journalism

My Paper Sued Florida for the Same First Amendment Violations DeSantis is Making. We Won.

by Edward Wasserman

A flamboyant Florida sheriff took action against a small newspaper in 1988 by moving its mandatory legal notices to another paper. Given that the current governor has in his own book declared his intention to punish the Disney company for its "woke," precedent suggests he's in trouble. 

How One News Desk Got Iraq Right When Others Failed

by John Walcott

The former head of Knight-Ridder's national security desk explains how his agency passed by the agency bigshots, interviewed experts and analysts closer to the intelligence, and followed up on red flags that others missed in the runup to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, instead of protecting their access to the administration. 

Fox's Handling of the "Big Lie" was Cowardly, but Not Unusual

by Kathryn J. McGarr

News organizations' standards of objectivity have long allowed public figures and politicians to proclaim lies without pushback, leaving the public to be arbiters of truth and falsity. 

"Mr. Jones" Shows Fake News Has Always Been a Weapon Against Ukraine

by Walter G. Moss

The new Amazon feature "Mr. Jones" details the famine imposed on Ukraine by Stalin's policies in the 1930s, and the battle among journalists to control the story. It's a timely reminder of the connection of information and power. 

Is the Times Repeating Past Mistakes in its Transgender Reporting and Editorials?

The paper's now-notorious reluctance to cover the growing AIDS crisis and insistence on using clinical terminology like "homosexual" to describe gay men are now seen as failures of journalism. Is the paper's recent coverage of transgender issues following the same path? 

Evidence of Political Pressure in Firing of West Va. Radio Reporter

Insiders claim a growing pattern of political pressure from the office of Governor Jim Justice to use the threat of defunding to defang public radio coverage of state affairs. 

America's Lost Faith in the News

by Louis Menand

Politicians' success in demonizing and discrediting unfriendly news media threatens to undermine "the facts" as a shared social reality. Is anyone prepared to live in that world? 

Antisemitism is Resurgent. Why are News Organizations Screwing Up the Story?

When journalists turn to representatives of legacy Jewish organizations as authentic voices of American Jewry, they often end up generating reporting about antisemitism that strips away historical nuance and fails to accurately describe the forces driving attacks on Jews today. 

How Gael Greene Reinvented the Restaurant Critic

Greene wrote about restaurants as arenas for the display of status and a part of the city's culture, the way that the dining public did. 

Katherine Corcoran's Book Examines the Killing of Mexican Journalist Regina Martinez

While a book by the former AP Mexico City bureau chief shows the depth of corruption and political violence in Mexico, it also shows the integrity and courage of Mexican citizens and journalists who dare to demand better. 

Journalist Dorothy Thompson's Warnings About Fascism – Abroad and at Home

by Ben Railton

After being expelled as a journalist from Germany for criticizing Hitler, Dorothy Thompson worked to make clear to Americans what fascist movements stood for and how they could take root in the soil of racism and nativism here. 

How a Major Christian News Organization Lost its Way

by Marvin Olasky

The Christian news magazine "World" once combined a religious perspective with editorial independence and investigative reporting. Today's Christian nationalist climate has no room for that, says the former editor. 

Emmett Till's Lynching Catalyzed the Reactionary Denunciation of the "Liberal Media"

by Chris Lamb

To reactionary Southerners and white supremacists, media accounts of Emmett Till's murder had to be dismissed as "fake news" and countered with their own misinformation. 

Kathryn Olmsted's "Newspaper Axis" Shows Media Extremism Nothing New

by Kathryn Smith

FDR's success in promoting the New Deal and rallying Americans to the defense of Europe against fascism was a triumph over the nation's right-wing newspaper barons. 

The Racist Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment was Exposed 50 Years Ago

The study ran for 40 years, as nearly 400 Black men were diagnosed with syphilis but denied care so that scientists could study the progression of the disease, even after penicillin was available as an effective and safe treatment. 

How an AP Reporter Broke the Tuskegee Syphilis Story

Fifty years ago, Jean Heller revealed the horrifying truth that the US government had been denying hundreds of Black men treatment so they could study the progress of the disease. 

Watergate at 50: Did Kennedy Loyalists Squelch a 1968 "October Surprise" that Could Have Beaten Nixon?

by James H. Barron

Did Democratic party insiders bury the story of Richard Nixon receiving campaign funds from the Greek military junta because they disliked the Greek exile journalist who broke the news? 

From Trust in Institutions to Partisan Polarization: The Legacy of Watergate at 50

Garrett M. Graff calls the events set in motion by the 1972 burglary a dividing line in history that changed the political culture forever. 

The Debate Renews: Show Images Victims of Mass Killings in the Press?

by Jelani Cobb

Mamie Till's decision to place her son's open casket in the national media shone a light on Jim Crow atrocities, but it's unclear that showing the victims of gun massacres – even children – is making any difference. Photos of hundreds of lynching victims only encouraged their killers.

Publicizing Pictures of Dead Children Will Backfire on Gun Control Advocates

by John Temple

"Maybe one day some editors will have a picture of a dead child even more powerful than the one we published that will finally make a difference."