The Observatory

Can Science Be “Humanized?”

Or is democracy doomed, Harper’s wonders

By Curtis Brainard   Aug 31, 2009 at 09:38 AM

There is a hauntingly dystopian headline in the September issue of Harper’s Magazine: “Dehumanized: When math and science rule the... More

Media Hype Swine Flu Report

Coverage of possible death toll ranges from wrong to remedial

By Curtis Brainard   Aug 26, 2009 at 12:58 PM

On Monday, the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology released a report (pdf) about the possible impact of... More

Forbes on ExxonMobil: “Green Company of the Year”

Really?

By Curtis Brainard   Aug 24, 2009 at 12:57 PM

What an eye-grabber! “ExxonMobil: Green Company of Year.” I mean, who woulda thunk it? Too bad the provocative headline of... More

March of the Politicians

Journal calls out Congress’s climate-change junket Down Under

By Curtis Brainard   Aug 12, 2009 at 04:35 PM

On Saturday, The Wall Street Journal fronted an article about a trip that ten members of Congress took last year... More

Writing Wrongs

Journals’ call to publish scientific setbacks is an opportunity for journalists

By Sanhita Reddy   Aug 11, 2009 at 11:49 AM

For journalists, some scientific flops are just too good to pass up. Think of the Large Hadron Collider’s failure to... More

It’s Tanking; I’m Teaching…

And other current events in the tumultuous world of science journalism

By Curtis Brainard   Aug 7, 2009 at 04:27 PM

Following the fiftieth fortieth anniversary of the first moon landing two weeks ago, The Observatory ran a short round-up of... More

Clunkers, the Economy, and the Environment

When it comes to “green,” reporters focus on the pocketbook

By Curtis Brainard   Aug 5, 2009 at 02:12 PM

Since the Department of Transportation announced last Thursday that new-car buyers had bankrupted the “cash for clunkers” rebate initiative in... More

Fuel for Thought

Once credulous, biofuels coverage grows skeptical

By Sanhita Reddy   Jul 31, 2009 at 12:24 PM

Fuel from corn. Fuel from coffee grounds. Fuel from chicken feathers. Whatever the recipe, the search for a replacement for... More

(E)mission Impossible?

Blogs, Web sites provide climate policy analysis lacking elsewhere

By Sanhita Reddy   Jul 29, 2009 at 11:15 AM

After the recent Group 8 meeting in Italy, news outlets released a flood of reports about certain developing countries—led by... More

The DEA, Michael Jackson, and Me

How the agency’s press office cost our magazine the propofol scoop

By Adam Marcus   Jul 23, 2009 at 04:22 PM

Scoops are won through hard work, luck and even, in the case of Evelyn Waugh’s William Boot, mistaken identity. They... More

Media on the Moon

Anniversary of Apollo landing inspires stories both quirky and critical

By Sanhita Reddy   Jul 23, 2009 at 03:35 PM

The media loves to commemorate space-age milestones. In 2007, it was Sputnik’s fiftieth birthday. In 2008, it was NASA’s. This... More

George Will and Climate Change: Have We Seen This Movie Before?

By Greg Marx   Jul 23, 2009 at 02:46 PM

He’s ba-ack. After igniting a firestorm in the blogosphere (and attracting some attention from mainstream media) with a February 15... More

Science Clichés: Steer Clear

By Sanhita Reddy   Jul 21, 2009 at 01:02 PM

Cheers to the Knight Science Journalism Tracker for picking up a snarky post at Wired titled, “5 Atrocious Science Clichés... More

The New Pioneers of the West

Start-up tries to fill the void in environment coverage

By Sanhita Reddy   Jul 17, 2009 at 03:50 PM

When Robert McClure picked up the phone to talk to about the new journalism startup he’s working for, Investigate West,... More

BPA, Health, and Nuance

STATS report criticizes media coverage, but has its own faults

By Sanhita Reddy   Jul 16, 2009 at 02:53 PM

The FDA is supposed to reach a final decision on the safety of Bisphenol A (BPA)—a plastics additive found in... More