Author Archive
Articles by James Boylan | Email the Author
Brief Encounters
Short reviews of a classic novel about journalism and a biography of a pioneering female reporter
By James Boylan Jul 6, 2010 at 12:27 PM
A Modern Instance | By William Dean Howells | J. R. Osgood and Company | 514 pages, available online for free... More
Brief Encounters
Short reviews of books about misreported stories, the Killing Fields, and the press vs. secrets
By James Boylan May 3, 2010 at 03:48 PM
Getting It Wrong: Ten of the Greatest Misreported Stories in American Journalism | By W. Joseph Campbell | University of... More
Brief Encounters
Short reviews of books about the future of journalism and a career at the Times
By James Boylan Feb 25, 2010 at 03:20 PM
The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution That Will Begin the World Again By Robert W. McChesney... More
Brief Encounters
Short reviews of books about familial discoveries and coverage of Hillary Clinton
By James Boylan Jan 12, 2010 at 06:53 PM
Enemies of the People: My Family’s Journey to America By Kati Marton Simon & Schuster 272 pages, $26 For Kati... More
Brief Encounters
Short reviews of books on foreign reporting and journalists who risked it all
By James Boylan Dec 9, 2009 at 05:20 PM
Journalism’s Roving Eye: A History of American Foreign Reporting By John Maxwell Hamilton Louisiana State University Press 655 pages, $45... More
Brief Encounters
Short reviews of books on the Irish Revolution and animal rights crusaders
By James Boylan Oct 6, 2009 at 09:19 PM
The News From Ireland: Foreign Correspondents and The Irish Revolution By Maurice Walsh I.B. Tauris 258 pages, £20 At the... More
Brief Encounters
Short reviews of books on campaign bloggers, tabloids, and a collection of Henry Fairlie’s essays
By James Boylan Jul 14, 2009 at 12:38 PM
Bloggers on the Bus: How the Internet Changed Politics and the Press By Eric Boehlert Free Press 280 pages, $26... More
Brief Encounters
Short reviews of books about William Randolph Hearst and the Arkansas Gazette
By James Boylan May 16, 2009 at 04:05 PM
The Uncrowned King: The Sensational Rise of William Randolph Hearst | By Kenneth Whyte | Counterpoint | 546 pages, $30... More
Brief Encounters
Short reviews of books about Fred Friendly and America’s early newspapermen
By James Boylan Mar 1, 2009 at 04:00 PM
Friendlyvision: Fred Friendly and the Rise and Fall of Television Journalism | By Ralph Engelman, Foreword by Morley Safer |... More
Brief Encounters
Short reviews of books about art on the New York Times’s Op-Ed page, the short life of The Chicagoan, and hoaxes in the news.
By James Boylan Jan 23, 2009 at 11:49 AM
All the Art That’s Fit to Print (And Some That Wasn’t): Inside The New York Times Op-Ed Page By Jerelle... More
Brief Encounters
Short reviews of books about public confession and John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath.
By James Boylan Jan 7, 2009 at 01:15 PM
The Art of the Public Grovel: Sexual Sin and Public Confession in America By Susan Wise Bauer Princeton University Press... More
Brief Encounters
Short reviews of books about Masson v. New Yorker and immersion journalism at Harper’s magazine.
By James Boylan Oct 21, 2008 at 11:06 AM
Literary Journalism on Trial: Masson v. New Yorker and The First Amendment By Kathy Roberts Forde University of Massachusetts Press... More
Brief Encounters
Short reviews of books about the run-up to World War II and the media’s coverage of John McCain
By James Boylan Aug 26, 2008 at 09:00 AM
Human Smoke: The Beginnings of World War II, The End of Civilization By Nicholson Baker Simon & Schuster 576 pages,... More
Brief Encounters
Short reviews of books about the Pulitzers, early African American journalism, and the relationship between advertisers and consumers
By James Boylan Jun 19, 2008 at 09:00 AM
Pulitzer’s Gold: Behind the Prize for Public Service Journalism By Roy J. Harris Jr. University of Missouri Press 473 pages,... More
Brief Encounters
Short reviews of books about Tarbell’s muckraking, the cost of war, and that headless body in a topless bar
By James Boylan Apr 29, 2008 at 09:00 AM
Taking on the Trust: The Epic Battle of Ida Tarbell and John D. Rockefeller By Steve Weinberg W. W. Norton... More
Brief Encounters
Short reviews of books: Woodward and Bernstein, the U.S. record on torture, and media populism
By James Boylan Feb 26, 2008 at 09:00 AM
Woodward and Bernstein: Life in the Shadow of Watergate By Alicia C. Shepard John Wiley & Sons 288 pages, $24.95... More
Brief Encounters
Short reviews of books: the AP, the I. Lewis Libby trial, White House communications, and abuses of civil liberties
By James Boylan Dec 27, 2007 at 09:00 AM
Breaking News: How the Associated Press Has Covered War, Peace, and Everything Else By Reporters of the Associated Press, with... More
Brief Encounters
Short reviews of books about political power and the press, the changing role of the editorial, selling anxiety to women, and bearing witness to a changing century
By James Boylan Aug 14, 2007 at 08:30 AM
When the Press Fails: Political Power and the News Media from Iraq to Katrina By W. Lance Bennett, Regina G.... 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”
Barack Obama: ‘those old times aren’t coming back’
“It used to be there were local newspapers everywhere. If you wanted to be a journalist, you could really make a good living working for your hometown paper”
The Guardian’s editor opens up on Reddit
Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian, answered questions in an Ask Me Anything
The (almost) lost speech of Justice Anthony Kennedy
How his insightful remarks about the Constitution inadvertently make the case for a Supreme Court “media pool”
Fox News sues TVEyes for copyright infringement
Says subscription service sells access to its content without permission nor compensation
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.
