United States Project
Debating Amendment One in North Carolina
Faced with an opportunity to lead civic discussion and take a stand, some papers fare better than others
By Andria Krewson May 16, 2012 at 03:30 PM
NORTH CAROLINA — Last week, North Carolina voters overwhelmingly passed Amendment One to the state constitution, defining marriage as between... More
For TV, campaigns create big winners, (relative) losers
Political ads may not be all “gravy” for local stations—but they’re still an awfully good deal
By Erika Fry May 15, 2012 at 06:50 AM
When Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum suspended his presidential campaign last month, the former Pennsylvania senator all but sealed Mitt... More
Pushing back, making connections
Michigan political reporters have a job to do
By Anna Clark May 14, 2012 at 11:29 AM
MICHIGAN — Quinn Klinefelter is a longtime news editor at WDET, the National Public Radio station in Detroit. His voice... More
In Nevada, a candidate’s fecklessness on full display
Some sharp interview questions leave a congressional hopeful squirming
By Jay Jones May 11, 2012 at 03:42 PM
NEVADA — In this state, where it’s legal to carry an unconcealed handgun, John Oceguera, the Speaker of the Nevada... More
Mapmaker, mapmaker, make me a map…
A glut of “swing-state” stories risks inspiring false certainty about the coming election
By Walter Shapiro May 10, 2012 at 12:07 PM
For a newspaper that believes that a decent fraction of its readers know that Kurt Weill wrote the music for... More
In Ohio, political money gets around
Dayton Daily News shows how local lawmakers shuffle campaign donations to cash-strapped colleagues
By T.C. Brown May 10, 2012 at 12:20 AM
OHIO—A thorough peek behind a curtain of campaign cash this week by the Dayton Daily News shed real light on... More
A (blurry) snapshot of influence peddling
Finding out who paid $10,000 to party with Congress members remains a reporting challenge
By Mary Winter May 9, 2012 at 11:15 AM
COLORADO—A CBS News undercover video of a Republican fundraiser earlier this year gave viewers a tantalizing glimpse of a $10,000-a-head... More
Obama ‘evolves,’ Romney ‘flip-flops’
As the candidates’ positions change, reporters construct differing narratives
By Brendan Nyhan May 8, 2012 at 12:00 PM
NEW HAMPSHIRE—Are Barack Obama and Mitt Romney so different after all? Despite the media’s portrayal of Romney as a uniquely... More
Reporting on the hand that feeds
In North Carolina, TV news reporters find stories in their stations’ political ad buy data
By Andria Krewson May 8, 2012 at 11:30 AM
NORTH CAROLINA—On April 27, the Federal Communications Commission made what CJR called “a good step toward transparency in the realm... More
The Rubio romance
For the national press, a harder look is in order
By Brian E. Crowley May 4, 2012 at 04:05 PM
FLORIDA — Much of the national media appears to be in love with Florida’s junior senator—Republican Marco Rubio. Back on... More
New rules on political ads: how to mine them
Finding gold may require a group effort
By Steven Waldman May 4, 2012 at 11:48 AM
A gold mine of data will soon be available to help make our political system more transparent, thanks to the... More
What’s the right way to cover Joe the Plumber?
Reporters in northern Ohio bring scrutiny to bear on an unusual candidate
By T.C. Brown May 3, 2012 at 05:21 PM
OHIO — There’s no telling how handy Joe the Plumber is with a wrench, but he’s certainly mastered the art... More
In an age of walled-off candidates, longing for LBJ
Caro’s latest opus offers a strong case for the enduring value of journalistic access
By Walter Shapiro May 3, 2012 at 10:13 AM
The pivotal chapter on the 1960 Democratic Convention in The Passage of Power, the just-published and justly heralded fourth volume... More
28 hours of political ads (and a few minutes of news)
Tallying the ad buys at six local TV stations for one Pennsylvania primary race
By Ken Knelly May 1, 2012 at 01:32 PM
Pennsylvania — In the weeks before the April 24 primary here, folks in Northeastern Pennsylvania saw and heard a lot... More
Network Anchors for Romney?
Campaign ads are making greater use of TV news footage. Is that a problem?
By Elizabeth Wilner and Ken Goldstein Apr 30, 2012 at 06:00 AM
Tom Brokaw, Katie Couric, and David Gregory endorsing presidential candidates: Could it happen? Actually, it already is—though not quite in... 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 (18)
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.
