The reporter who saw it coming

Mike Hudson thought he was merely exposing injustice, but he also was unearthing the roots of a global financial meltdown

By Dean Starkman   Apr 22, 2012 at 03:33 PM

Mike Hudson began reporting on the subprime mortgage business in the early 1990s when it was still a marginal,... More

The Value of Prizes

By Dean Starkman   Apr 16, 2012 at 09:55 PM

I watched the Pulitzer announcements for the first time this afternoon, just upstairs in the World Room—and, well, it’s a... More

What McClure Said: “The Story is the Thing”

Clearing space for the agenda-setting narrative in digital journalism

By Dean Starkman   Apr 3, 2012 at 11:51 AM

Editor's note: CJR’s Dean Starkman was invited to give the opening keynote speech at this year’s Narrative Arc Conference, at... More

A Narrowed Gaze

How the business press forgot the rest of us

By Dean Starkman   Jan 9, 2012 at 06:00 AM

Steve Lipin didn’t fit the profile of a transformative media figure when he took over the mergers-and-acquisitions beat for... More

Best of 2011: Dean Starkman

The Audit’s head honcho picks his top CJR stories from the past year

By Dean Starkman   Dec 27, 2011 at 01:33 PM

Confidence Game: The limited vision of the news gurus: The landmark 8,000-word essay that upended the future-of-news debate. The Hole... More

The Hole In FON Theory

Continuing the discussion about the future of news with Clay Shirky

By Dean Starkman   Dec 21, 2011 at 11:00 AM

I thank Clay Shirky and other posters for their responses to “Confidence Game: the limited vision of the news... More

It’s About the Stories

A response to Emily Bell

By Dean Starkman   Nov 10, 2011 at 12:02 PM

I thank Emily for her critique of "Confidence Game." Alysia Santo is pulling together other responses, and I’ll get... More

Confidence Game

The limited vision of the news gurus

By Dean Starkman   Nov 8, 2011 at 06:00 AM

“The question that mass amateurization poses to traditional media is ‘What happens when the costs of reproduction and distribution go... More

Best Business Writing, 2012: Send Us Your Favorites

By Dean Starkman   Sep 12, 2011 at 04:41 PM

Hey, Internet: A team at the Columbia Journalism Review—yours truly, Dean Starkman, Ryan Chittum, Martha Hamilton, ex-of the WaPo and... More

A Heavy Blow to The Wall Street Journal

An editor’s departure is a big deal

By Dean Starkman   Sep 7, 2011 at 06:47 PM

Anyone who thinks the departure of Alix M. Freedman, the WSJ’s Page One editor, a twenty-seven-year Journal mainstay, and winner... More

No, Actually, News of the World Won’t Happen Here

By Dean Starkman   Jul 25, 2011 at 11:11 AM

In a recent spasm of radio and TV interviews about #hackgate the last couple weeks, everyone wanted to know whether... More

The Audit on NPR

Talking about Murdochs, News Corp., NotW, etc.

By Dean Starkman   Jul 19, 2011 at 06:24 PM

I'm on "On Point" with Tom Ashbrook on NPR's Boston affiliate, WBUR, talking Murdoch and News Corp., with Sarah... More

The News Corp. Scandal is a Triumph for Investigative Reporting

Expensive, time-consuming, risky, stressful—and indispensable

By Dean Starkman   Jul 18, 2011 at 11:39 AM

It got pretty lonely.... --Ian Katz, deputy editor of the Guardian on the News of the World Story CJR's... More

Chaos at Dow Jones is the Bancrofts’ Legacy

By Dean Starkman   Jul 15, 2011 at 10:18 PM

"I want you to do what's best for the company. Don’t you and the boys worry about dividends." —Jane... More

The Mirror’s Dodgy “9/11 Hacking” Story

A piece that triggers an FBI probe reports no actual hacking and its information is third-hand

By Dean Starkman   Jul 14, 2011 at 06:37 PM

In response to calls from Congress, the FBI has opened an investigation into whether News Corp. journalists hacked the... More

Forget Regulating the Press. Enforce the Law.

By Dean Starkman   Jul 13, 2011 at 09:55 AM

As Reuters has it: "The basic test of a decent police force is that it catches more criminals than... More

News Corp.: Barometer Rising

“Some of the activity clearly was illegal.”

By Dean Starkman   Jul 11, 2011 at 05:00 PM

Ryan Chittum already said Nick Davies and the Guardian have pulled off one of the greatest newspaper investigations of... More

Bad Parent

Reading The Wall Street Journal’s hamstrung coverage of its owner, News Corp.

By Dean Starkman   Jul 11, 2011 at 11:00 AM

It's been hard to watch The Wall Street Journal, still the global business-news leader, struggling with both hands tied behind... More

Accountability, News Corp. Style

Those with responsibility escape it

By Dean Starkman   Jul 8, 2011 at 08:52 AM

Behold, editors and reporters at The Wall Street Journal, the Times of London, Fox News, and, for that matter, the... More

Audit Notes: Those Pricey Reporters, Business Press Critique, Wolff’s Idealism, etc.

By Dean Starkman   Apr 29, 2011 at 02:51 PM

--What's a story cost? Ken Doctor asks Clark Gilbert, CEO of the Deseret News's parent, who gives this breakdown:... More