Author Archive
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Behind the News
Chinese Pollution in Words, Pictures and More
August 28, 2007 01:36 PMThese days, it is rare to see a magazine or newspaper publish a special report on climate change or natural resources that does not include at least some mention of China. It has become increasingly clear that not only Chinese... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Rifling Through NASA’s Closets
August 22, 2007 01:07 PMScandal is such a dangerous thing in the media. Readers devour it and always ask for more. When astronaut Lisa Nowak was arrested in February and charged with attempted kidnapping, the press went wild with stories about an unstable NASA... Continue reading
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The Kicker
Georgia Court Tests Mass. v. EPA
August 21, 2007 01:04 PMIn April, I wrote that the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, under the Clean Act set "an ambitious menu for the press." As... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Sun-Times Says Boycott BP
August 17, 2007 03:54 PMThe Chicago Sun-Times called for a boycott of BP today in response to a permit the oil giant received in late June to significantly increase the amount of toxic waste it dumps into Lake Michigan every year. ... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Newsweek v. Newsweek
August 14, 2007 02:08 PMI love to see columnists and reporters arguing in the pages of the same magazine, especially about climate change. This week, Newsweek has a good in-house squabble for readers. Columnist Robert J. Samuelson takes issue with last... Continue reading
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Behind the News
To Juice or Not to Juice?
August 8, 2007 02:39 PMPoint shaving, dog fighting, blood doping - it was enough to make some columnists posit that the last week of July was the "worst sports week ever." The sins, though, are not created equal. Nobody in... Continue reading
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The Kicker
Asexual Journalism?
August 3, 2007 04:14 PMMonday's Los Angeles Times carried a long feature, "This is Your Brain on Love," about neurological explanations of sexual attraction and desire. It's the type of health-section story that really irks me: no concrete or useful science, and few... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Quarrel Between ACORE and CEI Draws Inhofe’s Attention
July 31, 2007 10:22 AMSenator James Inhofe of Oklahoma may have called global warming a "hoax," but those who oppose him, and would like to see the United States enact climate legislation, have also suffered from foot-in-mouth disease. Last September, Grist columnist... Continue reading
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The Kicker
Nature Watch
July 26, 2007 04:05 PMI couldn't help of but think of the theatrical masks representing tragedy and comedy after reading two articles in this week's issue of the journal Nature. The tragic mask emerged with the news that a large, ancient, sand-covered... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Rumors at Fermilab and CERN
July 26, 2007 09:00 AMThe gossip mill is spinning in the particle physics world, with journalists, bloggers, and scientists all taking turns speculating about major discoveries that may or may not have occurred. As Dennis Overbye noted with a well-turned phrase in Tuesday's... Continue reading
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The Kicker
More on Our “Innovation Ecology”
July 17, 2007 01:26 PMYesterday, I posted a column applauding two recent articles that investigated what William A. Wulf, former head of the National Academy of Engineering, calls our "innovation ecology." This is the collection of patent laws, research and development budgets, product... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Selling Science
July 16, 2007 09:09 AMTwo weeks ago, The New York Times Magazine ran a cover story called "The Amateur Hour" about how "America's basement brainstormers, workbench concocters and garage tinkerers," are reviving NASA's space program. It was an uplifting story that should inspire... Continue reading
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The Kicker
Calling Captains Nemo and Ahab
July 13, 2007 01:11 PMThis week, reporters raised two fascinating stories from the ocean depths. The first, which got a lot of press coverage, is about a giant squid that washed up on a Tasmanian beach in Australia. As The Sydney Morning Herald <a... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Listening to Live Earth
July 10, 2007 10:40 AMAs the twenty-four-hour, seven-continent, do-something-about-climate-change Live Earth concert was drawing to a close on Saturday, Microsoft reported that the event was, in fact, the biggest musical extravaganza ever. By mid-afternoon, MSN had delivered more than 10 million video streams to... Continue reading
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The Kicker
Of Bootlegged Liquor and Heavy Cars
July 6, 2007 12:11 PMForget France, the U.K., Germany, and Italy. They may be G8 members, but Sweden is the country out to make or break reductions in Europe's greenhouse gas emissions. An article in The New York Times business section... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Rolling Stone Breaks Climate News!
July 5, 2007 04:04 PMA couple weeks ago, Rolling Stone unveiled a sixteen-page report on "The Climate Crisis," following a long line of national magazines that have recently published special sections devoted to global warming. Given the traffic in environmental reporting these... Continue reading
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Behind the News
At Scientific American, Shirt Now Matches Socks
July 3, 2007 03:37 PMThis month, Scientific American unveiled a redesign of its monthly magazine. While not at all radical, the changes said a lot about how print magazines are adapting to a digital age. CJR's Curtis Brainard asked John Rennie, SA's editor, to... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Gimmick lead, redux
June 11, 2007 03:36 PMAs someone who sifts through reams of science news every day, I am always grateful to journalists that throw the occasional curveball-or, as it happens today, the occasional oddball. On Monday, the New Scientist blog posted the results... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Just the Facts, and Opinions Too
June 5, 2007 03:34 PMScientists must do a better job making their research understandable and meaningful to the press and the public, even if that means downplaying the technical details and emphasizing its social relevance. This is especially crucial in the run up to... Continue reading
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The Kicker
California Crud
June 4, 2007 12:00 PMProps to The New York Times' Sunday Styles section for running a good story about Southern California beach pollution yesterday. It's a perennial problem in the state, especially in the lower half. Most of the crud comes from storm... 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
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The Kicker last updated: Fri 3:00 PM
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News Startups Guide last updated: Thu 10:24 AM
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