Author Archive
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The Observatory
Dull news from Doha
November 28, 2012 03:30 PMThe United Nations climate-change summit that began in Doha, Qatar, on Monday has so far been a ho-hum affair for the press. Most American news outlets didn’t even bother to send a correspondent, reflecting a general... Continue reading
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The Observatory
Highway to the danger zone
November 20, 2012 12:15 PMHurricane Sandy renewed the media’s interest in the many foolish ways that we increase our vulnerability to extreme weather. There’s climate change, of course. That came up right away. But carbon pollution isn’t the only, or even the most immediate,... Continue reading
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The Observatory
Climate roller coaster back on track
November 16, 2012 11:00 AMAt his first post-election press conference on Wednesday, President Obama talked about his current position on climate change in greater detail than he’s done in two years. News outlets’ attempts to interpret the meaning of his remarks produced bewilderingly disparate... Continue reading
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The Observatory
Salazar threatens to ‘punch out’ reporter
November 14, 2012 12:00 PMSecretary of the Interior Ken Salazar threatened to “punch out” a journalist for having the temerity to ask him questions about public policy at an Election-Day event in Colorado last week. Salazar was at an Obama campaign office in Fountain,... Continue reading
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The Observatory
Take a beat
November 12, 2012 03:00 PMMore than 10,000 stories came out of the annual meeting of the American Heart Association (AHA), which took place in Los Angeles last week, but it was the media’s ticker that was beating too fast and too hard,... Continue reading
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The Observatory
Obama and the environment
November 8, 2012 03:00 PMJournalists didn’t leave energy and the environment out of post-election speculation about what President Obama’s second term might look like. A lot of the commentary was a recitation of the ups and downs of Obama’s record during the first four... Continue reading
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The Observatory
Lemmings like us
November 6, 2012 11:00 AMHurricane Sandy finally got the media talking about climate change last week, but Bloomberg Businessweek spoke the loudest with a bold, red cover that featured a picture of a flooded New York City street and the words, “It’s... Continue reading
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The Observatory
Bad hippie!
November 1, 2012 01:00 PMDavid Roberts has a long essay over at Grist complaining about "scolds" (The New York Times’s Andrew Revkin, in particular) who criticize others for making too much of the link between climate change and extreme weather events like... Continue reading
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The Observatory
Sandy’s climate context
October 30, 2012 04:15 PMIt should come as no surprise that as Hurricane Sandy spiraled up the eastern seaboard, a variety of media outlets sought to explain the so-called super storm’s relationship to climate change. A few did well, but generalizations about extreme weather... Continue reading
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The Observatory
Junkets masquerading as prizes
October 25, 2012 05:15 PMWith dwindling support for travel in most newsrooms, journalists may be tempted to apply for one of the many prizes or programs that offer the chance to get out of the office and visit a new destination—but buyer beware. The... Continue reading
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Swing States Project
Ask Obama and Romney this: What about climate change?
October 24, 2012 11:00 AMOver the final days of the campaign, CJR is running a series of pieces under the headline “Ask Obama This” and “Ask Romney This,” suggesting themes and questions that reporters and pundits can put to the presidential candidates. Previous installments... Continue reading
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The Observatory
Debunking the ‘war on coal,’ take two
October 23, 2012 11:00 AMIf at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Such was The Associated Press’s approach this month to explaining the so-called ‘war on coal’ that conservative spin doctors have been peddling throughout the presidential campaign. An October 15 <a href=http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_COAL_POLITICS_WVOL-?SITE=WVHUN&SECTION=news&TEMPLATE=hddefault&CTIME=2012-10-12-12-57-18... Continue reading
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The Observatory
Turner’s turnaround
October 19, 2012 11:00 AMTwice in the past six months, the media have gotten carried away with stories portraying electric vehicles as unreservedly bad for the environment. They were based on research showing that EVs have a more significant impact... Continue reading
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The Observatory
The vilification of electric vehicles
October 18, 2012 11:00 AMWhen comparing electric vehicles (EVs) to gas-powered vehicles, most studies have focused on the electricity or fuel consumed while driving, and where those fuels come from. But a European study, published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology on... Continue reading
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The Observatory
The good news about organics
October 16, 2012 04:00 PMIn the long-running debate about whether organic food is more healthy and nutritious than the conventional variety, the press has shown a preference for covering research rejecting the averred value of organics. Such was the point of a clever, but... Continue reading
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The Observatory
TNR causes trouble for coal baron
October 12, 2012 03:00 PMThe New Republic stirred up a bit of trouble for coal baron Robert Murray by revealing the aggressiveness with which he has pressured his employees to donate to his conservative political pets and projects. In the magazine’s hard-hitting October 5... Continue reading
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The Observatory
Jackpot lost
October 11, 2012 03:00 PMThe backers of one of journalism’s richest awards are bringing the prize to an end, betting that professional development, rather than financial incentive, will do more to improve coverage of the environment. The Metcalf Institute for Marine and... Continue reading
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The Observatory
The value of skepticism
October 9, 2012 11:00 AMSkepticism has earned a bad name in recent years thanks to those who doubt the consensus that human industry is a significant driver of global climate change. But it’s important to remember that healthy skepticism is a key tenet of... Continue reading
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The Observatory
No debate about environment
October 4, 2012 04:00 PMThe presidential candidates didn’t talk about the environment during their first debate on Wednesday. Nobody really expected them to; they just hoped that they would. Leading up to the encounter, San Francisco Chronicle, The Huffington Post,... Continue reading
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The Observatory
BPI’s beef with ABC News
October 3, 2012 12:00 PMThe maker of “lean, finely textured beef,” which critics call “pink slime,” is unlikely to prevail in a defamation lawsuit filed two weeks ago against ABC News, according to most experts quoted in the press. Beef Products Inc. <a href=http://www.scribd.com/BeefProductsInc... Continue reading
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The Audit Business
- Audit Notes: pyramid people, Disney and ABC, no USA Today paywall Roddy Boyd digs into a diet-shake pyramid scheme
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The Observatory Science
- Dull news from Doha UN climate summit a ho-hum affair for the press
- Highway to the danger zone Following Sandy, HuffPo and NYT dig into the folly of coastal development
Campaign Desk Politics & Policy
- NBC News sets good example for Medicare reporting People perspective leads to clear explanation of impact of proposed changes
- In Pennsylvania, a niche site with wide reach PoliticsPA drives political conversation in Keystone State
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The Kicker last updated: Fri 3:00 PM
- Must-reads of the week
- The media news cycle is bananas
- Pass the #popcorn
- Must-reads of the week
- Tom Rosenstiel leaving Pew
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News Startups Guide last updated: Thu 10:24 AM
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