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Articles by Brendan Nyhan | Email the Author
How to cover the presidential results
A guide for journalists on election fundamentals and campaign effects
By Brendan Nyhan Nov 7, 2012 at 01:18 PM
One of the most fascinating parts of the aftermath of an election is the construction of post-hoc narratives to "explain"... More
Pundits versus probabilities
The misguided backlash against Nate Silver
By Brendan Nyhan Oct 30, 2012 at 02:50 PM
Who will win the presidential election next Tuesday? Until recently, the market for analysis of questions like these has been... More
The momentum behind a misleading narrative
Why reporters have been getting the polls wrong in the presidential race
By Brendan Nyhan Oct 26, 2012 at 11:00 AM
On Thursday night, Politico beat a retreat in the great momentum debate of 2012. The site's Glenn Thrush and Jennifer... More
All good debate coverage is local?
Failings of the national press not mirrored in NH
By Brendan Nyhan Oct 16, 2012 at 11:00 AM
NEW HAMPSHIRE — If you cover politics for a national publication, the story of the debates so far has been... More
Enabling the jobs report conspiracy theory
The consequences of careless coverage of Friday’s unemployment numbers
By Brendan Nyhan Oct 8, 2012 at 12:15 PM
NEW HAMPSHIRE — Media ethics pop quiz: When conspiracy theories started circulating on Twitter claiming that Friday's jobs report had... More
Breaking the pack journalism paradigm
What would happen if reporters covered debates without access to the spin?
By Brendan Nyhan Oct 3, 2012 at 11:10 AM
NEW HAMPSHIRE — As tonight's presidential debate approaches, the chattering classes are pondering whether it will change the dynamics of... More
Will Obama really ‘break the fever’?
Why more journalists should question the President’s second-term claims
By Brendan Nyhan Sep 24, 2012 at 11:10 AM
With the media focused on the horse race (and Mitt Romney's ongoing tactical miscues), the claims by President Obama and... More
Jumping the gun on the Romney ‘47%’ video
In early coverage, reporters overstated the meaning and impact of Romney’s comments—and left out out key context
By Brendan Nyhan Sep 18, 2012 at 01:15 PM
NEW HAMPSHIRE — Yesterday, Mother Jones released a secretly-recorded video of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney making the following comments... More
When factcheckers get trigger-happy
A checklist to help journalists decide when to take aim
By Brendan Nyhan Sep 6, 2012 at 04:10 PM
Is there such a thing as too much factchecking? Factcheck.org described former President Bill Clinton's speech to the Democratic convention... More
Ignored factchecks and the media’s crisis of confidence
Whatever campaigns may do, aggressive truth-telling is the right approach for reporters
By Brendan Nyhan Aug 30, 2012 at 11:05 AM
Can the media stop politicians from misleading the public? That's the question on the minds of many journalists and commentators... More
Conventions: A great learning opportunity for voters
Why the debate over a lack of news misses the point
By Brendan Nyhan Aug 28, 2012 at 11:00 AM
Every four years, the two presidential candidates do battle in a series of high-stakes televised events that could shape the... More
Another factchecking fiasco
Journalistic failure in coverage of Harry Reid and his mysterious source
By Brendan Nyhan Aug 7, 2012 at 01:00 PM
A week ago, The Huffington Post's Sam Stein and Ryan Grim published an article repeating Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's... More
The Gore-ing of Mitt Romney
Poisonous cycle of gotcha coverage and access restrictions recalls an earlier campaign
By Brendan Nyhan Aug 2, 2012 at 02:58 PM
The profane confrontation between one of Mitt Romney’s press aides and reporters at the end of the presumptive GOP nominee’s... More
The press botches the tax debate—again
Narratives and ignorance trump accuracy in descriptions of Democratic proposal
By Brendan Nyhan Jul 26, 2012 at 04:54 PM
NEW HAMPSHIRE — Yesterday, the Senate held symbolic votes on a pair of high-profile tax bills with important implications for... More
Unanswered questions in the Romney/Bain controversy
Don’t look to fact-checkers for resolution
By Brendan Nyhan Jul 17, 2012 at 12:15 PM
NEW HAMPSHIRE — Fact-checkers have played a key role in the controversy over Mitt Romney's role in outsourcing at Bain... More
Arbitrating the dispute over Romney’s history at Bain
Reporters and editors need a better approach to covering the controversy
By Brendan Nyhan Jul 9, 2012 at 03:00 PM
NEW HAMPSHIRE — Last Tuesday, the Obama campaign released a new ad here and in eight other swing states that... More
‘Turning point’ claims ‘in tatters’
After historic health care decision, some commentators set out on fruitless search for campaign narrative
By Brendan Nyhan Jun 29, 2012 at 04:26 PM
Yesterday’s Supreme Court decision upholding most of the Affordable Care Act has vast implications for health policy in this country... More
Why Romney looks more ‘confident’ in reporters’ eyes
It’s journalism-speak for “seeming more likely to win”
By Brendan Nyhan Jun 19, 2012 at 12:05 PM
NEW HAMPSHIRE — One of the most frequent problems with campaign reporting is the way that journalists construct candidate-centric narratives... More
Do campaign gaffes matter? Not to voters
Overhyped gaffe coverage is a sign that editors should shift resources to other stories
By Brendan Nyhan Jun 13, 2012 at 02:55 PM
Since Friday, the national political conversation has been dominated by a debate over the importance of President Obama’s statement, at... More
Journalists: do no harm!
If you must cover the birthers, here’s an annotated how-to
By Brendan Nyhan May 31, 2012 at 01:19 PM
In a series of media interviews conducted before a Las Vegas fundraiser with presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Donald... More
‘See you on the other side’ - Meet Jessica Lum, a terminally ill 25-year-old who chose to spend what little time she had practicing journalism
#Realtalk: This is the best moment to be in journalism - The old stuff isn’t coming back, but that’s okay
Streams of consciousness - Millennials expect a steady diet of quick-hit, social-media-mediated bits and bytes. What does that mean for journalism?
Sticking with the truth - How ‘balanced’ coverage helped sustain the bogus claim that childhood vaccines can cause autism
An ink-stained stretch - Can Aaron Kushner save the Orange County Register—and the newspaper industry?
This is the best moment to be in journalism (25)
The WSJ editorial page hits rock bottom (19)
Public television’s attempts to placate David Koch
One journalist took matters into his own hands when a fellow audience member wouldn’t stop using her smartphone during a theater performance
Purchasing Tumblr is Yahoo’s flashy bet on a shift in social media
The shift from Facebook to more creative social networks
Gay Talese’s outline for ‘Frank Sinatra Has a Cold,’ 1966
Handwritten on a shirt board
CJR's Guide to Online News Startups
Uptown Messenger – Hyperlocal news for a neighborhood in New Orleans
Who Owns What
The Business of Digital Journalism
A report from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Questions and exercises for journalism students.
