Author Archive
Articles by Curtis Brainard | Email the Author
Tornadoes and Climate Change
McKibben is wrong; many reporters are “making connections”
By Curtis Brainard May 26, 2011 at 02:15 PM
On Monday, The Washington Post published an op-ed by Bill McKibben, a writer and environmental activist, under the sarcastic headline,... More
A Watershed Moment for the Chesapeake Bay Journal
On its 20th anniversary, the paper is growing and remolding its image
By Curtis Brainard May 13, 2011 at 10:00 AM
The current issue of the Columbia Journalism Review features a short article about the twentieth anniversary of the Chesapeake Bay... More
Science Blogs “Win a Place at the Table”
Zimmer and Yong on the evolution of online science coverage
By Curtis Brainard May 6, 2011 at 01:00 PM
According to “techy historians,” there were around twenty-three blogs in 1998. As of mid-February, there were 156 million, Phil Hilts,... More
Tide Change at Bay Journal
The Chesapeake Bay Journal celebrates twenty years of educating readers about the bay
By Curtis Brainard May 1, 2011 at 08:00 AM
The twentieth anniversary of the Chesapeake Bay Journal marks a watershed moment for a publication that knows something about watersheds.... More
Critics Slam PBS, NYT Autism Reports
Mnookin: “A reckless and irresponsible coda to Robert MacNeil’s career”
By Curtis Brainard Apr 28, 2011 at 12:15 PM
A PBS Newshour series about autism that drew former host Robert MacNeil back to the show for the first time... More
National Geographic Taking the Wheel at Scienceblogs.com
Report of merger prompts campfire history tale on Twitter
By Curtis Brainard Apr 26, 2011 at 11:00 AM
“My baby's all grown up,” mused Christopher Mims, retweeting an unconfirmed announcement posted nineteen minutes earlier that Scienceblogs.com, the site... More
Mixed Grades for Medical Coverage
Analysis of nearly 1,500 articles over five years finds pluses and minuses
By Curtis Brainard Apr 22, 2011 at 12:29 PM
A review of nearly 1,500 health-medical articles over the last five years has found that while journalists are nailing a... More
CU-Boulder to Shutter J-School
Journalism education remains a priority, administrators claim
By Curtis Brainard Apr 19, 2011 at 09:30 AM
The University of Colorado’s Board of Regents voted last week to close the journalism school at its Boulder campus, marking... More
California Watch is Watching
Investigation reveals lax oversight of seismic standards in schools
By Curtis Brainard Apr 15, 2011 at 10:30 AM
California Watch’s Corey Johnson was scanning the website of the state architect’s office one evening in December 2009 when he... More
Japan’s Other Environmental Woes
The Wall Street Journal breaks from the pack with article on non-nuclear fallout
By Curtis Brainard Apr 7, 2011 at 10:45 AM
The Wall Street Journal distinguished itself on Monday with an article that examined some of the non-nuclear environmental impacts... More
Covering “Crazy”
“Goldwater rule” overlooked in articles about Qaddafi, Sheen, and Loughner
By Curtis Brainard Mar 30, 2011 at 12:57 PM
The media has a penchant for psychoanalysis that often gets news outlets into trouble. From killers to celebrities to dictators,... More
Quaking in California
Articles about the “big one” short on science
By Curtis Brainard Mar 22, 2011 at 02:15 PM
The 9.0 earthquake that struck Japan on March 11 not only sent a tsunami barreling across the Pacific, but also... More
Crisis Juggling in Japan
Reporters struggle to balance quake, tsunami, nuclear coverage
By Curtis Brainard Mar 16, 2011 at 02:00 PM
The triple disaster. The triple whammy. Both terms are now common in media accounts of the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear-plant disaster that has... More
Microbes and the Media
Burned in the past, journalists wary of astrobiology hype
By Curtis Brainard Mar 8, 2011 at 10:58 AM
Claims about extraterrestrial life are once again making headlines. Unlike a December incident involving an assertion about the discovery of... More
“Frack”-tious Reactions
Skirmishes follow recent coverage of shale-gas drilling
By Curtis Brainard Mar 3, 2011 at 01:45 PM
The former head of Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection is not happy with The New York Times’s Ian Urbina and... More
Extreme Measures
Must reporters cite climate change in every article about severe weather?
By Curtis Brainard Feb 24, 2011 at 01:49 PM
Last week, the journal Nature made a big splash in the press with the publication of two studies which found... More
Coming to Terms with the “Value” of Life
The rhetorical debate behind the NYT’s front-pager
By Curtis Brainard Feb 21, 2011 at 04:30 PM
Last week, my colleague Felix Salmon expressed his love for The New York Times’s front-page article on Thursday about federal... More
Dr. Search Engine
NYT prompts needed discussion about the relative merits of health websites
By Curtis Brainard Feb 17, 2011 at 01:47 PM
Eighty percent of Internet users seek out health information on the web, according to a survey released by the Pew... More
Add It Up
Bad math mars coverage of penguin banding, climate change
By Curtis Brainard Jan 24, 2011 at 06:03 PM
In the last two weeks, reporters have repeated false numbers provided by a study and a report (and by their... More
Giffords’ Medical Care
Healthy dose of science coverage adds context
By Curtis Brainard Jan 12, 2011 at 08:30 AM
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords remained in critical condition on Tuesday afternoon after sustaining a gunshot wound to the head on Saturday,... More
Woman’s work - The twisted reality of an Italian freelancer in Syria
Sourcing Trayvon Martin ‘photos’ from stormfront - Not a good idea, Business Insider
Elizabeth Warren, the antidote to CNBC - The senator schools the talking heads on bank regulation
Art Laffer + PR blitz = press failure - The media types up the retail lobby’s propaganda
Reuters’s global warming about-face - A survey shows the newswire ran 50 percent fewer stories on climate change after hiring a “skeptic”
In one tweet
Luke Russert is the Golden Boy of DC
And it drives young journalists crazy
It’s official: We never need to worry about the future of journalism again!
The NYT shows us why
Why does Florida produce so much weird news? Experts explain
CJR's Guide to Online News Startups
ACEsTooHigh.com – Reporting on the science, education, and policy surrounding childhood trauma
Who Owns What
The Business of Digital Journalism
A report from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Questions and exercises for journalism students.
