The Observatory
Carney’s conspiracy theory
White House Press Secretary sees GOP operatives in good journalism
By Curtis Brainard Dec 4, 2012 at 11:00 AM
Last week, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney blamed GOP operatives for revealing that Susan Rice, President Obama’s presumed favorite... More
Test Entry 2
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By Admin Person Dec 1, 2012 at 01:20 PM
Praesent nec lorem tincidunt turpis sodales faucibus. Curabitur vel dui ut eros elementum vestibulum in nec mauris. Phasellus magna lacus,... More
NY community papers struggle post-Sandy
Small papers were washed away when their readers most needed them, and they’re still recovering
By Henry Gass Nov 30, 2012 at 03:29 PM
The Wave offices, post-Hurricane Sandy. Photo credit: Henry Gass During Hurricane Sandy, the offices of The Wave, a community newspaper... More
Dull news from Doha
UN climate summit a ho-hum affair for the press
By Curtis Brainard Nov 28, 2012 at 03:30 PM
The United Nations climate-change summit that began in Doha, Qatar, on Monday has so far been a ho-hum affair for... More
Highway to the danger zone
Following Sandy, HuffPo and NYT dig into the folly of coastal development
By Curtis Brainard Nov 20, 2012 at 12:15 PM
Hurricane Sandy renewed the media’s interest in the many foolish ways that we increase our vulnerability to extreme weather. There’s... More
Climate roller coaster back on track
With Obama talking global warming, media see ups and downs
By Curtis Brainard Nov 16, 2012 at 11:00 AM
At his first post-election press conference on Wednesday, President Obama talked about his current position on climate change in greater... More
What’s the MATTER?
A Kickstarter-funded longform narrative science journalism site launches
By Sara Morrison Nov 15, 2012 at 03:30 PM
MATTER, a Kickstarter-funded longform science journalism project, launched on Wednesday with its first article, written by prominent science writer Anil... More
Salazar threatens to ‘punch out’ reporter
Interior Secretary angered by tough questions at Obama campaign event
By Curtis Brainard Nov 14, 2012 at 12:00 PM
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar threatened to “punch out” a journalist for having the temerity to ask him questions... More
Take a beat
Media pump too much news from heart association meeting, critic says
By Curtis Brainard Nov 12, 2012 at 03:00 PM
More than 10,000 stories came out of the annual meeting of the American Heart Association (AHA), which took place in... More
Obama and the environment
Media react to the election with speculation, some insights
By Curtis Brainard Nov 8, 2012 at 03:00 PM
Journalists didn’t leave energy and the environment out of post-election speculation about what President Obama’s second term might look like.... More
Lemmings like us
Businessweek’s climate-change broadside is powerful, but ignores the allure of waterfront property
By Curtis Brainard Nov 6, 2012 at 11:00 AM
Hurricane Sandy finally got the media talking about climate change last week, but Bloomberg Businessweek spoke the loudest with a... More
Bad hippie!
Is it wrong to ‘scold’ exaggerations about climate and weather?
By Curtis Brainard Nov 1, 2012 at 01:00 PM
David Roberts has a long essay over at Grist complaining about "scolds" (The New York Times’s Andrew Revkin, in particular)... More
Sandy’s climate context
Why generalizing about extreme weather helps no one
By Curtis Brainard Oct 30, 2012 at 04:15 PM
It should come as no surprise that as Hurricane Sandy spiraled up the eastern seaboard, a variety of media outlets... More
Jenny McCarthy as a Sun-Times columnist?
Science writers are skeptical, though McCarthy won’t promote a fake link between vaccines and autism there
By Jennifer Vanasco Oct 29, 2012 at 06:50 AM
In her column, Minority Reports, Jennifer Vanasco analyzes how the mainstream media covers social minorities. The Chicago Sun-Times created controversy... More
Junkets masquerading as prizes
To avoid conflicts of interest, read the fine print
By Curtis Brainard Oct 25, 2012 at 05:15 PM
With dwindling support for travel in most newsrooms, journalists may be tempted to apply for one of the many prizes... More
‘See you on the other side’ - Meet Jessica Lum, a terminally ill 25-year-old who chose to spend what little time she had practicing journalism
#Realtalk: This is the best moment to be in journalism - The old stuff isn’t coming back, but that’s okay
Streams of consciousness - Millennials expect a steady diet of quick-hit, social-media-mediated bits and bytes. What does that mean for journalism?
Sticking with the truth - How ‘balanced’ coverage helped sustain the bogus claim that childhood vaccines can cause autism
An ink-stained stretch - Can Aaron Kushner save the Orange County Register—and the newspaper industry?
What to do if you find a baby bird
Expert advice
Inside Google’s secret lab
We might deplore the practice, but posting pictures of our food online is a way to bring everyone to the table
How the ‘World’s 50 Best’ list changed the way elite restaurants do business
“Every time the restaurant switched up its format, it got plenty of accompanying media coverage that let judges know they needed to return to see what was going on”
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.
