The Observatory

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

Seeping Questions

What do you want to know about the Gulf oil spill?

By The Editors   Jun 2, 2010 at 02:32 PM

Six weeks after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has... More

See No Evil, Report No Evil

Covering the oil spill, reporters must ensure that what’s out of sight isn’t out of mind

By Brett Norman   May 28, 2010 at 03:37 PM

The gall of BP and their federal overseers in withholding the fact that the “top kill” effort was suspended for... More

Muddling On

Lukewarm media reception to comprehensive new reports on climate change

By Brett Norman   May 21, 2010 at 12:26 PM

The Earth is warming thanks to the human industrial complex, we must price carbon emissions in some way and soon... More

Who’s Watching the World, Now?

Changes in media climate snuff out two in-depth environmental reporting outlets

By Brett Norman   May 18, 2010 at 02:23 PM

With untold millions of gallons of crude oil spewing into the Gulf and a troubling outlook for energy legislation in... More

Go Fish

Have reporters paid sufficient attention to the Gulf spill’s impact on marine life?

By Curtis Brainard   May 12, 2010 at 03:40 PM

On Tuesday morning, Agence France-Presse reported that “Louisiana's charter fishermen are slamming media coverage of the Gulf oil spill for... More

EPA Officials Demand Anonymity

“Hush-hush” conference calls anger reporters

By Curtis Brainard   May 7, 2010 at 02:47 PM

Twice in the last three months, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered reporters not to name the agency officials... More

A “Slick” Numbers Game

Fixation on exact spill rate belies worrisome uncertainties

By Brett Norman   May 4, 2010 at 05:36 PM

Monday night, Jon Stewart laid into coverage of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, noting the disaster... More

Crude Coverage at the Times

News analysis displays gross lack of concern about Gulf spill

By Curtis Brainard   May 4, 2010 at 03:30 PM

The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that exploded on April 20, causing the massive oil spill currently unfolding in the Gulf... More

Paper or Pixels?

News Corp.’s efforts to go carbon-neutral raise questions about the future of sustainable publishing

By Thomas K. Zellers   Apr 30, 2010 at 05:40 PM

Amidst the steady decline of newspaper circulation in the U.S., could industry concern for carbon emissions affect the relationship between... More

Green Like Money

Earth Day coverage shows how much the environmental movement has changed

By Brett Norman   Apr 28, 2010 at 03:57 PM

Earth Day rose from a powerfully anti-corporate, grassroots movement, revved up on 1960s idealism and genuine fear inspired by books... More