Author Archive
Articles by Brendan Nyhan | Email the Author
The over-covered image war
Journalists are exaggerating the risk that Mitt Romney will be “defined” early
By Brendan Nyhan May 21, 2012 at 10:50 AM
The message war in the presidential election got underway in earnest last week, with the Obama campaign releasing a new... More
The entirely predictable failure of Americans Elect
A little poli-sci—or just recent history—would have helped pundits avoid the hype
By Brendan Nyhan May 18, 2012 at 11:03 AM
On Thursday, the board of Americans Elect folded its presidential nominating process after the set of declared candidates repeatedly failed... More
Obama ‘evolves,’ Romney ‘flip-flops’
As the candidates’ positions change, reporters construct differing narratives
By Brendan Nyhan May 8, 2012 at 12:00 PM
NEW HAMPSHIRE—Are Barack Obama and Mitt Romney so different after all? Despite the media’s portrayal of Romney as a uniquely... More
The Dangers of Silly Season
How bored reporters and social media can hype fake controversies and spread misinformation
By Brendan Nyhan Apr 13, 2012 at 12:09 PM
When Rick Santorum suspended his candidacy for the GOP presidential nomination on Tuesday, he removed any remaining doubt that Mitt... More
Narrowcasting the 2012 Election
Why media polls that slice and dice the electorate could miss the big picture
By Brendan Nyhan Apr 6, 2012 at 12:55 PM
NEW HAMPSHIRE — With Mitt Romney’s hold on the GOP nomination becoming too obvious to deny, horse race enthusiasts in... 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
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
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
Countering Misinformation: Tips for Journalists
Avoid negations, use graphics, and get the story right the first time!
By Brendan Nyhan Feb 29, 2012 at 10:52 AM
This article was written by Brendan Nyhan and Jason Reifler. It is adapted from Misinformation and Fact-checking: Research Findings from... More
The Elusive Hunt for the ‘Real Romney’
How the search for a politician’s true identity leads to pathological media coverage
By Brendan Nyhan Feb 16, 2012 at 10:21 AM
Though he launched his first run for president more than five years ago, Mitt Romney is still widely seen as... More
A State of the Union Media Prebuttal
Instead of overhyping the SOTU, here’s what reporters should do
By Brendan Nyhan Jan 24, 2012 at 11:43 AM
NEW HAMPSHIRE—Tonight, President Obama will address Congress and the nation in his 2012 State of the Union address. The SOTU... More
The Out-of-Context Quote as Gaffe
A closer look at coverage of “I like being able to fire people who provide services to me’”
By Brendan Nyhan Jan 17, 2012 at 06:00 AM
NEW HAMPSHIRE — Michael Kinsley famously wrote that "A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth—some obvious truth he... More
Forget the Debates—Focus on the Air War!
Journalists are looking for attacks in all the wrong places
By Brendan Nyhan Jan 10, 2012 at 06:00 AM
NEW HAMPSHIRE — Over the weekend, media coverage of the Republican presidential race focused on the lack of conflict in... More
Playing the Expectations Game in New Hampshire
The Union Leader creates an arbitrary threshold for Mitt Romney
By Brendan Nyhan Jan 6, 2012 at 03:37 PM
NEW HAMPSHIRE — After finishing the Iowa caucus in a virtual tie with former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney... More
The Post-Iowa Challenge
Providing information or constructing a narrative?
By Brendan Nyhan Jan 2, 2012 at 04:20 PM
NEW HAMPSHIRE — Over the last week, much of the nation's political press corps has headed to Iowa to cover... More
When Newt Isn’t Newsworthy
The problems with news pegs in campaign coverage
By Brendan Nyhan Dec 13, 2011 at 03:18 PM
NEW HAMPSHIRE — Yesterday, former House speaker Newt Gingrich returned to New Hampshire for a foreign policy debate with former... More
Fact-checking Versus Strategy
When reporters go meta on misleading ads, readers lose
By Brendan Nyhan Nov 29, 2011 at 10:53 AM
NEW HAMPSHIRE — In Sunday's Boston Globe, reporter Michael Levenson warned of a coming "year of mudslinging." This "rough, negative,... More
Covering a “National Campaign” for New Hampshire Readers
How should state press adapt to a world in which candidates bypass early primary states in favor of national debates and TV coverage?
By Brendan Nyhan Nov 22, 2011 at 05:15 PM
NEW HAMPSHIRE — Both the Washington Post’s Dan Balz and Politico’s Maggie Haberman have argued that the 2012 GOP primary... 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.
