for reporters and editors on how to improve their coverage in this area.The authors also investigate the feasibility of various methods for getting environmental risk information to reporters and into their newspapers. They recommend three ways to improve the quality of environmental risk information available to journalists. The first is nationwide distribution of environmental press kits that include a directory of news sources, a glossary of technical terms, and briefings by experts on strategies for covering particular types of environmental risk situations. The second is continuing education programs on environmental risk for reporters and editors. The third is creating collections of relevant reference books in the offices of newspapers and broadcast stations. The authors report on initial actions taken to implement these recommendations, and plans for others. They conclude that the broader availability of environmental risk information to the media will result in better reporting of environmental problems. This book is a first step toward enhancing journalists' appreciation of the importance of risk as an issue in environmental news coverage, and providing them with the tools to help them act upon that heightened awareness.

"This work offers journalists a guide to the environmental beat, with a summary of the technical aspects of selected environmental topics. . . . The authors, almost all from government, academia, and consulting groups in New Jersey, have produced a valuable tool."-Choice "The Reporter's Environmental Handbook is an excellent quick reference book for reporters and editors under deadline pressure. It contains a short background chapter on every imaginable kind of risk situation. It is a very useful guide for journalists reporting on environmental issues."-Teya Ryan, executive vice president and general manager of CNN, U.S. " An] indispensable book for any journalist, student, or informed lay person who needs to understand and communicate environmental risks."-Bernard D. Goldstein, M.D., dean, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health "A valuable tool for print and broadcast journalists reporting on the major environmental hazards of this new century. Every news organization ought to have this book in easy reach for their reporters and editors."-Jerome Aumente, distinguished professor emeritus and founding director, Journalism Resources Institute, Rutgers University When an environmental news story breaks, the first place to turn for background on the issue is The Reporter's Environmental Handbook, now available in an updated and expanded third edition. Here, journalists can find the fast facts they need to accurately cover complex and controversial environmental stories ranging from indoor and outdoor air quality to sprawl and bioterrorism. Bernadette M. West is an assistant professor at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey School of Public Health (UMDNJ-SPH). M. Jane Lewis is an assistant professor at UMDNJ-SPH and a member of the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute. Michael R. Greenberg is a professor and associate dean of the faculty of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. He recently served on a National Academy of Sciences committee that oversees the destruction of the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile. David B. Sachsman is the George R. West, Jr. Chair of Excellence in Communication and Public Affairs at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists. Renee M. Rogers is an environmental consultant specializing in human health risk assessment.