The Observatory
Obesity’s orthogonal coverage
How three writers tried to make sense of the “controversy, conjecture, contradiction and confusion” in weight loss research
By Gary Taubes Feb 5, 2013 at 11:00 AM
Last September, CJR approached me to write an article for a special package on health and science journalism in the... More
Sheen before green
Entertainment news outstrips environment news 3-to-1
By Curtis Brainard Feb 1, 2013 at 06:50 AM
Celebrity and sports stories are three times more common in the mainstream media than environment stories, according to a new... More
The bird-flu blues
Short notice that research will resume leads to thin coverage
By Curtis Brainard Jan 30, 2013 at 05:15 PM
Reporters didn't have much time to react to the news that scientists in some countries will soon resume research on... More
Life after Pandemrix
Reuters’s description of narcolepsy is excessively bleak
By Sara Morrison Jan 29, 2013 at 06:50 AM
Reuters health and science correspondent Kate Kelland's recent article about the growing evidence linking GlaxoSmithKline's Pandemrix swine flu vaccine to... More
Quinoa’s quagmire
One-sided Guardian article incites media scare
By Curtis Brainard Jan 25, 2013 at 03:05 PM
A slanted post about the quinoa craze set off a cascade of reproachful media warnings last week, telling consumers that... More
Climate policy, act two
Reactions to Obama’s second inaugural overlook Skocpol report
By Curtis Brainard Jan 23, 2013 at 11:30 AM
It was great to see The New York Times give front-page treatment to the unexpected weight that President Obama put... More
Science journalism’s great divide
Study finds pessimism in the West, optimism in the Global South
By Curtis Brainard Jan 21, 2013 at 11:00 AM
Science journalists in the West have a bleaker outlook on the future of their profession than their colleagues in the... More
Here? Now?
Media squander rare opportunity to localize climate coverage
By Curtis Brainard Jan 17, 2013 at 03:30 PM
Making climate change a local story isn't easy, but regional newspapers are, by and large, missing what is probably going... More
Faded green
Environment reporters endangered, regardless of exact number
By Curtis Brainard Jan 17, 2013 at 12:00 PM
InsideClimate News's Katherine Bagley, who broke the news last week that The New York Times is dismantling its environment desk,... More
Environment coverage TBD
The Times says it’s committed, but only time will tell
By Curtis Brainard Jan 15, 2013 at 11:00 AM
The New York Times’s decision is to dismantle its four-year-old environment “pod” has been called everything from “an unmitigated disaster”... More
Call in the math club
Science reporters can help ward off a “Big Data bubble”
By Declan Fahy Jan 14, 2013 at 03:15 PM
A reflective piece in The New York Times’s business pages points to a critical future role for science reporters—guarding against... More
Playing the study game
David Freedman responds to critics of his article about bad health reporting
By David H. Freedman Jan 9, 2013 at 11:00 AM
Recently in the pages of the CJR, I took on science journalism's lack of skepticism and misuse of published scientific... More
Climate coverage rebound?
Maybe, but the press has a long way to go
By Curtis Brainard Jan 7, 2013 at 05:45 PM
There are signs that climate-change coverage is poised for a rebound after three years of decline, experts say, but the... More
Coming clean on food safety
The Obama administration’s lack of transparency makes a difficult beat that much harder
By Helena Bottemiller Jan 3, 2013 at 11:00 AM
Editors’ Note: Bottemiller’s bio should have mentioned that her employer, Food Safety News, is published by the law firm Marler... More
Must-reads of 2012: science
Let your dork flag fly
By Curtis Brainard Dec 27, 2012 at 06:50 AM
As 2012 draws to a close, CJR writers brainstormed the year's best reads in their beats. The dream that failed... More
Woman’s work - The twisted reality of an Italian freelancer in Syria
Sourcing Trayvon Martin ‘photos’ from stormfront - Not a good idea, Business Insider
Elizabeth Warren, the antidote to CNBC - The senator schools the talking heads on bank regulation
Art Laffer + PR blitz = press failure - The media types up the retail lobby’s propaganda
Reuters’s global warming about-face - A survey shows the newswire ran 50 percent fewer stories on climate change after hiring a “skeptic”
In one tweet
Luke Russert is the Golden Boy of DC
And it drives young journalists crazy
It’s official: We never need to worry about the future of journalism again!
The NYT shows us why
Why does Florida produce so much weird news? Experts explain
CJR's Guide to Online News Startups
ACEsTooHigh.com – Reporting on the science, education, and policy surrounding childhood trauma
Who Owns What
The Business of Digital Journalism
A report from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Questions and exercises for journalism students.
