The Economy Today: Recession Sickness

Headlines from California, Maine, Pennsylvania, and Iowa

By Katia Bachko   Jun 2, 2009 at 08:49 AM

National news is all about the GM bankruptcy filing. The New York Times offers a particularly necessary bit of consumer-minded... More

Our Paradoxical Future

Expensive education may dampen Obama’s ambitions for healthcare and education

By Katia Bachko   Jun 1, 2009 at 04:26 PM

One seldom-mentioned aspect of efforts to provide all Americans with better educational opportunities, or to offer health insurance to everyone,... More

Talking Shop: Dennis Roddy

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter talks about the recession’s effects in western Pennsylvania

By Katia Bachko   May 28, 2009 at 11:34 AM

Dennis Roddy knows Pennsylvania. He’s been a general assignment reporter at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette since January 1993; before that, he... More

The Economy Today: Songs of Recession

Headlines from California, Tennessee, Florida, and elsewhere

By Katia Bachko   May 27, 2009 at 09:04 AM

Grilled chicken and lasagna are the latest signs of the recession, USA Today reports. Chain restaurants such as KFC and... More

The Economy Today: Governments at Work

Headlines from New Hampshire, California, Montana, Arizona, and elsewhere

By Katia Bachko   May 26, 2009 at 08:47 AM

This morning, economic news takes a distant backseat to the big news about North Korea. The Washington Post offers a... More

Colbert on Newspapers

By Katia Bachko   May 21, 2009 at 08:00 AM

Stephen Colbert weighed in on future of journalism right now, taking a side in the debate over the role of... More

Not a Showdown

Politico, MSNBC, Time hype Obama vs. Cheney non-controversy

By Katia Bachko   May 20, 2009 at 04:08 PM

As we’ve noted before, nothing gets media juices flowing like a tasty conflict. A few months back, it was Limbaugh... More

The Economy Today: Vetoes and Woes

Headlines from South Carolina, Colorado, Maryland, and elsewhere

By Katia Bachko   May 20, 2009 at 10:09 AM

Consumer economics are big news in the national papers this morning. The Washington Post reports that the Obama administration may... More

Expert: Women Buy Bags, Men Buy Cars

By Katia Bachko   May 19, 2009 at 01:44 PM

Time magazine has an enticingly headlined column, "How Shoppers Make Decisions in a Recession," which turned out to be a... More

The Psychology of Collections

NYT Magazine humanizes credit card companies instead of consumers

By Katia Bachko   May 19, 2009 at 11:00 AM

Reporting on how credit card companies are coping as the number of customers in default grows, The New York Times... More

The Economy Today: Gambling on Tomorrow

Headlines from Nevada, Mississippi, Texas, and elsewhere

By Katia Bachko   May 19, 2009 at 09:46 AM

All the national papers lead with Obama’s tightening of emissions and gas mileage rules. The Times also sees signs that... More

Dangling Modifiers

When writing about foreclosures, don’t forget their human context

By Katia Bachko   May 14, 2009 at 05:02 PM

As record numbers of foreclosures make headlines around the country, the Obama administration’s plan to help homeowners modify their mortgages... More

Darts & Laurels 

Send tips and suggestions to dartsandlaurels@cjr.org

By Katia Bachko   May 14, 2009 at 01:46 PM

Dart to the Deseret News for dereliction of journalistic duty in its coverage of the Mormon Church and the Church’s... More

The Garbage Gauge

The silver lining in the weak retail numbers

By Katia Bachko   May 14, 2009 at 09:00 AM

Customers are still cutting their spending, according to the April retail sales report that sent the financial indexes falling by... More

Getting Carded

Time magazine blames credit card consumers

By Katia Bachko   May 13, 2009 at 11:07 AM

Credit cards are on the agenda this week for the Senate Banking Committee, which is considering a bill that “would... More