Friday, August 02, 2013. Last Update: Fri 2:50 PM EST

The Observatory

SolveClimate Goes Inside

How an environmental news startup found its way to investigative reporting

After experimenting with a variety of quick-hit approaches to environmental coverage, a four-year-old online news startup focused on climate change... More

Fuzzy Kittens, Fuzzier Science

Claims of hypoallergenic cats continue to go unchallenged by press

In October 2008, Mike Sela, a lifelong sufferer of cat allergies, discovered a company called Allerca Lifestyle Pets. According to... More

Why the Sun Set on Solyndra

How the bad news about green jobs could be better

With Labor Day on the horizon, it was another grim week in green-job news, as a solar panel manufacturer in... More

Media Hurricane Hype?

Irene spurs debate about the quality of news coverage

Anderson Cooper and a CNN crew covering Irene on Sunday, August 28. Photo by Sean Hemmerle. “An Epic Deluge,” read... More

After Irene: How a Hyperlocal Is Helping

In the Catskills, the Watershed Post is coordinating relief efforts

In the Catskills region of upstate New York, where flooding from Hurricane Irene wiped out entire towns, a hyperlocal site... More

Gamey Green Jobs Coverage

NYT, others hack off slices of Brookings-Battelle report

On Tuesday, climate blogger Joseph Romm blasted a New York Times article about green jobs for ignoring “explosive” growth... More

Journalism vs. Activism in Indonesia

Reporters divided over advocacy on the environment beat

JAKARTA, INDONESIA—When I ask Indonesian bureaucrats about the latest proclamations from some group concerned about the environment, I often get... More

LifeStraw Coverage Divided

Carbon-credit, health angles illustrate global priorities

Kakamega, Kenya—International coverage of a campaign to provide water filters financed by the sale of carbon credits to nearly a... More

A River Runs Through It

Defining news communities through the water they share

While students at Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, Andrew McGlashen and Jeff Gillies started thinking, like so... More

Whose Line Is It, Anyway?

An oil-spill book relies too heavily on cut-and-paste work

This spring, Amanda Mascarelli, a freelance journalist based in Colorado, was in the process of reviewing A Sea in Flames,... More

Growing Science in the Desert

Several Middle Eastern countries are pouring money into research; will it work?

Doha, Qatar—“Water flows uphill toward money and power,” said hydrologist Tony Allan, citing a political truism during a talk here... More

Arab Spring to Arab Summer

World Conference showcases science journalism in Middle East

Doha, Qatar—The Arab Spring that toppled governments in North Africa and the Middle East turned into an Arab summer for... More

Climate Questions for the GOP

What to ask candidates so clearly unconcerned?

During last week’s Republican presidential primary debate in New Hampshire, CNN’s John King, who served as moderator, asked questions about... More

The Potential for Medical Journalism in Kenya

A country that’s aching for quality health reporting

NAIROBI, Kenya—Before landing in Kenya, my doctor had me get shots for typhoid, tetanus, cholera, yellow fever, and meningitis. He... More

Environmental Journalism Associations Proliferating Worldwide

Members find strength—and challenges—in numbers

When I was a journalist uncovering how oil and petrochemical companies were dumping mercury into the Gulf of Thailand, I... More

Old TNR vs. New TNR

In one tweet

Luke Russert is the Golden Boy of DC

And it drives young journalists crazy

Oh, #Florida!

Why does Florida produce so much weird news? Experts explain

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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.