The Observatory

Risky Business

Times jumps the gun, irresponsibly dismisses threat of remaining oil

By Curtis Brainard   Aug 4, 2010 at 01:45 PM

On Monday, I posted a story complaining that, following federal authorities’ announcement that the oil slicks on surface waters were... More

Blazing Trails, Changing Paths

Lessons from the first year in the life of Investigate West

By Curtis Brainard   Aug 3, 2010 at 12:48 PM

When Investigate West, an investigative journalism site, sprung up last summer after the virtual collapse of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, we... More

“Missing” the Point

Absence of evident oil is not evidence of absent oil

By Curtis Brainard   Aug 2, 2010 at 09:24 AM

Last week, the news media was awash with stories giving readers the impression that the Gulf of Mexico is no... More

BP Defines Deviancy Down

The national press is slow off the mark on the huge oil spill in Michigan

By Ryan Chittum   Jul 29, 2010 at 07:24 PM

The national press stuffs a big story today on a massive new oil spill in the Kalamazoo River. Size, of... More

Chronicle Gives “Climategate” Probes Their Due

Even wary journalists find little evidence of whitewash

By Curtis Brainard   Jul 23, 2010 at 03:23 PM

I've complained twice in the last month that the press is not giving recent climate-change news its due. Today, I... More

Climate Bill Blowout

It’s a big deal. Where’s the print coverage?

By Curtis Brainard   Jul 23, 2010 at 03:00 PM

Following Senator Harry Reid’s decision to pull the plug on climate legislation Thursday, news sites lit up with lit up... More

Stephen Schneider: Climate Communicator

Remembering an esteemed scientist’s contributions to the media over three decades

By Cristine Russell   Jul 20, 2010 at 05:48 PM

Stephen Schneider was not an American household name. But within the ranks of science journalists and scientists, this Stanford University... More

Obits for Schneider Roll In

Reporters pay respect to climate scientist and “mediarologist”

By Curtis Brainard   Jul 19, 2010 at 05:00 PM

The obituaries for Stanford University climate scientist Stephen Schneider, who suffered a fatal heart attack early Monday morning, are beginning... More

Oil spill, climate coverage drive growth at Mother Jones

By Curtis Brainard   Jul 19, 2010 at 12:24 PM

Science and environment coverage, often marginalized in daily newspapers and news magazines, has helped drive exceptional growth at Mother Jones... More

Pachauri Revises IPCC Media Plan

Chairman apologies to scientists for previous letter

By Curtis Brainard   Jul 19, 2010 at 11:58 AM

Rajendra Pachauri, the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, has sent a letter to the 831 lead authors... More

“Two Stories” of Gulf Seafood

News reports tread the line between confidence and caution

By Curtis Brainard   Jul 16, 2010 at 11:40 AM

BP has apparently stopped the flow of oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico for the first time since the... More

Inside BP’s Media Blockade

Contractor who obstructed WDSU reporter’s access to beach cleanup decides to talk

By Curtis Brainard   Jul 14, 2010 at 03:00 PM

A former BP contractor who blocked a New Orleans TV news reporter from talking to cleanup crews working on a... More

I’ll Have the Climate Coverage, Please

Kurtz wants some; so does the Times, though it doesn’t deliver

By Curtis Brainard   Jul 13, 2010 at 10:09 AM

On Sunday night, CNN’s Howard Kurtz seconded CJR’s call for more coverage of the series of inquiries and investigations rebutting... More

Mediaphobia at the IPCC

Letter steers scientists away from the press, despite recent calls for transparency

By Curtis Brainard   Jul 12, 2010 at 03:44 PM

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change seems to have caught a touch of mediaphobia from last year’s largely debunked controversies... More

Meet the AP’s New Oil Spill Editor

A Q&A with Steve Gutkin

By Curtis Brainard   Jul 9, 2010 at 10:40 AM

At the end of June, the Associated Press announced that it had named an oil spill editor, Steve Gutkin, to... More