Wednesday, May 22, 2013. Last Update: Wed 6:05 PM EST

Author Archive

Articles by Dean Starkman | Email the Author

ipad2.jpg

Those immobile newspaper companies

Only 22 percent of a big sample even offer mobile products

One of the truisms of digital journalism, and one that happens to be true, is that mobile is a big... More

stimulus.jpg

The importance of counting stories

Schiffrin and Fagan quantify weaknesses in coverage of the stimulus

One of the cold, hard facts of media punditry is that no one can read everything—or should be expected... More

murdochwsj.jpg

Wall Street Journal: time to look in the mirror

Its Pulitzer shutout reaches six years

Stop me if you've heard this one: Old man goes to shul, prays: "Dear God, just once, let me... More

60minutes.jpg

60 Minutes’s Chevron pollution story springs a leak

An on-camera expert recants in a court statement

Three years ago, we weighed in on a bitter media dispute pitting Chevron against 60 Minutes over a piece... More

naarevenue.png

Newspaper revenue: good news, bad news

Mostly bad as revenue stops its free-fall but ads remain weak

The Newspaper Association of America takes some comfort, and with some reason, in the news that newspaper revenues declined... More

icij.png

Investigative collaboration, cross-border edition

A landmark series on offshore tax havens from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

A good sign that your investigation has hit the mark is when law enforcement agencies start demanding to see... More

plaindealerbomb.jpg

Advance to nowhere

Newhouse-owned chain slogs forward with discredited free-news model, now in Cleveland

Advance Publications's announcement today on the future of the Cleveland Plain Dealer was less dramatic than the one a year... More

grainsofsalt.jpg

Digital ads and grains of salt

Assessing recent claims

Some data are better than no data, I suppose, but it always pays to be skeptical when companies disclose... More

OSHAPOST2.jpg

Three things to like about the Times OSHA exposé

And one thing not to like at all

Ian Urbina's magisterial probe in The New York Times of OSHA's failure to police long-term health risks—like harmful fumes caused... More

schudsongraphic.jpg

The Rise of Longform Newspaper Writing, 1950s-2003

Fink and Schudson document the rise of “contexual journalism” before the longform meltdown.

Katherine Fink and Michael Schudson have a fantastic new paper called "The Rise of Contextual Journalism, 1950s-2003," to be... More

martin.jpeg

Q&A with the FT’s Martin Dickson

A new US managing editor takes over at the salmon-colored financial daily

Martin Dickson came on as US managing editor of the Financial Times in September, succeeding Gillian Tett, who is on... More

longformdecline.jpg

Longform meltdown (cont.)

Reaction to a post on the decline of longform stories at major papers

My post presenting data showing that major newspapers drastically cut back their longform story output in the last decade generated... More

longformdecline.jpg

Major papers’ longform meltdown

Stories longer than 2,000 words down 86 percent at the LAT since 2003, 50 percent at WaPo, etc.

No one equates story-length with quality. Let’s start with that concession. But still. Story-length is hardly meaningless when you consider... More

pepelepew.jpg

Native ads’ existential problem

L’affaire Atlantic/Scientology points up the format’s built-in problems for news

The Atlantic’s big mistake in the Scientololgy “debacle” has been variously described as: 1. Running an ad in the... More

wsjphoto.jpg

EXCLUSIVE: WSJ memo doubles down on scoops

An internal memo over the transom

Fresh over the transom, a new memo from The Wall Street Journal’s hierarchy on the importance of scoops to reporters’... More

120724Murdoch.jpeg

Murdoch’s straw snobs

The phony war on “elitist” journalism

It’s often hard to tell when Rupert Murdoch’s biographer, Michael Wolff, is merely transmitting his subject’s views or whether... More

wells fargo.jpg

A valuable walk through a 10-K

Partnoy and Eisinger keep it simple

Sometimes, when faced with the unholy mess that is financial regulation, the best idea is to keep it simple,... More

andrew_sullivan.png

Andrew Sullivan’s bold experiment

And how to think about it

The great journalism paywall debate has picked up steam lately as more newspapers move away from the idea of giving... More

120917Newspapers.jpg

Best of 2012: Dean Starkman

The Audit chief’s best of the year

A Narrowed Gaze — How the business press forgot the rest of us. What McClure Said: “The Story is the... More

dealbook_nyt.png

The real problem with that Dealbook conference

In a reputational transaction between Wall Street and a newspaper, guess who wins?

The discussion around the corporate star-studded Dealbook conference last week was good, but I don’t think it got to... More

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”

  • If you like the magazine, get the rest of the year for just $19.95 (6 issues in all).
  • If not, simply write cancel on the bill and return it. You will owe nothing.

Who Owns What

The Business of Digital Journalism

A report from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

Study Guides

Questions and exercises for journalism students.