Friday, August 02, 2013. Last Update: Fri 11:00 AM EST

United States Project

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Michigan media on Romney’s birth certificate ‘joke’ (UPDATED)

Some news outlets let it slide—unexplained, unchallenged

MICHIGAN — Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan brought the Republican presidential ticket to Commerce, Michigan today in an event billed... More

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A laurel to Jackie Calmes of The New York Times

She begins to X-ray the Romney/Ryan Medicare plan

This week’s laurel goes to Jackie Calmes of The New York Times for reporting the increasing skepticism in health... More

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The word on the street: apprehensive

Listening to voters talk about Medicare in St. Louis

The idea of privatizing Medicare is not winning popularity contests with voters. A Pew Research Center poll released Tuesday found... More

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Backstory: the reporter who interviewed Akin

The Jaco Report reconsiders the moment

As transitions go, it was pretty jagged, a classic of the “moving right along” category. Answering a question about abortion... More

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Medicare and the $716 billion bogeyman

Will a new version of a half-truth work for the GOP?

It’s been hard to escape from Medicare in the 11 days since Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan burst into the news... More

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Last week’s GOP local TV blitz

What did candidates—and viewers—get from it?

VIRGINIA — The word “exclusive” is routinely devalued in broadcast political reporting and last week was no exception. Republicans Mitt... More

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‘That muddy water’ of fairness

With “Line of Attack,” Sun evaluates “legit,” “laughable” campaign claims

NEVADA — I can’t recall who came up with the idea of a digital video recorder that automatically skips past... More

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What makes Mitt tick?

We need more tick-tock from the press pack about why Romney chose Paul Ryan

The faster-than-a-tweet, fleeter-than-a-sound-bite pace of the presidential campaign upends our basic conceptions of time and duration. It is disconcerting to... More

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A laurel to The Atlantic’s Garance Franke-Ruta

For calling on reporters to repeat the truth as often as needed, and showing how to do it

This week’s laurel goes to Garance Franke-Ruta of The Atlantic, whose astute web piece “What to Do With Political... More

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Covering Romney in Ohio’s coal country

Visit draws sharp questions from across state line, and solid stories from big-city papers

OHIO — When Mitt Romney’s campaign bus rolled into the tiny Appalachian town of Beallsville in the eastern part of... More

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A super resource on super PACs in Virginia

Early coverage puts VPAP database to good use, but there are opportunities to do more

VIRGINIA — Super PACs have been pouring money into Virginia for months, now, seeking to sway the presidential contest and... More

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Medicare, Paul Ryan, and beyond: a primer

Here’s context to clarify the big entitlements debates

Mitt Romney’s choice of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as his vice presidential nominee elevates Medicare and Medicaid (along with Social... More

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Don’t just look at the money—follow it!

Can Michigan media tell us why a bailout opponent is collecting big bucks from Wall Street?

MICHIGAN — One of the old standbys of political journalism—“follow the money”—sometimes gives way to something simpler: “look at the... More

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A sharp Herald item on Ryan’s surprising Cuba record

Keyed to local community, paper digs up veep pick’s past opposition to embargo

FLORIDA — Tucked somewhere into the recesses of the hidden place where only those with knowledge of the secret handshake... More

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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

COLORADO — The framing of a late July story from NBC News was striking: Scott Gessler, the no-name secretary of... More

Old TNR vs. New TNR

In one tweet

Luke Russert is the Golden Boy of DC

And it drives young journalists crazy

Oh, #Florida!

Why does Florida produce so much weird news? Experts explain

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