Author Archive
Articles by Curtis Brainard | Email the Author
Weathercasters on climate
Rolling Stone refuses to let sleeping dogs lie
By Curtis Brainard Dec 19, 2012 at 11:00 AM
Rolling Stone’s Jeff Goodell rang an old bell in early December when he called out TV weathercasters for saying almost... More
Lanza, autism, and violence
Critics try to stem media conjecture after Newtown shooting
By Curtis Brainard Dec 17, 2012 at 01:45 PM
As with so many senseless acts of violence— including the shootings in Aurora, CO, last summer and Tucson, AZ, the... More
Flight of the bloggers
Despite recent departures, Discover is rebuilding fast
By Curtis Brainard Dec 12, 2012 at 06:50 AM
Amidst a move from New York to Wisconsin, Discover magazine has lost some of its most popular science bloggers in... More
‘Synbio’ coverage on the rise
Articles focus on ethics and biosafety, study says
By Curtis Brainard Dec 6, 2012 at 02:45 PM
You know an urban neighborhood is up and coming when it gets an abbreviation like “SoMa,” for the district south... More
Carney’s conspiracy theory
White House Press Secretary sees GOP operatives in good journalism
By Curtis Brainard Dec 4, 2012 at 11:00 AM
Last week, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney blamed GOP operatives for revealing that Susan Rice, President Obama’s presumed favorite... More
Dull news from Doha
UN climate summit a ho-hum affair for the press
By Curtis Brainard Nov 28, 2012 at 03:30 PM
The United Nations climate-change summit that began in Doha, Qatar, on Monday has so far been a ho-hum affair for... More
Highway to the danger zone
Following Sandy, HuffPo and NYT dig into the folly of coastal development
By Curtis Brainard Nov 20, 2012 at 12:15 PM
Hurricane Sandy renewed the media’s interest in the many foolish ways that we increase our vulnerability to extreme weather. There’s... More
Climate roller coaster back on track
With Obama talking global warming, media see ups and downs
By Curtis Brainard Nov 16, 2012 at 11:00 AM
At his first post-election press conference on Wednesday, President Obama talked about his current position on climate change in greater... More
Salazar threatens to ‘punch out’ reporter
Interior Secretary angered by tough questions at Obama campaign event
By Curtis Brainard Nov 14, 2012 at 12:00 PM
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar threatened to “punch out” a journalist for having the temerity to ask him questions... More
Take a beat
Media pump too much news from heart association meeting, critic says
By Curtis Brainard Nov 12, 2012 at 03:00 PM
More than 10,000 stories came out of the annual meeting of the American Heart Association (AHA), which took place in... More
Obama and the environment
Media react to the election with speculation, some insights
By Curtis Brainard Nov 8, 2012 at 03:00 PM
Journalists didn’t leave energy and the environment out of post-election speculation about what President Obama’s second term might look like.... More
Lemmings like us
Businessweek’s climate-change broadside is powerful, but ignores the allure of waterfront property
By Curtis Brainard Nov 6, 2012 at 11:00 AM
Hurricane Sandy finally got the media talking about climate change last week, but Bloomberg Businessweek spoke the loudest with a... More
Bad hippie!
Is it wrong to ‘scold’ exaggerations about climate and weather?
By Curtis Brainard Nov 1, 2012 at 01:00 PM
David Roberts has a long essay over at Grist complaining about "scolds" (The New York Times’s Andrew Revkin, in particular)... More
Sandy’s climate context
Why generalizing about extreme weather helps no one
By Curtis Brainard Oct 30, 2012 at 04:15 PM
It should come as no surprise that as Hurricane Sandy spiraled up the eastern seaboard, a variety of media outlets... More
Junkets masquerading as prizes
To avoid conflicts of interest, read the fine print
By Curtis Brainard Oct 25, 2012 at 05:15 PM
With dwindling support for travel in most newsrooms, journalists may be tempted to apply for one of the many prizes... More
Ask Obama and Romney this: What about climate change?
Schieffer misses media’s last chance to pop the question on a big stage
By Curtis Brainard Oct 24, 2012 at 11:00 AM
Over the final days of the campaign, CJR is running a series of pieces under the headline “Ask Obama This”... More
Debunking the ‘war on coal,’ take two
The AP gets it right the second time around
By Curtis Brainard Oct 23, 2012 at 11:00 AM
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Such was The Associated Press’s approach this month to explaining the... More
Turner’s turnaround
LA Times columnist learns that evaluating electric vehicles is harder than it seems
By Curtis Brainard Oct 19, 2012 at 11:00 AM
Twice in the past six months, the media have gotten carried away with stories portraying electric vehicles as unreservedly bad... More
The vilification of electric vehicles
Media botch full explanation of the latest research
By Curtis Brainard Oct 18, 2012 at 11:00 AM
When comparing electric vehicles (EVs) to gas-powered vehicles, most studies have focused on the electricity or fuel consumed while driving,... More
The good news about organics
And why the media tend to ignore it
By Curtis Brainard Oct 16, 2012 at 04:00 PM
In the long-running debate about whether organic food is more healthy and nutritious than the conventional variety, the press has... 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 New York Times told me to take this down
“If you wouldn’t mind using another publication to advertise your infringement tool, we’d appreciate it”
In AP, Rosen investigations, government makes criminals of reporters
“[A]s flagrant an assault on civil liberties as anything done by George W. Bush’s administration”
Jay Carney press briefing blues
“Reporters are increasingly skeptical about Carney’s demeanor and the veracity of some answers”
Jaron Lanier wants to build a new middle class on micropayments
A future where writers can gain wealth through a “freelance economy”
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.
