United States Project
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
Keeping it chronic
Local coverage explores ways to keep ‘super-users’ out of the hospital, driving costs down and outcomes up
By Sibyl Shalo Wilmont May 2, 2013 at 03:10 PM
The emergency department (ED) is not only the most inappropriate and expensive place to deliver primary healthcare, it's a gateway... More
Untangling Obamacare: Rate shock!?
Understanding the direction of insurance premiums is not easy, let alone explaining it. But…
By Trudy Lieberman May 1, 2013 at 02:28 PM
Covering Obamacare poses big challenges for journalists, from piercing government spin and deciphering GOP rhetoric to unraveling and simplifying... More
Honey, I shrank the IRS
The administration wants more money for tax-law enforcement. Let’s ask why
By David Cay Johnston Apr 30, 2013 at 02:52 PM
Last week, we pointed to a piece of news that we have yet to read or hear from most... More
Covering ‘The American Presidency’
Fiction vs. reality in coverage of the White House
By Brendan Nyhan Apr 30, 2013 at 11:00 AM
In Hollywood and the accounts of many of the nation's leading journalists, events in Washington revolve around the president, who... More
Four Corners coverage: immigration reform
The Arizona Republic raises issues absent in most of this region’s reporting—but there are opportunities for everyone to do more
By Joel Campbell Apr 29, 2013 at 02:50 PM
PROVO, UT -- Journalists in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah have raised vital policy, political, and accountability issues as... More
A laurel to Zahira Torres and the El Paso Times
Dogged investigative work exposed a test-score scandal that harmed students
By Richard Parker Apr 26, 2013 at 11:52 AM
AUSTIN, TX -- In El Paso, the former school superintendent is now in prison, the Justice Department is investigating,... 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.
