tag:www.cjr.org,2013://14 2013-05-24T14:54:02Z Columbia Journalism Review: The future of media is here tag:www.cjr.org,2013://14.37686 2013-05-24T18:56:00Z 2013-05-24T14:54:02Z

The New York Times told me to take...]]>

By The Editors Culled from CJR’s frequently updated “Must-reads from around the Web,” our staff recommendations for the best pieces of journalism (and other miscellany) on the Internet, here are your can’t-miss must-reads of the past week: Obama's war on leaks undermines investigative journalism -- "[T]he most militant I have seen since the Nixon administration" The New York Times told me... tag:www.cjr.org,2013://14.37692 2013-05-24T18:06:00Z 2013-05-24T19:47:42Z

Williamson Daily News in southern West Virginia unleashed a spirited and somewhat bizarre attack on an unnamed TV news station in an editorial, accusing it of coverage that was "irresponsible at best, defamation at worst." Though the editorial didn't actually identify the target of its ire, the newspaper was referring to a May 20 report by WCHS,...]]>

By Corey Hutchins On Thursday, the Williamson Daily News in southern West Virginia unleashed a spirited and somewhat bizarre attack on an unnamed TV news station in an editorial, accusing it of coverage that was "irresponsible at best, defamation at worst." Though the editorial didn't actually identify the target of its ire, the newspaper was referring to a May 20 report... tag:www.cjr.org,2013://14.37666 2013-05-24T15:00:00Z 2013-05-24T18:59:00Z

AUSTIN, TX -- At 7:30 pm Eastern time on May 16, Erin Burnett turned toward the camera in CNN's New York studio and teed up the next story: "The people of West, Texas, have been waiting for a month to find out what caused the horrific fertilizer-plant explosion that killed 15 people and leveled much of their town. Today, state...

By Richard Parker AUSTIN, TX -- At 7:30 pm Eastern time on May 16, Erin Burnett turned toward the camera in CNN's New York studio and teed up the next story: "The people of West, Texas, have been waiting for a month to find out what caused the horrific fertilizer-plant explosion that killed 15 people and leveled much of their town. Today, state... tag:www.cjr.org,2013://14.37682 2013-05-24T10:50:00Z 2013-05-24T01:30:33Z

There's been a diversity of gay news this month covered in the major media, from the rash of NYC hate crimes against gay men, to the story about a Texas lesbian couple forced apart because of a morality clause in one of the partner's divorce papers, to yesterday's Boy Scout vote to allow gay youths membership. But too often, the...

By Jennifer Vanasco There's been a diversity of gay news this month covered in the major media, from the rash of NYC hate crimes against gay men, to the story about a Texas lesbian couple forced apart because of a morality clause in one of the partner's divorce papers, to yesterday's Boy Scout vote to allow gay youths membership. But... tag:www.cjr.org,2013://14.37685 2013-05-24T10:50:00Z 2013-05-24T21:08:24Z

Fortune. Peter Elkind and Doris Burke get nearly 6,000 words to tell the story, and though it's a bit of a clip job, it's a very good clip job (ADDING: I should say "clip job"...]]>

By Ryan Chittum I've been following the Amazon tax-avoidance story for years now, and I haven't seen it better-told than it is on the cover of the new Fortune. Peter Elkind and Doris Burke get nearly 6,000 words to tell the story, and though it's a bit of a clip job, it's a very good clip job (ADDING: I should say "clip... tag:www.cjr.org,2013://14.37681 2013-05-23T20:17:17Z 2013-05-23T20:22:41Z

Science that found a rubbish-strewn environment brought out racist behaviors...]]>

By Declan Fahy The extraordinary case of academic fraudster Diederick Stapel followed the typical narrative of a scientific scandal. A professor of social psychology at Tilburg University, he became a star researcher in his native Netherlands and abroad after years of eye-catching experiments on human behavior, such as a 2011 study published in Science that found a rubbish-strewn environment brought out... tag:www.cjr.org,2013://14.37680 2013-05-23T19:00:00Z 2013-05-23T19:10:34Z

what they were protesting against. But they didn't know exactly whom. Here's the situation:...]]>

By Deron Lee FAIRWAY, KS -- On May 15, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the state Capitol in Lincoln, NE, to protest the filibuster that has blocked a bill expanding Medicaid to 54,000 new patients in the state, in accordance with the federal Affordable Care Act. The demonstrators knew what they were protesting against. But they didn't know exactly whom. Here's the... tag:www.cjr.org,2013://14.37667 2013-05-23T14:15:34Z 2013-05-23T16:27:21Z

A writer I greatly admire, Ta-Nehisi Coates, once offered this exercise in understanding what it's like to produce a weekly opinion column: "Spend a week counting all the original ideas you have. Then try to write each one down, in all its nuance, in 800 words. Perhaps you'd be very successful at this. Now try to do it for four...

By Ann Friedman A writer I greatly admire, Ta-Nehisi Coates, once offered this exercise in understanding what it's like to produce a weekly opinion column: "Spend a week counting all the original ideas you have. Then try to write each one down, in all its nuance, in 800 words. Perhaps you'd be very successful at this. Now try to do it for... tag:www.cjr.org,2013://14.37664 2013-05-23T11:25:00Z 2013-05-23T11:25:17Z

When Republican Scott Brown faced Democrat Martha Coakley in a January 2010 special election for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat, he was criticized by Coakley and other Democrats as being too conservative. But was he really a conservative at all? Media coverage at the time frequently bought into the claim that Brown was a conservative, which coincided with some of the...

By Brendan Nyhan When Republican Scott Brown faced Democrat Martha Coakley in a January 2010 special election for Ted Kennedy's Senate seat, he was criticized by Coakley and other Democrats as being too conservative. But was he really a conservative at all? Media coverage at the time frequently bought into the claim that Brown was a conservative, which coincided with some... tag:www.cjr.org,2013://14.37665 2013-05-23T10:50:00Z 2013-05-23T03:42:28Z

The bulk of the IRS scandal press coverage has been seriously devoid of the kind of context that tells readers how and why the targeting of Tea Party groups was almost certainly not a Nixonian plot from the Oval Office to intimidate political opponents. So it's great to see ProPublica's excellent piece showing why the scandal is way, way over-hyped...

By Ryan Chittum The bulk of the IRS scandal press coverage has been seriously devoid of the kind of context that tells readers how and why the targeting of Tea Party groups was almost certainly not a Nixonian plot from the Oval Office to intimidate political opponents. So it's great to see ProPublica's excellent piece showing why the scandal is way, way... tag:www.cjr.org,2013://14.37663 2013-05-22T22:05:00Z 2013-05-22T22:13:17Z

According to a recent Pew study, 16 percent of adults online use Twitter -- 8 percent daily. I'm pretty sure most of that 8 percent are journalists. Journalists love Twitter, whether using it for writing, conversation, or fighting. And I love to watch--and judge--the sparring. If you see a #JournoTweetFight that you think merits inclusion, please give me a heads...]]>

By Sara Morrison According to a recent Pew study, 16 percent of adults online use Twitter -- 8 percent daily. I'm pretty sure most of that 8 percent are journalists. Journalists love Twitter, whether using it for writing, conversation, or fighting. And I love to watch--and judge--the sparring. If you see a #JournoTweetFight that you think merits inclusion, please give me a... tag:www.cjr.org,2013://14.37658 2013-05-22T18:50:00Z 2013-05-22T18:45:36Z

DETROIT, MI -- About three weeks before the May 21 mayoral primary in Pittsburgh, an attack ad against a leading Democratic candidate, city councilmember Bill Peduto, hit the air. "We need a mayor for all of Pittsburgh. Not just Bill Peduto's neighborhood," the ad's narrator intones. Negative ads are nothing new, of course, but this one was unusual. It was...

By Anna Clark DETROIT, MI -- About three weeks before the May 21 mayoral primary in Pittsburgh, an attack ad against a leading Democratic candidate, city councilmember Bill Peduto, hit the air. "We need a mayor for all of Pittsburgh. Not just Bill Peduto's neighborhood," the ad's narrator intones. Negative ads are nothing new, of course, but this one was unusual.... tag:www.cjr.org,2013://14.37652 2013-05-22T16:00:00Z 2013-05-22T15:58:00Z

Like everyone else this week, I was transfixed by the tragedy in Moore, Oklahoma. The devastation was quick and, in some neighborhoods, complete. I streamed local coverage of the event from KFOR and over the course of Monday afternoon noticed a narrative was developing. News outlets were looking for good, positive stories to report just a few hours after the...

By Jane McManus Like everyone else this week, I was transfixed by the tragedy in Moore, Oklahoma. The devastation was quick and, in some neighborhoods, complete. I streamed local coverage of the event from KFOR and over the course of Monday afternoon noticed a narrative was developing. News outlets were looking for good, positive stories to report just a few hours after the... tag:www.cjr.org,2013://14.37651 2013-05-22T15:40:52Z 2013-05-22T16:00:18Z

every Tea Party organization that found itself under the IRS microscope was wrongly targeted--a nuance sometimes lost in the coverage. Take True the Vote , a project of the...]]>

By Mariah Blake Just about everyone in Washington agrees that the IRS's blanket targeting of Tea Party groups by keying on words in their titles was, at best, misguided. But that doesn't mean that every Tea Party organization that found itself under the IRS microscope was wrongly targeted--a nuance sometimes lost in the coverage. Take True the Vote , a project of... tag:www.cjr.org,2013://14.37650 2013-05-22T10:50:00Z 2013-05-22T07:57:25Z

The Motley Fool's Brian Richards posts a fascinating look inside the pump and dump world of penny-stock promoters, reporting how the hype machine worked in the case of a shell company called Goff Corporation. Richards describes Goff as "a social recruiting-company-turned-Colombian-gold miner," which should have been enough to scare off any investor with a light on upstairs. Fortunately for penny-stock...

By Ryan Chittum The Motley Fool's Brian Richards posts a fascinating look inside the pump and dump world of penny-stock promoters, reporting how the hype machine worked in the case of a shell company called Goff Corporation. Richards describes Goff as "a social recruiting-company-turned-Colombian-gold miner," which should have been enough to scare off any investor with a light on upstairs. Fortunately for...