The Trayvon Effect: Americans as Tragedy Addicts

The death of Trayvon Martin is a tragedy. But what do we actually do about it? And what else is getting ignored while we and the media focus all of our attention on one powerfully emotional case after another?

Body of Evidence: Osama bin Laden, Stratfor, WikiLeaks, and Journalism That Isn’t

When it comes to the truth, it turns out you can’t trust the government. But you can’t trust those who tell you you can’t trust the government, either. See the Osama bin Laden burial story, for example.

An Open Letter to NYT Staffers: Leave the Plantation and Join Us

The New York Times staff are in (partial) revolt. But it’s corporate-owned media that is truly revolting. Here’s a solution: let’s build something better, together.

Brave Reporter Challenges Romney Deceit

Can/should a reporter call a candidate on semantic nonsense? Watch this video--in its entirety—and see reporter be reprimanded by Romney press secretary for sticking to his guns. Will this reporter keep his job? Stay tuned.

Iowa: Watch!…Watch!…Watch!… Why Are You Watching?

Iowa is a waste of time (sorry, Iowa friends, nothing personal.) It’s typical of distractions that fill our bandwidth and keep us from focusing on what really matters.

Fair and Balanced Nukes?

Yesterday’s New York Times represented a kind of quiet sea change. A front-page article addressed the quality of intelligence analyses of Iran’s nuclear intentions, against the background of the West’s mounting confrontation with Tehran. Unlike the largely credulous articles written by Judith Miller...

A Word to the Worried: the Future of Journalism

Those of us in journalism pretty much know the extent to which our field is being decimated by the simultaneous unraveling of the economy and of the journalistic business model. Still, Barbara Ehrenreich’s commencement address at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism is well worth reading. The dean...