The Observatory
Attachment parenting, detached debate
Time’s titillating cover overshadows article’s substance
By Curtis Brainard May 15, 2012 at 02:15 PM
Time touched a nerve this week with its provocative cover photo of 26-year-old Jamie Lynne Grumet and her 3-year-old son... More
The ice melt cometh
But flawless coverage about happenings in Antarctica has been rare
By Curtis Brainard May 11, 2012 at 03:45 PM
A variety of news outlets has covered two papers published this week indicating that the Weddell Sea area of Antarctica... More
Biotech bogeymen
The San Francisco Chronicle’s muddled swipe at GE crops
By Curtis Brainard May 9, 2012 at 02:30 PM
If you’re worried about pesticides, then the San Francisco Chronicle has a sweeping indictment of genetically engineered (GE) crops to... More
Mad cow, sane coverage
Most media treat BSE discovery with appropriate concern
By Curtis Brainard May 3, 2012 at 12:35 PM
A few days after the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announcement last month that it had discovered a case of... More
Brain waves
Articles about neuroscience push ideology, inflame divisions, study says
By Curtis Brainard May 1, 2012 at 12:13 PM
From advice about “exercising your mind” to treatises on “the gay brain,” media coverage of neuroscience in the UK often... More
Obama promises climate talk
But reporters will probably have to keep asking
By Curtis Brainard Apr 26, 2012 at 05:26 PM
Three cheers to Rolling Stone cofounder Jann S. Wenner for getting President Barack Obama to utter the words “climate change”... More
NYT Obscures Wal-Mart, EDF Link
Article overlooks green group’s close ties to Walton Family Foundation
By Curtis Brainard Apr 25, 2012 at 06:59 AM
A recent New York Times article about the Environmental Defense Fund’s efforts to help Wal-Mart “cut waste” painted an incomplete... More
Equivocal Efficiency?
Some articles fail to stress bottom line of electric-vehicles report
By Curtis Brainard Apr 18, 2012 at 12:30 PM
A new report outlining regional differences in electric cars’ contribution to climate change is drawing a lot of media attention,... More
Titanic Proportions
The 100th anniversary of one of the world’s most-covered stories
By Curtis Brainard Apr 16, 2012 at 03:00 PM
You can’t sink a good story. The past few months have produced countless articles, columns, photo galleries, videos, and sundry... More
Nutrition Coverage Under Fire
From red meat to white rice, not enough skepticism of observational studies
By Curtis Brainard Apr 9, 2012 at 02:30 PM
The incessant coverage of nutritional studies that make tenuous claims about the harms or benefits of consuming various foods and... More
Q&A: The NYT’s Justin Gillis
The recent Oakes Award winner talks about how to keep climate on the front page
By Curtis Brainard Apr 2, 2012 at 11:00 AM
At the end of March, Columbia University awarded the 2011 Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism to New York Times... More
Little Context for Obama Energy Speech in Ohio
Local reports present a war of words without much fact checking
By Curtis Brainard Mar 27, 2012 at 05:43 PM
Unchecked accusations about gas prices and oil production defined local coverage of President Barack Obama’s speech at Ohio State University... More
Reporter’s Toolbox: Oil and Gas Prices
Resources to help journalists stop the spin
By Curtis Brainard Mar 22, 2012 at 02:00 PM
Every year, news stories about US gasoline prices appear in the early spring and remain popular until the end of... More
Pessimism Reigns a Year After Fukushima
Media forecast a gloomy future for the nuclear industry
By Cristine Russell Mar 12, 2012 at 05:00 PM
The barrage of stories worldwide on the first anniversary of the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant provided... More
Heartland, Gleick, and Media Law
Experts weigh in on leaks and deceptive tactics
By Curtis Brainard Mar 1, 2012 at 02:00 PM
When, if ever, are deceptive tactics legally or ethically permissible in journalism? An old debate over that question has raged... 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”
In one tweet
Luke Russert is the Golden Boy of DC
And it drives young journalists crazy
It’s official: We never need to worry about the future of journalism again!
The NYT shows us why
Why does Florida produce so much weird news? Experts explain
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.
