Monthly Archive
March 2012
Bloomberg BusinessWeek Cuts the Guruspeak
By Ryan Chittum Mar 30, 2012 at 07:43 PM
Capital New York takes a quick but revealing look at how and why Bloomberg BusinessWeek has revolutionized the business magazine,... More
The Trayvon Martin Case: How Has the Sentinel Handled It?
Orlando’s daily gets mixed marks
By Alysia Santo Mar 30, 2012 at 06:30 PM
When a big, local story breaks, regional newspapers have the opportunity to own it. The killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin... More
Does Fact-Checking Work? False Statements are Wrong Metric
By naming and shaming worst offenders, reporters can make a difference
By Brendan Nyhan Mar 30, 2012 at 09:41 AM
Politics today seemingly has more fact-checking than ever before. As a result, reporters are asking a new question: Does fact-checking... More
Audit Notes: Cookbooks and News, Too Big to Fail, Paul Ryan
By Ryan Chittum Mar 30, 2012 at 12:21 AM
Ken Doctor has a good post for Harvard's Nieman Journalism Lab on why news organizations need to be ramping up... More
Harry Potter Hits the E-Book Market
By Ryan Chittum Mar 29, 2012 at 05:42 PM
I've never understood quite why, in a digital age that allows companies to sell directly to their customers, that book... More
The Plain Dealer on a Potential Senator’s ‘Estrangement’ from Truth
Mandel says he won’t be swayed by fact-checks; reporter promises to stay ‘vigilant’
By T.C. Brown Mar 29, 2012 at 04:07 PM
OHIO — When a candidate for office declares his intention to repeat falsehoods, what’s a reporter to do? That’s the... More
Health Reform and the Supreme Court: Day Three
The press reads the tea leaves
By Trudy Lieberman Mar 29, 2012 at 03:06 PM
As the Supreme Court ended oral arguments on the Affordable Care Act, addressing whether the law can stand alone without... More
How to (B)roil a Celebrity
Add outdated newspaper writing to issues of authorship, and stir
By Kira Goldenberg Mar 29, 2012 at 02:56 PM
After The New York Times ran a story earlier this month about cookbook ghostwriters, some celebrities whose books were featured... More
A Strong Veepstakes Story from the Tampa Bay Times
Focus on Rubio’s deeds—not words—brings new insights
By Brian E. Crowley Mar 29, 2012 at 01:46 PM
FLORIDA — Whenever Sean Hannity interviews Marco Rubio, he gushes like 12-year old smitten with the girl next-door. Hannity’s beating... More
Stories I’d Like to See
Hooked on drug ads, education collision in Hawaii, and the gas frenzy
By Steven Brill Mar 29, 2012 at 01:29 PM
In his weekly “Stories I’d Like to See” column, journalist and entrepreneur Steven Brill spotlights topics that, in his opinion,... More
Taking Tea with Ayn Rand
Gary Weiss explores Objectivism’s influence on contemporary politics
By Daniel Luzer Mar 29, 2012 at 11:52 AM
Ayn Rand Nation: The Hidden Struggle for America’s Soul | By Gary Weiss | St Martin’s Press | 304 pages,... More
Audit Notes: Chart of the Day, Trayvon Martin Sourcing, Updates
By Ryan Chittum Mar 28, 2012 at 07:34 PM
The Atlantic's Matthew O'Brien pulls the chart of the day from Ireland's Central Statistics Office: This shows the change in... More
Health Reform and the Supreme Court: Day Two
Press coverage focuses on the individual mandate
By Trudy Lieberman Mar 28, 2012 at 01:40 PM
There was one near-universal takeaway from Day Two of oral arguments before the Supreme Court: The requirement that almost all... More
Why is the Press So Ready to Count Santorum Out?
Voters think their primary choices still matter
By Walter Shapiro Mar 28, 2012 at 11:13 AM
The front-page story in the March 18th New York Times seemed a case of political life imitating art. A revival... More
Darts and Laurels
So much hot air
By The Editors Mar 28, 2012 at 06:00 AM
In January, as earthlings awaited the largest solar radiation storm in seven years, news headlines had a Cowboys-and-Aliens feel:... More
The WaPo Ombudsman’s Faulty Paywall Analysis
The NYT’s meter is saving or adding more than $70 million in revenue a year already
By Ryan Chittum Mar 28, 2012 at 02:17 AM
Washington Post ombudsman Patrick B. Pexton has a flawed analysis on the logic of a possible paywall there and on... More
Little Context for Obama Energy Speech in Ohio
Local reports present a war of words without much fact checking
By Curtis Brainard Mar 27, 2012 at 05:43 PM
Unchecked accusations about gas prices and oil production defined local coverage of President Barack Obama’s speech at Ohio State University... More
Caro’s Way
Even after 2,600 pages, LBJ remains elusive
By Scott Sherman Mar 27, 2012 at 02:35 PM
It was the most contested election in the history of Texas. On August 28, 1948, Lyndon B. Johnson, a ruthless... More
Health Reform and the Supreme Court: Day One
Press coverage offers a little something for everyone
By Trudy Lieberman Mar 27, 2012 at 02:29 PM
Press coverage of the Affordable Care Act’s debut before the Supreme Court yesterday offered a little bit of everything. The... More
News Organizations That Lobby Against Their Own Reporters’ Interests
Media companies are fighting political transparency while their reporters demand it
By Steven Waldman Mar 27, 2012 at 01:09 PM
The battle playing out over a new government transparency proposal has taken a turn that should concern journalists. Many of... More
Why Kael is Good for You
It’s time to defend a critic’s ‘contrarian’ viewpoint
By Armond White Mar 27, 2012 at 06:00 AM
Last fall, The New Yorker published a long feature on the life and legacy of Pauline Kael, the most celebrated... More
Audit Notes: Hollywood Rolls, Ryan’s Loopholes, Regulation and Racing
By Ryan Chittum Mar 27, 2012 at 01:40 AM
Looking at this Wall Street Journal graphic, you'd think Hollywood has been on some kind of epic roll the last... More
In Ecuador, a Social Media Workaround
Oppressed journalists are having their say online
By Emily Judem Mar 26, 2012 at 06:29 PM
For three years, Ecuadorean journalist Lindon Sanmartín Rodriguez and his brother Pablo hosted a freewheeling talk radio show that analyzed... More
Mitt and the Mandate
Whose paternity is it, anyway?
By Trudy Lieberman Mar 26, 2012 at 06:14 PM
No matter what decision comes from the Supreme Court, which began hearing arguments Monday on the constitutionality of the Affordable... More
Sourcing Trayvon Martin “Photos” From Stormfront
Not a good idea, Business Insider
By Ryan Chittum Mar 26, 2012 at 02:48 PM
Business Insider runs a linkbait post with a graphic of Trayvon Martin images it found on the neonazi website Stormfront.... More
Madison Square Gardening
Time to plant some “seeds”
By Merrill Perlman Mar 26, 2012 at 01:13 PM
It’s spring, and a young man’s fancy turns to seeds. “Seeding” is a way of creating a tournament “draw”... More
Denying Death
Most people ignore genocide denial. Growing numbers of governments do not
By Justin D. Martin Mar 26, 2012 at 11:34 AM
While I’ve argued in this column that free speech in the world is trending toward expansion, a position I still... More
Married, With Websites
Leaving newsrooms behind, journalist couples from Maine to Alaska are setting up their own shops—online
By Alysia Santo Mar 26, 2012 at 06:00 AM
In romantic relationships, it’s often the small courtesies that express love best: doing the dishes, picking up the kids, making... More
Audit Notes: N.J., Paragon of Clean Government; Algae Fuel, Fees, The Rich (UPDATED)
By Ryan Chittum Mar 23, 2012 at 07:35 PM
Bloomberg's Jonathan Weil just guts a Center for Public Integrity report card on state corruption. It found that New Jersey... More
The New York Times Goes to the Dogs
Canine-centric stories skyrocket during early months of Abramson’s reign
By Ron Howell Mar 23, 2012 at 04:51 PM
There’s really no other way to say this: The New York Times is going to the dogs. Dogs have been... More
The Kickstarter Chronicles
Open-source robots, David Lynch, and the “Eat More Kale” guy
By Alysia Santo Mar 23, 2012 at 03:39 PM
Each week, dozens of journalistic endeavors turn to Kickstarter for funding. Pitching media projects to this online community brings another... More
The AP’s Weak Coverage of Its New Boss
By Ryan Chittum Mar 23, 2012 at 03:07 PM
The Associated Press has a new CEO. So how does the AP cover it? Not very well. AP hired McClatchy... More
Open Bar
The Red Carpet Lounge
By The Editors Mar 23, 2012 at 06:00 AM
Year opened 1976 Distinguishing features Red carpet, of course, and booths, plus five video-lottery machines. Thursday is Steak Night: $14 for... More
The WSJ on the GOP’s $36 Million Man
By Ryan Chittum Mar 22, 2012 at 06:10 PM
The Wall Street Journal has an excellent page-one story today on a billionaire you've probably never heard of who's become... More
Birthday Coverage for the Affordable Care Act
The two faces of health reform
By Trudy Lieberman Mar 22, 2012 at 04:16 PM
The health reform law celebrates its two-year anniversary tomorrow. There are myriad ways to report on the Affordable Care Act... More
Paley Center presents: “The Next Big Thing in Digital News Innovation”
By Alysia Santo Mar 22, 2012 at 04:08 PM
This morning, The Paley Center for Media hosted a forum called “The Next Big Thing in Digital News Innovation,” with... More
A Baghdad Journal
At stake: $18.6 billion for the rebuilding of Iraq. The players: The Pentagon, the White House, the press, and one loyal public affairs officer worrying about his job. Here is his unofficial story.
By Charles Krohn Mar 22, 2012 at 02:13 PM
Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, December 21, 2003. After a chilly daybreak, my mind is racing with recollections of the past few... More
Reporter’s Toolbox: Oil and Gas Prices
Resources to help journalists stop the spin
By Curtis Brainard Mar 22, 2012 at 02:00 PM
Every year, news stories about US gasoline prices appear in the early spring and remain popular until the end of... More
Telling the News on Cowbird
Jonathan Harris’s storytelling platform has journalistic potential
By Alysia Santo Mar 22, 2012 at 01:29 PM
Artist and computer programmer Jonathan Harris made a name for himself with unique projects documenting feelings and experiences. We Feel... More
The Etch-a-Sketch Press
How the media constructed another Romney gaffe—and why it is unlikely to matter
By Brendan Nyhan Mar 22, 2012 at 11:25 AM
NEW HAMPSHIRE — Yesterday, Etch-a-Sketch became the media’s favorite metaphor for Mitt Romney’s ideological flexibility. But the iconic children’s toy... More
Why Twitter Will Get More Annoying
By Felix Salmon Mar 22, 2012 at 09:22 AM
Happy sixth birthday, Twitter! You’re the service which started off as a way for groups of friends to keep... More
The Auteurs’ Caretaker
Penelope Gilliatt didn’t care about movies as much as she cared about the people who made them
By Bethlehem Shoals Mar 22, 2012 at 06:00 AM
In 1968, New Yorker editor William Shawn decided to start taking the movies seriously. Up to that point, the... More
Audit Notes: Skynet News, Gawker’s High-Low Strategy, Oil Speculators
By Ryan Chittum Mar 22, 2012 at 03:13 AM
Evgeny Morozov has a must-read piece at Slate on the rise of journalism bots, which Forbes now employs to write... More
Gawker Misreads the WSJ on Vaccines and Immunity (UPDATED)
By Ryan Chittum Mar 22, 2012 at 02:42 AM
Gawker totally misreads a Wall Street Journal story on numbskulls who don't vaccinate their kids, writing that it means "Oregonian... More
Michigan’s Bad Integrity Report Card
A close look at coverage in the “Trust Us State”
By Anna Clark Mar 21, 2012 at 04:16 PM
MICHIGAN — It looks bleak: Michigan gets an “F” on a “corruption risk report card” released this week by the... More
Romney, BuzzFeed, and that “Hidden” Op-Ed
Is the press ceding policy-shift reporting to oppo artists?
By Erika Fry Mar 21, 2012 at 12:05 PM
It was four o’clock on a Friday afternoon when BuzzFeed’s Andrew Kaczynski, a 22-year old student at St. John’s College,... More
Acronyms You Should Know
FERN: The Food & Environment Reporting Network
By Brent Cunningham Mar 21, 2012 at 06:00 AM
Even as interest in all things food-related skyrockets, space devoted to serious food issues continues to lose out to... More
Audit Notes: Newspaper of the Year, Leverage, Wemple vs. Wolff
By Ryan Chittum Mar 21, 2012 at 12:34 AM
In 2011, The Guardian had one of the best years any paper has ever had. Its reporting on the systemic... More
Inspecting Local TV’s “Public Inspection Files”
CJR explores the filing cabinets in five states
By The Editors Mar 20, 2012 at 10:31 PM
Regular readers may recall that a few months ago, CJR published a pair of columns by Steven Waldman—the lead author... More
Q & A: New America Foundation’s Tom Glaisyer
The NAF’s Media Policy Fellow on crowdsourcing broadcasters’ public files
By Alysia Santo Mar 20, 2012 at 10:08 PM
In exchange for using the public airwaves for free, broadcast stations are required to serve their local community, a condition... More
The NYT Paywall Hums Along
By Ryan Chittum Mar 20, 2012 at 03:34 PM
The New York Times's paywall continues to outperform expectations at its first birthday. The paper says it now has 454,000... More
When Journalists Take Money From Wall Street
By Felix Salmon Mar 20, 2012 at 02:12 PM
Many thanks to Paul Starobin for getting to the bottom of the question of journalists being paid by Wall Street... More
Stories I’d Like to See
Examining the insanity defense, MSNBC’s weekend sleaze, and suing OPEC
By Steven Brill Mar 20, 2012 at 01:17 PM
In his weekly “Stories I’d Like to See” column, journalist and entrepreneur Steven Brill spotlights topics that, in his opinion,... More
Ira Glass’s Casablanca Moment with Mike Daisey
A classy confession doesn’t negate the crime
By Lawrence Pintak Mar 20, 2012 at 11:08 AM
Over the weekend, as just about anyone with electricity knows by now, the public radio program This American Life fell... More
Detained in Dagestan
How I got caught—and got out
By Judith Matloff Mar 20, 2012 at 06:00 AM
Last September I went on assignment with a translator to Dagestan, a Russian republic on the Caspian Sea. Since we... More
Audit Notes: Responsible Populism, Tom Frank on Elites, Shlaes and Inflation
By Ryan Chittum Mar 19, 2012 at 11:52 PM
Simon Johnson writes about what he calls "responsible populism," not populism as it is so often portrayed in the press... More
Why Making More Money Is Groovy, And Makes You Richer
By Ryan Chittum Mar 19, 2012 at 07:55 PM
You might think this is an Onion-style parody of a column by a right-wing think tanker: But it's no joke.... More
The Facts of the Mike Daisey Matter
And why they matter
By Christopher Solomon Mar 19, 2012 at 05:26 PM
It’s been a tough winter for facts, and for those of us who wrangle them for a living. On Friday,... More
Beggars Can Be Choosers
Questioning the questions
By Merrill Perlman Mar 19, 2012 at 03:03 PM
Every so often it’s important to revisit an issue, to clarify or modify it, depending on the circumstances. It “begs... More
Money Talks
If you cover Wall Street, should you take Wall Street speaking fees?
By Paul Starobin Mar 19, 2012 at 06:00 AM
Gillian Tett, the US managing editor of the London-based Financial Times, is “sharp” and “glamorous,” according to a 2010... More
Audit Notes: Greg Smith, Mike Daisey, David Carr
By Ryan Chittum Mar 16, 2012 at 08:35 PM
Quote of the day goes either to Bloomberg or The Epicurean Dealmaker. It's a tough one. Bloomberg finds Morgan Stanley... More
Nine Lives of a Disputed Fact
A Politico op-ed fails the fact-checking test
By Trudy Lieberman Mar 16, 2012 at 03:45 PM
The other day, Politico published an opinion piece arguing that Americans should be “extremely anxious about the outcome” of the... More
Sun’s Damon Discusses How She Got the Goods on NV Lawmakers
Exposé on spending disclosures all started with a source
By Jay Jones Mar 16, 2012 at 02:38 PM
NEVADA — Some recent stories by, and about, Las Vegas Sun political reporter Anjeanette Damon point out the veracity of... More
The Kickstarter Chronicles
Four decades of mystery, seven deadly sins in Las Vegas, and pro-frack America
By Alysia Santo Mar 16, 2012 at 02:00 PM
Each week, dozens of journalistic endeavors turn to Kickstarter for funding. Pitching media projects to this online community brings another... More
Back to School with Santorum
Journalists take a closer look at claims about his Penn State days
By Ken Knelly Mar 16, 2012 at 01:37 PM
PENNSYLVANIA — A radio interview on the eve of Michigan's primary let Sen. Rick Santorum expand on his widely reported... More
Tracking Campaign Cash in Colorado
An interview with Denver Post reporter Karen Crummy
By Mary Winter Mar 16, 2012 at 12:49 PM
COLORADO — As the campaign finance landscape shifts, and more cash from more sources flows into politics at every level,... More
Words & Deeds
Murdoch finds it’s not easy being green
By Maria Armoudian Mar 16, 2012 at 06:00 AM
In 2007, News Corp. Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch unequivocally acknowledged the reality of climate change and launched “a... More
Audit Notes: 1966 Wages, Fracking’s Chickens and Eggs, Whistleblowers
By Ryan Chittum Mar 16, 2012 at 02:35 AM
David Cay Johnston looks at the latest income-distribution data from Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty, and notes that in this... More
The NAA Newspaper Numbers
By Ryan Chittum Mar 16, 2012 at 02:16 AM
Alan Mutter looks at the 2011 numbers out of the Newspaper Association of America, which he notes were "quietly published."... More
Mad Libs, New York Times Executive Pay Edition
By Ryan Chittum Mar 15, 2012 at 06:45 PM
The New York Times likes to inveigh against executive compensation practices on its editorial pages, and its newsroom has done... More
Southern Polls: Going Beyond Hillbillies
Even pushback against media meme invokes tired stereotypes
By Andria Krewson Mar 15, 2012 at 12:54 PM
NORTH CAROLINA — It’s still early in this election season, but the tired trope of how ignorant folks are down... More
Shelf Life of…
A Mort Zuckerman editor
By The Editors Mar 15, 2012 at 06:00 AM
The news that Kevin Convey was out as editor of the New York Daily News after less than 24 months,... More
The Worst Personal-Finance Video Ever
By Felix Salmon Mar 15, 2012 at 01:45 AM
Like many people, I’m fascinated by lottery tickets. In many ways they’re the purest speculative investment in the world: a... More
Audit TV: Has the Business Press Failed the Public Trust?
By Ryan Chittum Mar 14, 2012 at 07:58 PM
Audit Boss Dean Starkman's cover story in the last issue of CJR argued that business journalism had narrowed its gaze... More
WFTV’s Sensationalism Soils Solid Obama Sit-Down
Orlando reporter suggests recent Afghanistan killings comparable to My Lai
By Brian E. Crowley Mar 14, 2012 at 04:55 PM
FLORIDA—Orlando WFTV reporter Greg Warmoth found himself standing in front of President Obama just a day after the world found... More
Univision Report Features Bo—And, Oh, Barack, Too
Interview segment embraces White House’s light-touch frame
By Jay Jones Mar 14, 2012 at 03:50 PM
NEVADA — While President Obama works to win the minds of Hispanic voters in America, his pet pooch, Bo, may... More
Greg Smith and Goldman Sachs
By Ryan Chittum Mar 14, 2012 at 02:06 PM
It's tempting to get all savvy and snarky about Greg Smith's op-ed in The New York Times this morning on... More
Your Black Muslim History
A new book tackles issues larger than one murdered reporter
By Jess Mowry Mar 14, 2012 at 12:12 PM
Killing the Messenger: A Story of Radical Faith, Racism's Backlash, and the Assassination of a Journalist | By Thomas Peele... More
Repaving the Trail
Campaign reporting can be terrible. Here’s how to make it better.
By Justin Peters Mar 14, 2012 at 11:08 AM
In January, I visited New Hampshire and Florida to report on the media coverage of the GOP presidential primaries there.... More
Notes from our Online Readers
Readers weigh in on Gordon’s “Gender Imbalance on the Campaign Trail,” and Fahy’s “Media Made Hawking Famous.”
By The Editors Mar 14, 2012 at 06:00 AM
When so many voters are women, why do male reporters outnumber female reporters two to one? Meryl Gordon explores that... More
Audit Notes: Fast Food Nation at 10, U.S. Inequality, Marilyn Hagerty
By Ryan Chittum Mar 14, 2012 at 12:40 AM
Eric Schlosser revisits his muckraking epic Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal for The Daily Beast,... More
Stories I’d Like to See
Afghan justice, Putin’s palace, and the Edwards trial
By Steven Brill Mar 13, 2012 at 04:00 PM
In his weekly “Stories I’d Like to See” column, journalist and entrepreneur Steven Brill spotlights topics that, in his opinion,... More
American Banker Delves into Debt-Collecting Woes at Chase
By Ryan Chittum Mar 13, 2012 at 03:26 PM
It looks more and more like the foreclosure scandal is a symptom of a larger problem. American Banker's Jeff Horwitz... More
Is Buying Health Insurance Like Shopping on Amazon?
No sirreeee, says WBUR
By Trudy Lieberman Mar 13, 2012 at 01:12 PM
On Monday, the AP reported that, as part of its health reform efforts, the federal government would require states to... More
Letters to the Editor
Readers respond to our January/February issue
By The Editors Mar 13, 2012 at 06:00 AM
Out of the park Congratulations on a truly outstanding January/February issue. Magazines I read—like The New Yorker and The New... More
Audit Notes: Charles Murray’s Lunch, Morgenson on Fairfax, Knight-Ridder’s iPad
By Ryan Chittum Mar 12, 2012 at 07:59 PM
The Globe and Mail's Doug Saunders writes this on Twitter: What Charles Murray had for lunch while telling the FT... More
Pessimism Reigns a Year After Fukushima
Media forecast a gloomy future for the nuclear industry
By Cristine Russell Mar 12, 2012 at 05:00 PM
The barrage of stories worldwide on the first anniversary of the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant provided... More
Jibe Talking
Confusion over jibe, jive, gibe, and gybe
By Merrill Perlman Mar 12, 2012 at 11:59 AM
“Alas, poore Yorick,” Shakespeare wrote. “Where be your gibes now?” Or, depending on your edition of Hamlet, perhaps he wrote... More
Should Health Journos Use Hospital Safety Data?
An interview with Kaiser Health News’s Jordan Rau
By Trudy Lieberman Mar 12, 2012 at 11:37 AM
In a highly touted effort to improve the quality of hospital care, the federal government has started disclosing data that... More
The Constant Gardener
My two years tending AOL’s hyperlocal experiment
By Sean Roach Mar 12, 2012 at 06:00 AM
My employment with Patch started with a handshake and a promise that I would be called with a job offer... More
Tim Armstrong Still Believes
The AOL CEO tells why he’s still betting on Patch
By The Editors Mar 12, 2012 at 06:00 AM
This article ran in CJR's March/April 2012 edition as a sidebar to Sean Roach's cover story on the Patch hyperlocal... More
A Brief History of Hyperlocals
Smells like town spirit
By Cyndi Stivers Mar 12, 2012 at 06:00 AM
This article ran in CJR's March/April 2012 edition as a sidebar to Sean Roach's cover story on the Patch hyperlocal... More
A Dim-Bulb Story From the Washington Post
By Ryan Chittum Mar 9, 2012 at 07:58 PM
New Mexico Senator Jeff Bingaman's office this afternoon sent out a press release hammering the Washington Post's page-one story on... More
Rick Santorum’s Math Problem
The press doesn’t fall for his incorrect Obamacare answer
By Trudy Lieberman Mar 9, 2012 at 02:57 PM
Now really, Rick—every American will get government help after Obamacare takes effect? Surely you jest! Thankfully my press brethren had... More
200 Years of Citi
An alternate history
By Ryan Chittum Mar 9, 2012 at 02:42 PM
Bloomberg's Christine Harper, on Twitter, notes that Citigroup's corporate timeline, launched in a must-have new iPad app called Citi News,... More
The Kickstarter Chronicles
Hyperlocal news, jam bands, and how to make a baby
By Alysia Santo Mar 9, 2012 at 10:49 AM
Each week, dozens of journalistic endeavors turn to Kickstarter for funding. Pitching media projects to this online community brings another... More
Editor in Chief’s Note
Congrats and goodbye to deputy editor Clint Hendler, and a call for photos of journalists on the job
By Cyndi Stivers Mar 9, 2012 at 06:00 AM
Although ’tis the season to look ahead, it’s time to say thank you to someone whose name is disappearing from... More
Audit Notes: Tabloid Chutzpah, Paywall Performance, The Fed and Dividends
By Ryan Chittum Mar 8, 2012 at 08:44 PM
Rebekah Brooks, former head of Rupert Murdoch's UK tabloids, which were rogue even by the viciously sensationalist standards of that... More
Heap of Trouble
Katherine Boo chronicles life inside a Mumbai slum
By V.V. Ganeshananthan Mar 8, 2012 at 07:28 PM
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity | By Katherine Boo | Random House |... More
The Justice Department and the Price of Books
By Ryan Chittum Mar 8, 2012 at 07:10 PM
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Justice Department is going after Apple and book publishers for colluding to fix... More
In Ohio, a Spotlight on Super PAC Ads
As a new campaign urges stations to reject misleading ads, how sharp is the conflict between conscience and cash?
By T.C. Brown Mar 8, 2012 at 11:56 AM
OHIO — There was no escaping the blizzard of negative television and radio advertising assaulting the eyes and ears of... More
Hard Numbers
Super PACs and Stephen Colbert
By The Editors Mar 8, 2012 at 09:00 AM
9 days before South Carolina’s primary when comedian Stephen Colbert announced his presidential bid 157,876 dollars spent by Colbert Super... More
Bloomberg’s Missing Billionaire
By Ryan Chittum Mar 7, 2012 at 06:46 PM
This is rich, and no pun is intended. I criticized Bloomberg News yesterday for its policy of not covering its... More
News Organizations That Haven’t Learned To Share
The seams in certain outlets’ social sharing strategies
By Justin D. Martin Mar 7, 2012 at 04:54 PM
The Economist does not let users of its free app share news items via e-mail, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or anything... More
The Baby Boom Wasn’t That Big, WSJ
By Ryan Chittum Mar 7, 2012 at 04:01 PM
Boomers will be flooding the senior centers over the next few years and decades and that wave will be a... More
How Vladimir Putin Came to Power
Masha Gessen takes a hard look at the Russian president
By Malcolm Forbes Mar 7, 2012 at 03:29 PM
The Man Without A Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin | by Masha Gessen | Riverhead | 304 pages,... More
GlobalPost’s Charles Sennott: a progress report
By Olivia Smith Mar 7, 2012 at 12:13 PM
GlobalPost’s vice president, Charles Sennott, stopped by Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism yesterday to talk to journalism students. Sennott,... More
Stories I’d Like to See
A hidden Gulf economy, Romney’s old taxes, and patent wars
By Steven Brill Mar 7, 2012 at 11:26 AM
In his weekly “Stories I’d Like to See” column, journalist and entrepreneur Steven Brill spotlights topics that, in his opinion,... More
Context, and Political Theater, in North Carolina
Why the press needs to tell the parts of the story Obama won’t
By Andria Krewson Mar 7, 2012 at 11:15 AM
NORTH CAROLINA — As the results of the Super Tuesday primaries put Republican candidates in the headlines, President Obama is... More
Show us the Money
Broadcasters and the FCC need to get political ad data online
By The Editors Mar 7, 2012 at 06:00 AM
The Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision unleashed a torrent of campaign spending, the impact of which we are... More
Audit Notes: Fox on Energy, Journalists and Programmers, Bloomberg
By Ryan Chittum Mar 7, 2012 at 01:29 AM
Media Matters has an amusing compilation of Fox News reactions to $4 a gallon gasoline in 2008, when George W.... More
Bloomberg, Uncovered
A news organization that won’t report on itself
By Ryan Chittum Mar 6, 2012 at 06:23 PM
Gothamist flags this gem down deep in a Bloomberg News story on its new Billionaire's Index: Bloomberg News editorial policy... More
When JFK made Santorum sick
The press was too slow to supply the larger context
By Erika Fry Mar 6, 2012 at 01:48 PM
It has been more than a week since Rick Santorum went on the Sunday talk circuit and made news by... More
Few Female Bylines in Major Magazines
Losing the count
By Erin Siegal Mar 6, 2012 at 12:05 PM
It's appropriate that the red, the color of passion and anger, represents the female male slice of the pie in... More
Flashback: Super Tuesday 2008 (Vote-zilla!!!)
By Liz Cox Barrett Mar 6, 2012 at 11:16 AM
Today is Super Tuesday! Or, "'pretty good' Tuesday," as MSNBC's delegate math whiz Chuck Todd put it in a wistful... More
Infographic: What’s a CEO Worth?
What Janet Robinson’s golden parachute could buy
By Ryan Chittum Mar 6, 2012 at 06:00 AM
Infographic by Nigel Holmes Click here to see a larger version of this image. The tenures of two recently... More
Audit Notes: Rocket Internet, Gas Taxes, The Price of Health Care
By Ryan Chittum Mar 6, 2012 at 12:58 AM
Bloomberg BusinessWeek has a good story on a German company that makes its living ripping off American websites and taking... More
WSJ on the Return of the Online Pet Food Store
By Ryan Chittum Mar 5, 2012 at 05:41 PM
I like this smart Wall Street Journal piece on the new economics of the Web as told through the effort... More
What’s In David Carr’s Backpack?
The New York Times media columnist shows his stuff
By The Editors Mar 5, 2012 at 02:32 PM
David Carr, veteran newspaperman and indie-film star (Page One), can’t quite remember the year he started his career at The... More
NPR Rethinks Its Reporting
Will “he said/she said” go away for good?
By Trudy Lieberman Mar 5, 2012 at 02:10 PM
Last week, NPR released a new ethics document that the blogosphere announced would end the “he said/she said” reporting the... More
@#?
How to quote e-mail, tweets, and such
By Merrill Perlman Mar 5, 2012 at 01:04 PM
BREAKING: Palm Beach Sheriffs Office tells @SusanCandiotti that the bomb squad is investigating a suspicious pkg near #Rush #Limbaugh home... More
How I Got That Story
Death Metal Angola
By The Editors Mar 5, 2012 at 11:00 AM
In September 2009, Jeremy Xido, a New York-based filmmaker, went to Angola with a colleague and two hand-held video... More
The World’s Dumbest Press Conference
How coverage of Joe Arpaio’s birtherism threatens to make the myth worse
By Brendan Nyhan Mar 5, 2012 at 10:37 AM
NEW HAMPSHIRE — Last Tuesday, the New America Foundation released a report (PDF) I co-authored with Georgia State's Jason Reifler... More
Romney and the “Mormon Moment”
Lots of fear and loathing from the pundit class
By Erika Fry Mar 2, 2012 at 04:41 PM
More than once this election cycle, it has been declared “The Mormon Moment.” Look no further than Broadway (The Book... More
A Laurel to the Toledo Blade
Paper challenges Romney on his manufacturing message
By T.C. Brown Mar 2, 2012 at 04:33 PM
OHIO — There’s a well-known truism that you can’t have it both ways. But that’s never stopped politicians, especially in... More
In Michigan, Getting Beyond the ‘Class Divide’
HuffPost’s Blumenthal finds another good angle in the results
By Anna Clark Mar 2, 2012 at 01:13 PM
MICHIGAN — Election night demands instant coverage from reporters—not just to name a winner, but to define how voting patterns... More
Checkbook Journalism’s Slippery Slope
Murdoch’s scandals show why paying for news is a bad idea
By Ryan Chittum Mar 2, 2012 at 10:47 AM
Combine the culture of checkbook journalism with the culture of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. and you get one of the... More
Tongue Oppressor
How Lukashenko’s Belarus muzzles the press
By Dimiter Kenarov Mar 2, 2012 at 06:00 AM
Last summer I traveled to Belarus on assignment for The Virginia Quarterly Review. It was the most bizarre reporting trip... More
Audit Notes: William Cohan, Three Little Pigs, Recovery Spring
By Ryan Chittum Mar 2, 2012 at 01:14 AM
In Bloomberg BusinessWeek, William D. Cohan writes about the spectacular downfall of hedge fund manager Dan Zwirn, whose $12 billion... More
Opening Shot
Pinterest is the media’s newest BFF
By The Editors Mar 1, 2012 at 03:27 PM
“What is Pinterest and why should I care?” asked a recent blog post on TheAtlantic.com. In case you’ve managed... More
That Stuck Feeling
The Huffington Post launches an ambitious new series on the poor and middle class
By Ryan Chittum Mar 1, 2012 at 03:14 PM
We all had a chuckle yesterday at the poor hedge fund marketing director whining about the difficulties of living in... More
My Lawyer, Myself
Suing the government for access to info, pro se
By Erin Siegal Mar 1, 2012 at 02:01 PM
Inside well-funded newsrooms, investigative reporters can usually turn to company lawyers for help with stalled public records requests. But independent... More
Heartland, Gleick, and Media Law
Experts weigh in on leaks and deceptive tactics
By Curtis Brainard Mar 1, 2012 at 02:00 PM
When, if ever, are deceptive tactics legally or ethically permissible in journalism? An old debate over that question has raged... More
Newt and the Age Gap
What young reporters don’t understand
By Walter Shapiro Mar 1, 2012 at 08:30 AM
In this topsy-turvy political year, Newt Gingrich has exhausted every resurrection metaphor from the world’s great religions and undoubtedly,... More
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Woman’s work - The twisted reality of an Italian freelancer in Syria
Sourcing Trayvon Martin ‘photos’ from stormfront - Not a good idea, Business Insider
Elizabeth Warren, the antidote to CNBC - The senator schools the talking heads on bank regulation
Art Laffer + PR blitz = press failure - The media types up the retail lobby’s propaganda
Reuters’s global warming about-face - A survey shows the newswire ran 50 percent fewer stories on climate change after hiring a “skeptic”
Barack Obama: ‘those old times aren’t coming back’
“It used to be there were local newspapers everywhere. If you wanted to be a journalist, you could really make a good living working for your hometown paper”
The Guardian’s editor opens up on Reddit
Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian, answered questions in an Ask Me Anything
The (almost) lost speech of Justice Anthony Kennedy
How his insightful remarks about the Constitution inadvertently make the case for a Supreme Court “media pool”
Fox News sues TVEyes for copyright infringement
Says subscription service sells access to its content without permission nor compensation
CJR's Guide to Online News Startups
ACEsTooHigh.com – Reporting on the science, education, and policy surrounding childhood trauma
Who Owns What
The Business of Digital Journalism
A report from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Questions and exercises for journalism students.

