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Articles by Curtis Brainard | Email the Author
TNR causes trouble for coal baron
Exposé on pressuring employees to make campaign contributions stirs inquiry
By Curtis Brainard Oct 12, 2012 at 03:00 PM
The New Republic stirred up a bit of trouble for coal baron Robert Murray by revealing the aggressiveness with which... More
Jackpot lost
Is a $75K prize or better training more likely to improve environmental coverage?
By Curtis Brainard Oct 11, 2012 at 03:00 PM
The backers of one of journalism’s richest awards are bringing the prize to an end, betting that professional development, rather... More
The value of skepticism
Why science reporters should question research
By Curtis Brainard Oct 9, 2012 at 11:00 AM
Skepticism has earned a bad name in recent years thanks to those who doubt the consensus that human industry is... More
No debate about environment
Hopes for questions about climate, public lands fall flat
By Curtis Brainard Oct 4, 2012 at 04:00 PM
The presidential candidates didn’t talk about the environment during their first debate on Wednesday. Nobody really expected them to; they... More
BPI’s beef with ABC News
‘Pink slime’ defamation suit a long shot, media report
By Curtis Brainard Oct 3, 2012 at 12:00 PM
The maker of “lean, finely textured beef,” which critics call “pink slime,” is unlikely to prevail in a defamation lawsuit... More
Press digs into anti-GMO study
Reporters thwart scientists’ attempt to prevent scrutiny
By Curtis Brainard Oct 1, 2012 at 11:00 AM
A paper claiming that a diet of genetically modified corn and/or a widely used weed killer increased the likelihood of... More
Shoddy TV science coverage
CNN’s Gupta promises cancer cure, while PBS’s Michels delivers false balance on climate
By Curtis Brainard Sep 27, 2012 at 03:00 PM
It’s been a bad week and a half for coverage of science on television. Stories about cancer at CNN and... More
What does ‘healthier’ mean?
Coverage of organic-food study plays loose with the term
By Curtis Brainard Sep 11, 2012 at 11:30 AM
“Healthier” is a word the media often use without enough care, and that shortcoming was on full display during last... More
Yao Ming and the elephant massacre
Recent coverage of the African poaching crisis strikes at supply and demand
By Curtis Brainard Sep 6, 2012 at 04:45 PM
After weeks of the media mostly failing to realize why basketball star Yao Ming’s trip to Kenya was fairly important... More
Conventions create climate coverage
While ScienceDebate.org gets some answers
By Curtis Brainard Sep 5, 2012 at 06:00 PM
The presidential candidates are still treating it like a back-burner issue, but the Republican and Democratic national conventions incited a... More
Water woes
Regional papers turn out series on sea level, drought
By Curtis Brainard Aug 30, 2012 at 04:30 PM
Exposés about the changing climate in the polar north are great, and all the more important in light of reports... More
Required skimming: fossil fuels
Drill, baby, drill
By Curtis Brainard Aug 24, 2012 at 06:50 AM
This month, CJR presents “Required Skimming,” a daily miniguide to our staffers’ beats and obsessions, ranging from finance to food.... More
CBS goofs up the green beat
Network fails to disclose M. Sanjayan’s affiliation and ties to source
By Curtis Brainard Aug 23, 2012 at 11:00 AM
Only two months after hiring him, CBS News has already botched a report from its new science and environment contributor,... More
Candidates clam up on climate
Reporters call out Obama and Romney’s silence
By Curtis Brainard Aug 21, 2012 at 03:00 PM
Nary a word has been spoken about climate change on the presidential campaign trail, and it’s a silence that some... More
UPI shirks responsibility
Raeburn takes wire to task for cribbing from Science News
By Curtis Brainard Aug 17, 2012 at 04:10 PM
The plagiarism, or problematic paraphrasing, parade continued on Thursday as several reporters from Science News complained on Facebook that the... More
Ryan re-energizes coverage
VP candidate brings fossil fuels, alternatives back into focus
By Curtis Brainard Aug 16, 2012 at 04:30 PM
Paul Ryan’s selection as the GOP’s candidate for vice president has renewed debate about, and coverage of, the stark differences... More
UPDATED: Crime and punishment
As Zakaria stands trial, Lehrer gets an undeserved pardon
By Curtis Brainard Aug 15, 2012 at 04:30 PM
As Fareed Zakaria’s trial-by-blogosphere for alleged plagiarism continues, Jonah Lehrer, whom the same jury convicted of fabricating quotes last month,... More
Sex and sensationalism
Researchers accuse press of ‘licentious’ coverage of animal studies
By Curtis Brainard Aug 10, 2012 at 04:30 PM
“The media loves to sensationalize research” on same-sex sexual behavior among animals, according to an analysis published this week in... More
Required skimming: space and astronomy
Satisfy your “Curiosity” about space
By Curtis Brainard Aug 10, 2012 at 06:50 AM
This month, CJR presents “Required Skimming,” a daily miniguide to our staffers’ beats and obsessions, ranging from finance to food.... More
The science of performance
Reuters writer reviews the research amid London Olympics
By Curtis Brainard Aug 8, 2012 at 06:50 AM
Does sex diminish athletic vigor? Does athletic tape enhance it? These are just a few of the questions that one... 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?
What to do if you find a baby bird
Expert advice
Inside Google’s secret lab
We might deplore the practice, but posting pictures of our food online is a way to bring everyone to the table
How the ‘World’s 50 Best’ list changed the way elite restaurants do business
“Every time the restaurant switched up its format, it got plenty of accompanying media coverage that let judges know they needed to return to see what was going on”
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.
