Access Denied: Science News and Government Transparency

Has the Obama administration lived up to its promise to make science more transparent and accessible to the public? An investigation in the September/October 2011 issue of Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) finds that despite President Obama's early promise to create an open government, the nation's science reporters feel there has been little to no progress since the Bush administration. On Monday Oct. 3, 2011, the National Press Club hosted a panel of journalists and invited administration officials to critique what journalists and the government are (or aren't) doing to change that. The moderator was Seth Borenstein, science reporter for The Associated Press. Speakers include:

• Curtis Brainard, CJR's science editor
• Joseph Davis, Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ)
• Felice Freyer, Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ)
• Darren Samuelsohn, Politico's senior energy and environment reporter
• Clothilde Le Coz, Reporters Without Borders