United States Project
Covering facts versus the ‘narrative’
The challenge for journalists when scandal fever hits
By Brendan Nyhan May 17, 2013 at 11:00 AM
The dilemma for journalists this week: How should you cover a series of proto-scandals with seemingly little in common? As... More
The insanity of hospital pricing
The academics are wrong and the press is right: wildly varying healthcare billing is a very big deal
By Trudy Lieberman May 16, 2013 at 03:08 PM
Last week's release of the wildly varying prices that hospitals charge Medicare may no longer be news du jour, but... More
Q&A: Shaun McKinnon, veteran water reporter
An Arizona Republic reporter and self-described “water geek” on how to cover western water issues
By Joel Campbell May 16, 2013 at 11:00 AM
PROVO, UT -- Water issues may not be the sexy beat to which young journalists first aspire, but here in... More
Political ad windfall drives local TV consolidation
As a trend accelerates, industry and activists disagree about the consequences
By Sasha Chavkin May 15, 2013 at 02:55 PM
As campaign ads saturated the airwaves during the 2012 campaign, and piles of campaign cash buoyed stations' balance sheets, media... More
The other IRS scandal
Required context for a controversy
By David Cay Johnston May 15, 2013 at 06:52 AM
The burgeoning "scandal" over how the IRS chose for review 75 applicants for tax-exempt status puts on full display an... More
‘How do you deport three-fifths of a family?’
One undocumented immigrant’s race against the clock, told in real time by the Miami Herald’s Marc Caputo
By Adam Weinstein May 14, 2013 at 04:30 PM
MIAMI, FL -- Miami Herald political reporter Marc Caputo didn't expect high drama when he ventured into a community immigration... More
Untangling Obamacare: What’s behind the rate increases?
To report on rising premiums you need to understand them. A primer for reporters
By Trudy Lieberman May 13, 2013 at 12:38 PM
Rate hikes just keep coming. The latest we've heard about come from Blue Cross Blue Shield in North Carolina, which... More
Backsliding on the ‘death panels’ myth
The need for caution—and avoiding “he said,” “she said”—in reporting on IPAB
By Brendan Nyhan May 10, 2013 at 11:53 AM
House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell released a letter on Thursday stating that they would not... More
Just passing through
As major tax-cut plans zoom through Midwest statehouses, reporters scramble to stay ahead of the story
By Deron Lee May 10, 2013 at 11:00 AM
FAIRWAY, KS -- In late 2012 and early 2013, reporters in Kansas began to take note of an oddity in... More
StateImpact makes its mark, but won’t expand
As NPR exits the ambitious project, director says, “we changed the way reporting is done”
By Anna Clark May 9, 2013 at 02:50 PM
Two years ago, with statehouse bureaus taking huge cuts in a contracting media landscape, National Public Radio designed the StateImpact... More
The IRS budget and federal revenues:
Who will connect the dots?
The sequester strikes again
By David Cay Johnston May 9, 2013 at 11:00 AM
We've pointed out before that major news organizations are failing to connect the tax dots--between the sequester-caused cuts to the... More
Da Mayor, da columnist, da questions
Legendary political deal-maker Willie Brown writes a column in the San Francisco Chronicle, raising eyebrows higher than the Golden Gate Bridge
By John Mecklin May 7, 2013 at 03:00 PM
SANTA BARBARA, CA -- Former mayor, ex-state Assembly speaker, clothes horse, raconteur, and legendary political power-player Willie Brown has been... More
Busted bet: AP reveals sweepstakes industry’s cash-o-matic in North Carolina
Reporters discuss a series of scoops uncovering possible campaign-finance violations
By Corey Hutchins May 6, 2013 at 11:00 AM
COLUMBIA, SC -- Last Wednesday, the newly-appointed State Board of Elections in North Carolina convened for the first time. Following... More
Planet 401(k): Tom Friedman’s bleak vision
Elites are debating the shape of our future. It’s time for some mainstream reporting to deepen the discussion
By Trudy Lieberman May 3, 2013 at 11:09 AM
It's pretty clear by now that elite media, in their news columns and opinion pages, have had a big hand... More
Will Wall Street’s cop go after dark money?
The campaign for the SEC to force disclosure of corporate political spending, explained.
By Sasha Chavkin May 3, 2013 at 06:50 AM
During the 2012 elections--and ever since--coverage of campaign finance has focused heavily on the role of "dark money": the unlimited... More
About the United States Project
The United States Project aims to be a force for better journalism
about politics and policy. Our team of core contributors critiques
coverage of federal tax and budget issues, healthcare policy, the
quality and honesty of political rhetoric, debates on the social
safety net, and the role of money and influence in politics, while our
network of regional correspondents monitors reporting on both state
and federal policy issues at local media outlets around the country.
Follow us on Twitter
@USProjectCJR.
‘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?
This is the best moment to be in journalism (25)
The WSJ editorial page hits rock bottom (19)
The completist guide to Star Trek
Matt Yglesias watched every Star Trek movie and every episode of every TV show in the franchise
The uncomfortable questions not raised by Benghazi
The press and Congress are asking the wrong questions
Rob Ford in ‘crack cocaine’ video scandal
A video that appears to show Toronto’s mayor smoking crack is being shopped around by a group of Somali men involved in the drug trade
Why the underwear-bomber leak infuriated the Obama administration
The threat of even grander leaks
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.
