The Ethics of Undercover Journalism

Why journalists get squeamish over James O’Keefe’s tactics

By Greg Marx   Feb 4, 2010 at 02:57 PM

When news broke in late January that James O’Keefe and three other men, two of whom were costumed as telephone... More

Questions for Question Time

Presidential Q&As may not be the key to better politics

By Greg Marx   Feb 4, 2010 at 08:16 AM

The widespread media enthusiasm that greeted President Obama’s televised Q&A last Friday with Republican congressmen now has an official outlet.... More

Historical Precedents for Criticism of the Court

By Greg Marx   Jan 29, 2010 at 10:47 AM

Adam Liptak does great work covering the Supreme Court for The New York Times, and his piece today about Barack... More

Assessing Obama

The press and the pundits evaluate the State of the Union

By Greg Marx   Jan 28, 2010 at 08:58 AM

President Obama’s first State of the Union address is in the books, and by the morning after the process of... More

Frum: Send O’Keefe to J-School

By Greg Marx   Jan 27, 2010 at 12:35 PM

My roundup of right-wing reaction to the arrest of James O'Keefe and three others missed this from David Frum, bolstering... More

Politics Ain’t Beanbag. But Maybe it’s a Lawn Party?

By Greg Marx   Jan 27, 2010 at 12:14 PM

The New York Times is a great newspaper, and just three weeks ago I was defending its prerogative to maintain... More

“A Bad Cartoon,” or “A Big Nothing”?

Conservative media reacts to the O’Keefe arrest

By Greg Marx   Jan 27, 2010 at 09:51 AM

The story that had the political media buzzing yesterday was the arrest of James O’Keefe, the conservative, pimp-playing activist who... More

Did the ‘Cornhusker Kickback’ Sink Coakley?

Figuring out why voters made the choice they did is a tricky task

By Greg Marx   Jan 26, 2010 at 04:34 PM

In the ongoing effort to explain Scott Brown’s Senate victory in Massachusetts—a win that has not only thrown health care... More

All They Had to Do Was Ask

By Greg Marx   Jan 26, 2010 at 10:41 AM

Eric Schmitt’s front-page story in today’s New York Times—a report on the details of cables sent in November in which... More

Maybe We Should Call it the Loch Ness Tablet?

By Greg Marx   Jan 26, 2010 at 10:22 AM

I know that rolling your eyes at all the hype around Apple’s latest hotly anticipated device has now become nearly... More

Is the Press an Obstacle to Getting Things Done?

By Greg Marx   Jan 25, 2010 at 06:00 PM

Yes, says the poli-sci blogger Jon Bernstein. In the course of responding to a series of posts by Ezra Klein,... More

‘I Got a Barbie in the Foreground’

By Greg Marx   Jan 25, 2010 at 03:47 PM

The first episode of the fifth season of The Wire, David Simon’s exploration of America’s failing urban institutions, introduces viewers... More

Post Weighs in with Massachusetts Poll

By Greg Marx   Jan 22, 2010 at 07:15 PM

In the course of arguing that the press shouldn’t be hasty to take messages from Tuesday’s special election in Massachusetts,... More

What’s the Impact of Citizens United?

Some scholars argue the biggest changes may have already happened

By Greg Marx   Jan 22, 2010 at 03:46 PM

The Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling yesterday in Citizens United v. FEC, overturning the federal ban on corporate spending in elections,... More

Sentences I Did Not Expect to Read Today

By Greg Marx   Jan 22, 2010 at 09:38 AM

David Brooks, in this morning's Times: "I support the Weak and Feckless Approach." More

The Enquirer Makes a Bid for a Pulitzer

By Greg Marx   Jan 21, 2010 at 04:24 PM

Well, this is kind of interesting. From Howie Kurtz: The executive editor of the National Enquirer says he plans to... More

Another Read on Health Care Politics

Do voters want better care—but only for themselves?

By Greg Marx   Jan 21, 2010 at 03:31 PM

As the attempt to suss out the meaning of the Massachusetts Senate election continues, Alec MacGillis weighs in today with... More

Yes, But Are They on Twitter?

By Greg Marx   Jan 21, 2010 at 11:12 AM

The front page of today’s New York Times features an Alissa Rubin piece about how Taliban leaders are responding to... More

The Post Responds to TNR

By Greg Marx   Jan 21, 2010 at 10:42 AM

Today in media world gossip: Donald Graham, chairman of The Washington Post Company, responds to The New Republic’s recent critical... More

Another Take on the Health Care Debate

By Greg Marx   Jan 21, 2010 at 09:57 AM

As the debate over the roots of Democratic woes continues, David Brady, Daniel Kessler, and Douglas Rivers take to the... More