Culled from CJR’s frequently updated “Must-reads from around the Web,” our staff recommendations for the best pieces of journalism (and other miscellany) on the Internet, here are your can’t-miss must-reads of the past week:
A loss in the family — James Gandolfini changed television, and us
Missing Michael Hastings — One of the great reporters of his generation died Tuesday at 33. The stories he wrote, and the ones he didn’t live to write
Michael Hastings in Baghdad — The reporter died Tuesday morning at 33. His friend and bureau chief remembers an era that shaped him
Michael Hastings: my friend and his enemies — Hastings was fearless and shook things up – especially with his McChrystal expose. The haters in the media couldn’t forgive him
Scrubbed — The world of black-ops reputation management
In the Newtown clerk’s office, a dishonorable end to six months of lawlessness — Must-read for anyone who cares about public records access
I was paid $12.50 an hour to write this story — I think it’s worth more, and I would have done it for less
Persuading David Simon — The people who run the American security apparatus are in the overwhelming majority diligent people with a deep concern for civil liberties. But their job is to find creative ways to collect information. And they work within an institution that, because of its secrecy, is fundamentally inimical to democracy and to a free society
Have you seen this column? — The disappearance of ‘Sports of the Times’
‘What part of “Politico” do you not understand?’ — A conversation about the dark art of driving the conversation
The Editors are the staffers of the Columbia Journalism Review.