United States Project
The true cost of national security
The Pentagon and the White House focus on the core Defense budget, but that’s not the half of it
By David Cay Johnston Jan 31, 2013 at 03:02 PM
Soon, we will get the president's proposed fiscal 2014 spending plan. Much attention will focus on Social Security and... More
How super PACs succeeded in 2012
There’s one area where outside spenders won big: Republican primaries
By Sasha Chavkin Jan 30, 2013 at 02:50 PM
This post has been corrected. See note at bottom. After the Republican Party and its biggest super PAC and dark... More
Praise, and criticism, for an NYT series on corporate welfare
The paper’s sources challenge some of its findings while praising attention to the issue
By David Cay Johnston Jan 29, 2013 at 02:50 PM
Many of the most important stories develop for years before they get covered because no one makes an official announcement,... More
Incredible shrinking insurance co-ops
Congress gives a gift to the insurance companies. Time for the press to take note
By Trudy Lieberman Jan 29, 2013 at 11:02 AM
When negotiators wrapped up their fiscal cliff negotiations, among the quiet casualties were insurance co-ops, which had been hailed... More
The Big Boys: Aetna’s dubious rationale
for raising rates
Needed—a closer look at insurers’ sob stories
By Trudy Lieberman Jan 28, 2013 at 11:20 AM
This is the second of an occasional series of posts called "The Big Boys," which will examine how the media... More
Lone Star politics: anything but dull
The Texas press braces for the part-timers and out-of-towners of the 83rd legislature
By Richard Parker Jan 28, 2013 at 06:50 AM
AUSTIN, TX -- Back in the mid-nineteenth century, when Texas gave up its status as an independent republic and joined... More
The state tax shift
As GOP states swap income for sales taxes, can reporters stay ahead of the story?
By Greg Marx Jan 25, 2013 at 03:50 PM
In today's The New York Times, Richard Stevenson takes note of an important trend in state capitols around the country:... More
The hidden side of women’s military service: sexual assault
A conundrum for reporters and their sources: How do we cover wrongdoing when soldiers don’t want to be labeled as victims?
By Helen Benedict Jan 25, 2013 at 11:16 AM
This week's news that the Pentagon is lifting the ban against women in ground combat is giving many military... More
A kids’ magazine takes on obesity
A laurel to ChopChop
By Trudy Lieberman Jan 23, 2013 at 03:15 PM
Every now and then a throwback to the legacy media comes along and reminds us that not all of... More
Gun control coverage in the Great Lakes
How did the region’s reporters tell the story of Obama’s January 16th proposal?
By Anna Clark Jan 22, 2013 at 04:30 PM
Anna Clark followed campaign coverage in Michigan during the 2012 election for CJR's Swing States Project. This year, she will... More
Boosting the Sandy Hook truther myth
The dangers of covering fringe misperceptions
By Brendan Nyhan Jan 22, 2013 at 11:00 AM
In the weeks since the tragic events at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, fringe conspiracy theorists have suggested... More
The Big Boys: hospitals and their pricing muscles
Three newspaper investigations show that consolidation leads to higher costs for patients
By Trudy Lieberman Jan 21, 2013 at 06:50 AM
This is the first of an occasional series of posts called "The Big Boys," which will examine how the media... More
Can the media avoid inaugural over-hype?
A little over-emoting is inevitable, but there are some cliches we can do without
By Walter Shapiro Jan 18, 2013 at 03:10 PM
After Bill Clinton took the oath of office for the second time in 1997, a USA Today columnist burbled, "Clinton's... More
USP Notes: Medicaid expansion edition
Some solid coverage helps keep the debate within the realm of facts
By Greg Marx Jan 17, 2013 at 07:00 AM
As governors around the country deliver their annual addresses and legislatures prepare to convene, one of the key policy stories... More
The Frank Luntz script for Congressional Republicans
A guide to phrases journos should look for (and scrutinize)
By Trudy Lieberman Jan 16, 2013 at 03:00 PM
In advance of a House Republican retreat this week, wordsmith Frank Luntz again offered his recipe for GOP political success,... 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)
In AP, Rosen investigations, government makes criminals of reporters
“[A]s flagrant an assault on civil liberties as anything done by George W. Bush’s administration”
Jay Carney press briefing blues
“Reporters are increasingly skeptical about Carney’s demeanor and the veracity of some answers”
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
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.
