The Observatory
An (Oil) Peak Too High
Energy crisis too big, too complex for media to handle on its own, experts say
By Tiffany Plate Oct 14, 2009 at 12:50 PM
DENVER—Protestors in giant chicken suits lingered outside the 2009 International Peak Oil Conference here on Monday. Their personas were meant... More
SEJ Accused of Protecting Gore
Filmmaker’s criticism is self-serving and wrong, however
By Curtis Brainard Oct 12, 2009 at 11:39 AM
An independent filmmaker accused the Society of Environmental Journalists of “protecting” Al Gore on Friday after the filmmaker’s mic was... More
Synthetic Biology Still Not a Story
Americans know little about the emerging field, poll finds
By Curtis Brainard Oct 6, 2009 at 02:15 PM
According to a recent poll, Americans know very little about synthetic biology, which seeks to genetically engineer new forms of... More
Grantham Prize Seminar To Honor Air Pollution Series
By Curtis Brainard Oct 2, 2009 at 12:28 PM
Anybody in or around Washington, D.C. on Monday should check out the fourth annual Grantham Prize Seminar on the State... More
Green Rankings a Means, Not an End For Journalists
By Curtis Brainard Sep 28, 2009 at 04:24 PM
Are you invested in a dirty company? If you work for the state of New York and plan to draw... More
Are Americans Wild Enough?
Ken Burns’s documentary and the debate over how much nature we need
By Curtis Brainard Sep 25, 2009 at 06:20 PM
On Sunday evening PBS will air Ken Burns’s much anticipated documentary, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. News outlets and... More
Sidebar: The New Energy Beat
Our Web-only list of the energy sites journalists need to know
By Curtis Brainard and Cristine Russell Sep 24, 2009 at 12:00 AM
Energy Journalism All Green To Me: An eclectic energy and environment Web site from The News Journal in Wilmington,... More
Newsweek Ranks 500 Greenest Companies…
But shills for Big Oil in the process
By Curtis Brainard Sep 22, 2009 at 06:45 PM
The press’s latest attempt to quantify and categorize the environmental track records of myriad businesses attempting burnish their eco-credentials is... More
MinnPost.com Launches “Science Agenda”
Newcomer outlet picks up the slack left by MSM
By Curtis Brainard Sep 18, 2009 at 04:43 PM
On Thursday, I wrote about a group of thirty-five research universities that have launched a “newswire” called Futurity.org to showcase... More
Is Futurity the Future?
Citing a lack of science coverage, universities launch their own “newswire”
By Curtis Brainard Sep 17, 2009 at 04:52 PM
Citing the decline of science coverage in the mainstream news media, thirty-five of the country’s top universities have banded together... More
Science Needs a Storyline
The question is not if, but how scientists should frame their research
By Matt Nisbet, Dominique Brossard, Dietram Scheufele Sep 16, 2009 at 11:22 AM
Journalists choose an angle for every story they write. Should scientists do the same when explaining the import of their... More
From Hudson to 9/11
Times smartly pairs two lower-Manhattan anniversaries
By Curtis Brainard Sep 11, 2009 at 04:26 PM
Remember remember the month of September. So says a smart tribute in today’s New York Times, pairing the eighth anniversary... More
Research, Not Relations…
Why scientists should leave communications to the pros
By Earle Holland Sep 9, 2009 at 04:58 PM
A piece in The Observatory last week lamented the fact that Rajenda Pachauri, the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on... More
EPA Targets Major Emitters
Journal sees an admission that limiting carbon will be costly
By Curtis Brainard Sep 4, 2009 at 11:41 AM
The Environmental Protection Agency sent a “tailoring rule” to the White House for consideration on Saturday that would limit regulation... More
When Kennedy Didn’t Compromise
Lessons from the senator’s early health reform failure
By Cristine Russell Sep 1, 2009 at 10:17 AM
I join the chorus of those who have long admired Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s remarkable Senate career and his persistence... 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?”
Rolling Stone remembers Michael Hastings, dead at 33
The bold journalist died in a car accident in Los Angeles
On the journalistic value of being “a dick”
Buzzfeed’s statement on the death of its reporter
The disappearance of ‘Sports of the Times’
CJR’s panel discussion on coverage of gay marriage
On the eve of two related SCOTUS decisions, how should journalists be covering the issue?
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.
