Author Archive
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Behind the News
Geoffrey York On Earth’s Most Polluted City
February 12, 2007 12:33 PMEarlier this month the Globe and Mail published Geoffrey York's report detailing the disastrous effects of the coal industry on Linfen, a city of 4.3 million that is "the toxic centre of China's coal-producing heartland." Not too long... Continue reading
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The Audit
CNBC’s Big Story
February 9, 2007 02:15 PMAt 10:41 a.m. yesterday Lear Corp., an auto parts maker out of Southfield, Michigan, halted trading of its shares with "news pending." A Lear spokesman, the Detroit News reported Thursday, "declined to state the nature of the pending news,... Continue reading
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Behind the News
New York Woulda Been Nice
February 7, 2007 10:35 AMI frequently rail against speculative journalism that goes nowhere. Tuesday, the Detroit News provided an example of the flip side of that: analyzing what could have once come to pass, years after the fact. "Chelios drawn to... Continue reading
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The Audit
At USA Today, One Makes a Trend
February 5, 2007 01:30 PMIt's hard to say what journalism loves more, a comeback story or a hot trend. Following the announcement last week that Michael Dell would return to the helm of his namesake computer company, USA Today responded with a piece that... Continue reading
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Behind the News
A Newspaper Industry Casualty You May Have Missed
February 1, 2007 12:30 PMOut in the desolate southwestern corner of New Mexico, along I-10 halfway between El Paso and Tucson, a small newspaper in a small desert town died today. The Lordsburg Liberal, the oldest weekly in New Mexico and the... Continue reading
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Politics
Fox 5 and 24, Together Again
January 30, 2007 04:55 PMLast night Fox aired another exciting episode of 24, the Kiefer Sutherland hit now in its sixth season. In the action-packed hour, a Muslim American employee of CTU was subjected to racial profiling, an informant was beaten to a pulp... Continue reading
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The Audit
If They Print (Or Air) It, Is It News?
January 12, 2007 01:10 PM"Analysts and investors on Wednesday speculated on which suppliers might benefit from Apple Inc.'s launch of its new iPhone device," an Associated Press story began this week. Does that lede say anything? We may be a bit... Continue reading
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The Audit
CNN Overcome With ‘Gadgetation’
January 10, 2007 11:13 AM"Gadget Geeks Unite! Consumer Electronics Show Opens," a friendly ABC News headline informs us. Yes, the huge annual trade show in Las Vegas is underway -- a four-day event which Reuters explains "draws 140,000 enthusiasts and retailers and... Continue reading
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The Audit
As Macworld Approaches, Reporters Rev Up
January 5, 2007 03:14 PM"The world according to Steve: Speculation swirls about Apple event," a Contra Costa Times headline tells us today, meaning the latest round of buzz, rumor, and speculation surrounding wondrous, soon-to-be-unveiled product(s) from Steve Jobs & Co. is upon us.... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Chi Trib Readers Seem to Believe
January 5, 2007 01:45 PMOn Monday, the Chicago Tribune rang in the new year with a highly intriguing front-page piece by transportation writer Jon Hilkevitch which reported, well, this: "A flying saucer-like object hovered low over O'Hare International Airport for several minutes before... Continue reading
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The Audit
‘Shrinky-Dink’ WSJ Debuts, Bloggers Muse
January 2, 2007 03:29 PMThe new Wall Street Journal debuted today with a "slimmer size" -- its page width reduced by 20 percent -- accompanied, said E&P, by "more dramatic changes in what sounds like a nod to USA Today: shorter stories, bullet... Continue reading
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Behind the News
How Long Is a Tenth of a Second?
December 22, 2006 05:05 PMBy all accounts, the Knicks provided their fans with a stunning victory at Madison Square Garden the other night, as "Jamal Crawford delivered a precise lob to the right hand of David Lee, and the improbable tap-in with one-tenth of... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Poverty Pendulum Swings, Press Yawns
December 21, 2006 03:03 PMMore Americans now live in poverty in suburbs than in cities, a somewhat surprising shift that the Brookings Institution says "signals the latest stage in the long-run decentralization of people and jobs in the United States." In a... Continue reading
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Behind the News
No Need to Worry: FP Has Swept Bird Flu Under Rug
December 20, 2006 10:50 AMOn Monday, Foreign Policy magazine unveiled its list of "The Top Ten Stories You Missed in 2006," a sampling of "the news that remained under the radar" this year. Number 9 caught my eye: "What's Worse Than... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Times-Pic Reporter Finds Lessons For New Orleans in Japan
December 15, 2006 04:35 PMGordon Russell's two-part series comparing disaster management and recovery in Tokyo and Kobe, Japan with that in New Orleans ran in the Times-Picayune last week. Russell, 37, covers city hall for the T-P, where he has been a... Continue reading
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The Audit
As Clichés Go, Airline Merger Already a Success
December 13, 2006 05:26 PMAs the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times first reported last night, United Airlines and Continental Airlines have begun talking about a possible merger. But while the industry and airline passengers debate whether consolidation will prove... Continue reading
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Behind the News
GMA Does Its Part to Keep the Nation Scared
December 12, 2006 04:29 PMYesterday, on Good Morning America, ABC took a look at the dangers posed by exotic pets. Instead of asking for a puppy for Christmas, Chris Cuomo explained, "more and more people are asking for things like iguanas and monkeys --... Continue reading
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Behind the News
NY Post Officially No Longer a Newspaper
December 8, 2006 05:36 PMIn case you missed it, the New York Post ran one of the more absurd front pages in recent memory on Thursday, outfitting Iraq Study Group co-chairmen James Baker and Lee Hamilton in chimp suits beneath the loud headline... Continue reading
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The Audit
McDonald’s Expands in China, Sun-Times Does Its Part
December 6, 2006 12:40 PMThe dateline instantly grabbed my eye: "BEIJING." So did the lede: "Much of McDonald's Corp.'s success in China -- 42 consecutive months of revenue growth -- is based on its four-year-old five-point strategy focused on product, people, place, price and... Continue reading
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Behind the News
Prison Population Sets Record, Few Notice
December 5, 2006 09:27 AMThe statistic is sobering: "A record 7 million people, or one in every 32 American adults, were behind bars, on probation or on parole by the end of last year," the Associated Press reported last week. Two... Continue reading
Desks
The Audit Business
- Reuters’s OKC gusher Its outstanding Chesapeake Energy investigation turns toward the gas driller SandRidge
- Audit Notes: insider trading versus CDO fraud, 401(k)s, lead and crime Rough treatment for inside-trading suspects contrasts with CDO probes
The Observatory Science
- Environment coverage TBD The Times says it’s committed, but only time will tell
- Call in the math club Science reporters can help ward off a “Big Data bubble”
United States Project Politics & Policy
- The Frank Luntz script for Congressional Republicans A guide to phrases journos should look for (and scrutinize)
- Hey readers: They’re bluffing! (maybe) The need to put political bargaining positions in context
Behind the News The Media
- German bill would charge for aggregation The potential law would provide content creators with a portion of the profits search engines make by aggregating them
- Gun permit data wasn’t maximized The choice that faced the Journal News was not simply whether to map gun permit holders’ addresses, but how
Blog
The Kicker last updated: Wed 12:13 PM
- Pass the #popcorn
- Should Center Square Journal shut down?
- Must-reads of the week
- WaPo: Got agency?
- On building trust
The Future of Media
News Startups Guide last updated: Mon 3:27 PM
- ACEsTooHigh.com Reporting on the science, education, and policy surrounding childhood trauma
- ACEsConnection.com A niche social network for professionals working in science, education, and policy related to childhood trauma
