The Observatory

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

Shameful Obstinacy at The Sunday Times

Paper finally retracts Amazongate, aggressive-blondes articles

By Curtis Brainard   Jul 8, 2010 at 04:00 PM

On Wednesday, I argued that the mounting rebuttal of the recent controversies related to the so-called “Climategate” e-mails and alleged... More

Uproar at ScienceBlogs.com

Protesting Pepsi’s new nutrition blog, writers defect from respected site

By Curtis Brainard   Jul 8, 2010 at 08:00 AM

At least two well-respected science journalists and a handful of scientists have canceled their blogs at the popular and heretofore... More

Wanted: Climate Front-Pager

Reviews vindicating scientists get strong blog coverage, but more high-profile stories are needed

By Curtis Brainard   Jul 7, 2010 at 04:30 PM

Over the last two days, two reports have, respectively, reaffirmed the integrity of the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on... More

ProPublica and Frontline with a Save on BP

Another giant toxic emission from the oil giant goes undernoticed until now

By Ryan Chittum   Jul 6, 2010 at 08:27 AM

That one almost slipped through the cracks. A month ago, the Galveston Daily News's T.J. Aulds broke a big story... More

Get Out of Her Hair

Sadly, NPR profile focuses on Fiorina’s coiffure rather than climate gaffe

By Sam Kornell   Jul 1, 2010 at 03:42 PM

Earlier this week, NPR profiled California Senate candidate Carly Fiorina. The former Hewlett Packard CEO unexpectedly won the state’s Republican... More

Finding the Right Expert

How reporters should use a controversial new study categorizing scientists’ stances on global warming

By Curtis Brainard   Jun 29, 2010 at 02:15 PM

A controversial new study that categorizes climate scientists as either “convinced” or “unconvinced” by the basic tenets of manmade global... More

BizWeek: BP Has Us Over a Barrel

By Ryan Chittum   Jun 29, 2010 at 09:22 AM

We've been on the watch for BP's PR line, and it's been popping up at an alarming rate in the... More

Bringing Energy Home

Can local reporting help break the cycle of inaction?

By Curtis Brainard   Jun 23, 2010 at 05:32 PM

The vast majority of Americans want a “fundamental overhaul” of the country’s energy policies, according to the latest nationwide New... More

BP, Government Still Thwarting Press Access

Despite promises to facilitate oil spill coverage, limited transparency persists in the Gulf

By Curtis Brainard   Jun 17, 2010 at 12:38 PM

Despite repeated promises to improve transparency, BP, the United States government, and their contractors are still inhibiting the media’s ability... More

All Talk and No Oil Cap Makes Barack A Dull Boy

A roundup of press coverage of and reaction to Obama’s Oval Office address on the Gulf oil spill

By Alexandra Fenwick   Jun 16, 2010 at 02:52 PM

Eight weeks into the biggest oil spill disaster in American history and beset by criticism of the federal reaction to... More

Like Oil, Few Answers Rise to Surface

Replies to some of our readers’ “seeping questions” about the Gulf spill

By Ethan Scholl   Jun 11, 2010 at 12:04 PM

Editor’s Note: In a recent News Meeting question, CJR asked readers what they wanted to know about the ongoing oil... More

Going underwater with the AP

By Clint Hendler   Jun 9, 2010 at 10:44 AM

Via Joe Strupp (once of Editor & Publisher, now with Media Matters) here's a clip of AP reporter Rich Matthews... More

The Siphoning Solution

More on “kinky math” and mechanical Band-Aids for the oil spill

By Curtis Brainard   Jun 7, 2010 at 03:34 PM

On Monday afternoon, BP reported that it was capturing about 11,000 barrels per day of the oil that has been... More

Mechanical Band-Aids

Press wrestles with techno-optimism while BP seeks to stop oil spill

By Curtis Brainard   Jun 3, 2010 at 03:06 PM

Thank God or whomever. The nuclear option has never been, and never will be, on the table amongst other options... More