Author Archive
Articles by Curtis Brainard | Email the Author
At Scientific American, Shirt Now Matches Socks
A Q&A with Editor in Chief John Rennie
By Curtis Brainard Jul 3, 2007 at 03:37 PM
This month, Scientific American unveiled a redesign of its monthly magazine. While not at all radical, the changes said a... More
Gimmick lead, redux
The point of pointless interactivity
By Curtis Brainard Jun 11, 2007 at 03:36 PM
As someone who sifts through reams of science news every day, I am always grateful to journalists that throw the... More
Just the Facts, and Opinions Too
Framing science in a fragmented media world
By Curtis Brainard Jun 5, 2007 at 03:34 PM
Scientists must do a better job making their research understandable and meaningful to the press and the public, even if... More
California Crud
NYT Sunday Styles captures the stink of the beach
By Curtis Brainard Jun 4, 2007 at 12:00 PM
Props to The New York Times' Sunday Styles section for running a good story about Southern California beach pollution yesterday.... More
Beating Around the Bush
The president turns 180˚ on climate
By Curtis Brainard Jun 1, 2007 at 04:45 PM
All around the world, reporters are responding to George W. Bush's reversal on American climate policy. In a speech in... More
Water Under the Dam? Hardly.
The fight for water
By Curtis Brainard May 31, 2007 at 10:56 AM
The battle for water is on in the American west. Reeling from a year of drought that produced the lowest... More
NYT’s “Basics” column needs an editor
Back to basics
By Curtis Brainard May 30, 2007 at 01:01 PM
In January, The New York Times launched a new column in its Tuesday science section called "Basics," written by Pulitzer... More
Not Your Grandma’s Science Fair
CNN stands out
By Curtis Brainard May 23, 2007 at 10:57 AM
It's that time of year. On Tuesday, the National Weather Service predicted that the upcoming 2007 hurricane season would have... More
We have been promised monsters!
But where are they?
By Curtis Brainard May 21, 2007 at 04:44 PM
I'm feeling let down. On Monday, The Boston Globe carried a short blurb about the Antarctic Benthic Deep-Sea Biodiversity Project... More
The best source of environmental stories that you’ve never heard of
What you should know about “green” ads.
By Curtis Brainard May 21, 2007 at 08:39 AM
If you make it green, people will buy. Or so goes the current marketing philosophy. Today’s news pages are filled... More
Hansen v. Cockburn in the The Nation, With Nothing at Stake
The global warming debate goes nowhere in this slow-motion battle of wits.
By Curtis Brainard May 7, 2007 at 03:32 PM
The folks at The Nation offer readers an intriguing new punch-counterpunch this month. The current online issue includes a short... More
Congested Coverage
Forget “congestion pricing,” PlaNYC needs the press’s deep and sustained attention.
By Curtis Brainard May 2, 2007 at 12:30 PM
It’s been a little over a week since mayor Mike Bloomberg unveiled his twenty-five-year plan for climate change and... More
Surprise, MTV’s Environmental News Rocks
MTV rediscovers some of the social consciousness that it once proudly displayed.
By Curtis Brainard Apr 24, 2007 at 10:30 AM
Sunday was Earth Day, sort of like the environmental movement's Fourth of July. The event got a lot of attention... More
A Guide Through the Jungle of Green Issues
Green news has grown into a print jungle that — sometimes unique and probing, sometimes more fad than fact — can be difficult to navigate.
By Curtis Brainard Apr 16, 2007 at 02:50 PM
Green is the new black. It's the new red, the new white; it is the new red, white, and blue.... More
Emissions Markets: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
The press, the markets and politicians get all mixed up.
By Curtis Brainard Apr 11, 2007 at 04:24 PM
A global warming debate yesterday at New York University between Senator John Kerry, a Democrat, and former congressman Newt Gingrich,... More
EPA Ruling Sets an Ambitious Menu For the Press
As “triumphant” as Monday’s decision may be for environmentalists, for the press the story is just beginning.
By Curtis Brainard Apr 4, 2007 at 05:28 PM
On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from... More
For ABC, Weather Equals Climate Change
ABCNews.com featured a poll Wednesday that was so egregiously nitwitted that it deserves comment.
By Curtis Brainard Feb 15, 2007 at 11:00 AM
We usually ignore inane network online news polls that ask readers to weigh in on current debates by clicking on... More
Scientific American’s Experiment in Wiki-Reporting
When the news of the oldest hominid fossil on record broke this fall, the magazine’s lineup was packed — so its editors tried an experiment they had been kicking around for months.
By Curtis Brainard Dec 4, 2006 at 01:25 PM
In September, a team of scientists, led by paleoanthropologist Zeresenay Alemseged, announced the results of a study on the 3.3-million-year-old... More
A Syndicated Column Preaches Beyond the Green Choir
Doug Moss, editor of E — The Environment Magazine, talks about how to present environmental and scientific issues to the public, and promoting his magazine.
By Curtis Brainard Nov 21, 2006 at 03:25 PM
"EarthTalk," a weekly, syndicated, Q&A-style column about the environment, might seem a little earthy-crunchy at first. Its publisher, E --... More
Murdoch Goes Green, and His Empire Follows
Rupert Murdoch, traditionally no friend to the science of climate change, has begun to change his tune, will NewsCorp?
By Curtis Brainard Nov 17, 2006 at 01:45 PM
It was like the sun rising in the west. For over a decade, Rupert Murdoch had disputed the science of... 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)
The completist guide to Star Trek
Matt Yglesias watched every Star Trek movie and every episode of every TV show in the franchise
The uncomfortable questions not raised by Benghazi
The press and Congress are asking the wrong questions
Rob Ford in ‘crack cocaine’ video scandal
A video that appears to show Toronto’s mayor smoking crack is being shopped around by a group of Somali men involved in the drug trade
Why the underwear-bomber leak infuriated the Obama administration
The threat of even grander leaks
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.
