The Observatory
Jackpot lost
Is a $75K prize or better training more likely to improve environmental coverage?
By Curtis Brainard Oct 11, 2012 at 03:00 PM
The backers of one of journalism’s richest awards are bringing the prize to an end, betting that professional development, rather... More
The value of skepticism
Why science reporters should question research
By Curtis Brainard Oct 9, 2012 at 11:00 AM
Skepticism has earned a bad name in recent years thanks to those who doubt the consensus that human industry is... More
No debate about environment
Hopes for questions about climate, public lands fall flat
By Curtis Brainard Oct 4, 2012 at 04:00 PM
The presidential candidates didn’t talk about the environment during their first debate on Wednesday. Nobody really expected them to; they... More
BPI’s beef with ABC News
‘Pink slime’ defamation suit a long shot, media report
By Curtis Brainard Oct 3, 2012 at 12:00 PM
The maker of “lean, finely textured beef,” which critics call “pink slime,” is unlikely to prevail in a defamation lawsuit... More
Press digs into anti-GMO study
Reporters thwart scientists’ attempt to prevent scrutiny
By Curtis Brainard Oct 1, 2012 at 11:00 AM
A paper claiming that a diet of genetically modified corn and/or a widely used weed killer increased the likelihood of... More
Shoddy TV science coverage
CNN’s Gupta promises cancer cure, while PBS’s Michels delivers false balance on climate
By Curtis Brainard Sep 27, 2012 at 03:00 PM
It’s been a bad week and a half for coverage of science on television. Stories about cancer at CNN and... More
Global warming coverage cools in Europe
Fewer European journalists are covering UN climate summits in person
By Caty Arevalo Sep 24, 2012 at 06:50 AM
Had the annual climate change summits sponsored by the United Nations fallen out of favor with Western journalists? That was... More
It’s about the rider
Sports reporters flex their scientific muscle in Armstrong doping coverage
By Declan Fahy Sep 13, 2012 at 03:00 PM
The decision to strip Lance Armstrong of his Tour de France titles after he refused to continue fighting claims he... More
What does ‘healthier’ mean?
Coverage of organic-food study plays loose with the term
By Curtis Brainard Sep 11, 2012 at 11:30 AM
“Healthier” is a word the media often use without enough care, and that shortcoming was on full display during last... More
Yao Ming and the elephant massacre
Recent coverage of the African poaching crisis strikes at supply and demand
By Curtis Brainard Sep 6, 2012 at 04:45 PM
After weeks of the media mostly failing to realize why basketball star Yao Ming’s trip to Kenya was fairly important... More
Conventions create climate coverage
While ScienceDebate.org gets some answers
By Curtis Brainard Sep 5, 2012 at 06:00 PM
The presidential candidates are still treating it like a back-burner issue, but the Republican and Democratic national conventions incited a... More
Water woes
Regional papers turn out series on sea level, drought
By Curtis Brainard Aug 30, 2012 at 04:30 PM
Exposés about the changing climate in the polar north are great, and all the more important in light of reports... More
CBS goofs up the green beat
Network fails to disclose M. Sanjayan’s affiliation and ties to source
By Curtis Brainard Aug 23, 2012 at 11:00 AM
Only two months after hiring him, CBS News has already botched a report from its new science and environment contributor,... More
Candidates clam up on climate
Reporters call out Obama and Romney’s silence
By Curtis Brainard Aug 21, 2012 at 03:00 PM
Nary a word has been spoken about climate change on the presidential campaign trail, and it’s a silence that some... More
UPI shirks responsibility
Raeburn takes wire to task for cribbing from Science News
By Curtis Brainard Aug 17, 2012 at 04:10 PM
The plagiarism, or problematic paraphrasing, parade continued on Thursday as several reporters from Science News complained on Facebook that the... More
#Realtalk: This isn’t another ‘golden age’ for print - But it is one for media
Social media in smaller markets - How three social media managers deal with smaller markets and more local coverage.
A rally for laid-off Sun-Times photogs - A protest Thursday morning drew about 150 picketers to the newspaper’s headquarters
Reporting, or illegal hacking - Scripps reporters are accused of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Exchange Watch: California Dreaming - Low healthcare premiums on the West Coast were trumpeted as a big, good-news Obamacare story. But: “Compared to what?”
Oops! LAX TSA officer shamed a BoingBoing writer’s daughter
And he used his media clout to make it a thing
Can ladymags do serious journalism?
Some people don’t seem to think so
Atlantic launches weekly iPhone mag
The paid product its prez teased a few months back has arrived
The usefulness of pie charts, in two pie charts
Business Insider launched an excellent attack against pie charts. But if all those words are bogging you down, WaPo has a simpler version
CJR's Guide to Online News Startups
Uptown Messenger – Hyperlocal news for a neighborhood in New Orleans
Who Owns What
The Business of Digital Journalism
A report from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Questions and exercises for journalism students.
