Sunday, May 26, 2013. Last Update: Fri 2:56 PM EST

Campaign Desk

Campaigning Between Covers

Why do presidential wannabes write books?

In 1935, James Harold Wallis wrote in The Politician: His habits, outcries and protective coloring: Only a very shrewd politician... More

The Back Story on Medicare’s Wild Spending

The narrative unfolds, bit by bit

It’s no secret Medicare spending is on a wild ride northward. The politicians--Dems and Republicans alike--tell us that every day.... More

A State-Backed Miracle

As Perry pushes Texas boom, the press shouldn’t forget one reason behind it

With Rick Perry now officially in the presidential race, there’s a spate of coverage and commentary about how much credit... More

Romney and His Corporate Man

A frivolous take from NPR

It’s hard to say what was the point of NPR’s coverage of Mitt Romney’s visit to the Iowa State Fair.... More

Iowan Silos

In debate analysis, journalists should use locals for more than just color

There was a debate last night out in Iowa, hosted by Fox News and The Washington Examiner. And sure enough,... More

Debunking the Myth of an Independent President

LA Times op-ed spotlights partisanship’s place

Because it’s only a matter of time before another pundit delivers a half-baked column fantasizing about an independent presidential candidate,... More

A Hospital Story Not to Write

Doing the digging for real news

My Association of Health Care Journalists colleague Charlie Ornstein likes to say that stories about hospital ribbon-cuttings, wings named for... More

Straw Dogs

Why the press can’t quit Ames, Iowa

Iowa has never been much of a tourist destination. The state’s main attractions are fictions (Riverside, Iowa: The Birthplace of... More

Would a Populist Washington Post Be Popular?

Ombudsman’s stirring plan relies on readers who may not be there.

In his latest column, Washington Post ombudsman Patrick Pexton offers a paradigmatic version of the earnest media critic’s exhortation. Being... More

Is Tim Pawlenty For Real?

The StarTribune suggests maybe he isn’t

The Minneapolis StarTribune’s piece on presidential hopeful Tim Pawlenty is the kind of story voters can expect to see at... More

Obama’s Wrong on Independents

And reporters shouldn’t be saying he’s right

I found a fair bit to like in Politico’s latest conversation-driver, a long article by Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen... More

Playing It Safe the McCaskill Way

David Gregory’s lame interview

I guess it’s too much to hope that the Sunday morning news shows could ever rise above the typical blather... More

The NY Times’s New Top Editor in D.C.

A conversation with incoming Washington bureau chief David Leonhardt

With Jill Abramson about to take the reins as executive editor of The New York Times, one of the paper’s... More

Pack of Gum, PAC of Candidate

WaPo on frequent political impulse spenders

What “phenomenon” will the Washington Post’s T.W. Farnam find next within the rows and columns of politicians’ campaign finance reports?... More

The Deficit Deal Defined

Is Medicare really safe?

Presidential advisor Valerie Jarrett chatted with Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC yesterday as part of a sales job for the deficit... More

Google X

Inside Google’s secret lab

A tweetable feast

We might deplore the practice, but posting pictures of our food online is a way to bring everyone to the table

How the ‘World’s 50 Best’ list changed the way elite restaurants do business

“Every time the restaurant switched up its format, it got plenty of accompanying media coverage that let judges know they needed to return to see what was going on”

This is water

David Foster Wallace’s 2005 Kenyon commencement speech as a short film

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Who Owns What

The Business of Digital Journalism

A report from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

Study Guides

Questions and exercises for journalism students.