The Observatory

The Oil Plume Paradox

Coverage of various studies engenders frustration

By Curtis Brainard   Aug 26, 2010 at 11:54 AM

Pinpointing the amount of oil lingering in the Gulf of Mexico continues to be a source of frustration for journalists... More

Gulf Coast Guessing Game

Fresh wave of articles highlight uncertainty about lingering oil

By Curtis Brainard   Aug 19, 2010 at 05:15 PM

More scientific criticism of a government report that attempted to calculate the amount oil left in the Gulf of Mexico... More

More on Extreme Weather

Day Two stories go a step farther in drawing connection to climate change

By Curtis Brainard   Aug 17, 2010 at 01:40 PM

Stories exploring a possible connection between climate change and extreme weather around the world continued over the weekend, with some... More

Temperate Coverage of Extreme Weather

Media put heat, floods in proper climatic context

By Curtis Brainard   Aug 12, 2010 at 03:56 PM

More and more, reporters have been asking whether or not climate change could be responsible for this summer’s extreme weather.... More

Retraction Action

Oransky and Marcus keep tabs on retracted scientific papers

By Craig Silverman   Aug 9, 2010 at 06:00 AM

Late last month, the editors of The Lancet Oncology published an “expression of concern” regarding a paper published in 2007.... More

Media Scrutinize Spill Report

Day Two coverage quotes wider array of scientists

By Curtis Brainard   Aug 5, 2010 at 04:02 PM

Many marine scientists lack complete faith in a federal report tracking the fate of the roughly 4.9 million barrels of... More

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