Behind the News

Q&A with FCC Report Head Writer Steve Waldman, Part One

“We actually have to pay attention to this and if we don’t, there are going to be severe consequences.”

By Joel Meares   Jun 20, 2011 at 05:43 PM

Two weeks ago, the FCC released its long-awaited, 365-page report, “The Information Needs of Communities.” The report’s chief writer,... More

The Backfire Effect

More on the press’s inability to debunk bad information

By Craig Silverman   Jun 17, 2011 at 11:44 AM

Which of these headlines strikes you as the most persuasive: “I am not a Muslim, Obama says.” “I am a... More

Gawker’s Rebound

By Felix Salmon   Jun 14, 2011 at 04:25 PM

It's been more than six months since sales chief Chris Batty left Gawker Media as Nick Denton decided he was... More

More Reactions to FCC Report

Critics split on whether government should do more or less

By Joel Meares   Jun 13, 2011 at 02:43 PM

The FCC released its staff report, “Information Needs of Communities,” last Thursday and industry and advocacy groups were quick to... More

Writing The War On Drugs

Why do so few American papers report on the trade in their backyard?

By Javier Garza Ramos   Jun 10, 2011 at 11:41 AM

What if American law enforcement agents arrested more than six hundred drug dealing suspects in more than twenty cities across... More

No Room for Discussion at FCC Report Panel

Waldman re-presents his report at Columbia J-School

By Joel Meares   Jun 10, 2011 at 11:36 AM

Columbia University’s J-School and the FCC hosted a panel today to coincide with yesterday’s release of the Commission’s “Information Needs... More

Heavy On Problems, Light On Solutions: The FCC Report Has Landed

A quick look at the “disappointing” recommendations

By Joel Meares   Jun 9, 2011 at 05:37 PM

In some three hundred and sixty odd pages, the FCC’s long-awaited Future of News “Information Needs of Communities” report... More

Times’s Jill Abramson: Dog Nut, Norse Deity

The profiles are rolling in

By Joel Meares   Jun 8, 2011 at 01:15 PM

Almost a week after The New York Times announced that executive editor Bill Keller was stepping down and Jill... More

Cathryn Cronin Cranston

An obituary for CJR’s publisher

By The Editors   Jun 7, 2011 at 04:52 PM

The staff of the Columbia Journalism Review is deeply sorry to report the death of our publisher, Cathryn Cranston, who... More

Bill Keller’s Long War Legacy

The defining story of eight years leading the Times.

By Clint Hendler   Jun 3, 2011 at 03:32 PM

Bill Keller, who has served as The New York Times’s executive editor since July 2003, is stepping down—and an era... More

Q&A: Joel Simon On CPJ’s “Impunity Index” and Violence Against Journalists

“For a long time, the threat was sort of a badge of honor. ‘Yeah, I got a threat, I must be getting to them.’”

By Joel Meares   Jun 3, 2011 at 12:51 PM

On Wednesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists released its fourth annual Impunity Index—a ranking of countries determined by the... More

A Look at the Arab Blogosphere

Birth pangs of a new Middle East?

By Bilal Lakhani   Jun 1, 2011 at 01:03 PM

Many of the estimated 35,000 bloggers in the Arab world have carved out reputations as online watchdogs on governments, in... More

“Death Panels” Report Reaches Depressing Conclusions

The media is ineffective at dispelling false rumors

By Craig Silverman   May 27, 2011 at 11:43 AM

Harold Camping was wrong about the rapture happening this past weekend, but it’s unlikely he’ll ever admit to being wrong... More

What’s So Wrong With ‘Parachute Journalism’?

Nothing, if your ruck is packed with research

By Justin D. Martin   May 26, 2011 at 03:23 PM

CAIRO—I’m an avid parachutist, though I’ve never jumped from a plane. A “parachute journalist” is a reporter who drops into... More

How News Ombudsmen Can Make Themselves Essential

Five easy tips for the modern ombud

By Craig Silverman   May 20, 2011 at 12:24 PM

What do you tell a room filled with doomed journalists? When invited to deliver a keynote address at this year’s... More