United States Project
Assignment desk: The authoritative take
on Colorado’s controversial secretary of state
A closer look at Scott Gessler could bring readers past the voter-fraud boilerplate
By Mary Winter Aug 14, 2012 at 03:00 PM
COLORADO — The framing of a late July story from NBC News was striking: Scott Gessler, the no-name secretary of... More
Estimating crowds: size matters
Reporters wrestle with the numbers as Romney and Ryan draw larger audiences
By Andria Krewson Aug 14, 2012 at 11:11 AM
NORTH CAROLINA — The day after Mitt Romney announced Paul Ryan as his vice presidential pick, the two traveled here... More
The man who explains politics in—and to—PA
When reporters need “here’s-what-it-all-means” context, they call Terry Madonna
By Ken Knelly Aug 13, 2012 at 03:00 PM
PENNSYLVANIA — When it comes to understanding the foundations of Keystone State politics—and how citizens process rhetoric and choose candidates—one... More
Covering Paul Ryan’s big day in Virginia
The Times-Dispatch casts a wide net to deliver a strong package for its readers
By Tharon Giddens Aug 13, 2012 at 07:00 AM
VIRGINIA — You expect nuance and quantity from The Washington Post and The New York Times when it comes to... More
The best political listening tour
“Ordinary person” quotes in political stories can be banal. But when reporters invest the time, they can hear so much more
By Walter Shapiro Aug 10, 2012 at 03:00 PM
It is the paradox of political journalism: The most important aspect of a presidential campaign—how flesh-and-blood voters make up their... More
Defining ‘open and accessible’ in Charlotte
Why reporters should write about the obstacles to covering the Democratic convention
By Andria Krewson Aug 10, 2012 at 06:50 AM
In a special package looking ahead to the Democratic convention next month, Politico published an Aug. 2 opinion piece by... More
In Ohio, misleading messages about military voting
The state’s major papers challenge claims about the motives behind an Obama lawsuit
By T.C. Brown Aug 9, 2012 at 03:30 PM
OHIO — The heat of the rhetoric tossed around by the presidential campaigns here seems to be perfectly in tune... More
On Vegas reporters on Reid on Romney
How Reid’s evidence-free claims about Romney’s taxes were covered in the Senate Majority Leader’s home state
By Jay Jones Aug 8, 2012 at 03:00 PM
NEVADA — Last week, The Huffington Post’s Sam Stein and Ryan Grim reported that Harry Reid told them that a... More
Another factchecking fiasco
Journalistic failure in coverage of Harry Reid and his mysterious source
By Brendan Nyhan Aug 7, 2012 at 01:00 PM
A week ago, The Huffington Post's Sam Stein and Ryan Grim published an article repeating Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's... More
For Obama in Ohio, a mix of substance and pageantry
In Akron, coverage leans too far toward softer stuff, but other outlets do better
By T.C. Brown Aug 3, 2012 at 03:00 PM
OHIO — These days there’s no danger of an Ohio news editor barking at a political reporter for hanging around... More
Why did Mitt Romney really go to Israel?
Despite what you read, it probably had little to do with wooing undecided Jewish voters
By Walter Shapiro Aug 3, 2012 at 11:03 AM
With Mitt Romney in Israel last weekend, it seemed like the irresistible sidebar. So news organizations like The Washington Post... More
The Gore-ing of Mitt Romney
Poisonous cycle of gotcha coverage and access restrictions recalls an earlier campaign
By Brendan Nyhan Aug 2, 2012 at 02:58 PM
The profane confrontation between one of Mitt Romney’s press aides and reporters at the end of the presumptive GOP nominee’s... More
In sports or politics, you can’t tell the players without a scorecard
Times-Dispatch coverage of voter registration controversy skimps on partisan angle
By Tharon Giddens Aug 2, 2012 at 11:00 AM
VIRGINIA — No matter the game, you’ve got to know who’s on whose team to keep up with the action.... More
Required skimming: campaign finance
Here’s how to follow the money
By Liz Cox Barrett Aug 2, 2012 at 06:50 AM
This month, CJR presents “Required Skimming,” a daily miniguide to our staffers' beats and obsessions, ranging from finance to food.... More
Dart to HuffPo for ‘awesome scoop’
For enabling Harry Reid’s game of telephone sourcing on Romney’s taxes
By Liz Cox Barrett and Greg Marx Aug 1, 2012 at 05:15 PM
Yesterday, The New York Times published an op-ed by Columbia tax law professor Michael J. Graetz, exploring, as the... 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?
This is the best moment to be in journalism (25)
The WSJ editorial page hits rock bottom (19)
Public television’s attempts to placate David Koch
One journalist took matters into his own hands when a fellow audience member wouldn’t stop using her smartphone during a theater performance
Purchasing Tumblr is Yahoo’s flashy bet on a shift in social media
The shift from Facebook to more creative social networks
Gay Talese’s outline for ‘Frank Sinatra Has a Cold,’ 1966
Handwritten on a shirt board
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.
