The Magazine
November/December 2009
Articles
Feature
The Rise of True Fiction
Some of the best new films and books live between genres
By Alissa Quart Dec 8, 2009 at 02:30 PM
Staff Sergeant Will James fiddles with the bomb like an IT tech on methamphetamine. He works quickly despite his seventy-pound... More
Feature
Myths of Mexico
The media’s simplistic depiction of the ‘drug war’
By Michelle Garcia Dec 8, 2009 at 11:30 AM
In 1891, my great-great-uncle, Catarino Garza, attempted to overthrow the Mexican dictator, Porfirio Díaz, by launching an armed revolution from... More
Feature
‘A Minor Regional Prophet’
Paul Hemphill wrote the stories he was meant to write
By Steve Oney Dec 7, 2009 at 03:54 PM
Paul Hemphill, the first published writer I ever knew, died in Atlanta last summer of lung cancer at the age... More
Reconstruction
The Reconstruction of American Journalism
A report by Leonard Downie, Jr., and Michael Schudson
By Leonard Downie Jr. and Michael Schudson Oct 19, 2009 at 01:00 PM
For reactions to this report, click here. American journalism is at a transformational moment, in which the era of dominant... More
Departments
Short Takes
Freeze Frame
A photojournalist finds himself increasingly shut out
By James Lo Scalzo Dec 9, 2009 at 04:21 PM
I’ve encountered plenty of prohibitions on picture-making in fifteen years as a photojournalist. But the most infuriating came recently at... More
Short Takes
All the News Fit to Sing
An interview with the man behind Pakistan’s musical news cartoons
By Ayesha Akram Dec 9, 2009 at 04:14 PM
American coverage of Pakistan tends not to focus on its role as a media laboratory, but a sudden growth of... More
Short Takes
Man on the (Digital) Street
A new Web service helps reporters find the perfect quote
By Janet Paskin Dec 6, 2009 at 04:06 PM
It all began innocently enough. In fifteen years as a PR guy and serial entrepreneur, Peter Shankman had become something... More
Darts and Laurels
Darts and Laurels
The East Valley Tribune uncovers abuse of a school tuition program
By Alexandra Fenwick Nov 12, 2009 at 04:18 PM
Editor’s Note: After this “Laurel” went to press, the East Valley Tribune announced that it will cease publication online and... More
Editorial
A Helping Hand
The case for (smart) government support of journalism
By The Editors Nov 10, 2009 at 08:00 AM
When in September President Obama said he would be “happy to look” at congressional proposals designed to help the beleaguered... More
Ideas & Reviews
Review
Brief Encounters
Short reviews of books on foreign reporting and journalists who risked it all
By James Boylan Dec 9, 2009 at 05:20 PM
Journalism’s Roving Eye: A History of American Foreign Reporting By John Maxwell Hamilton Louisiana State University Press 655 pages, $45... More
Second Read
A Failure of Skepticism
Stolen Valor and the effort to expose bogus battlefield heroics
By Russell Working Dec 9, 2009 at 05:03 PM
Two years ago, a weekly paper in suburban Chicago profiled an elderly character who had been asked to lead the... More
The Research Report
Mourning Becomes Electric
The rituals of grief can still bring a fragmented audience together
By Michael Schudson and Julia Sonnevend Dec 8, 2009 at 05:28 PM
Fragmented. Few words are used more often to describe the media environment today. People disappear into their iPods, iPhones, BlackBerrys,... More
Review
Poverty’s Poet Laureate
A new portrait of Dorothea Lange
By Julia M. Klein Dec 7, 2009 at 05:57 PM
Dorothea Lange was an elite portrait photographer, a government-funded propagandist, an artist, and, most famously, a photojournalist who helped invent... More
Review
Glass Half Full?
Two new books with clashing takes on American optimism
By James Surowiecki Nov 17, 2009 at 09:00 AM
Given the generally grim mood of the American public these days, it might seem like an odd time for Barbara... More
New survey reveals everything you think about freelancing is true - Data from Project Word quantifies challenges of freelance investigative reporting
Why one editor won’t run any more op-eds by the Heritage Foundation’s top economist - A reply to Paul Krugman on state taxes and job growth made some incorrect claims
Why we ‘stave off’ colds - It all started with wine
The New Republic, then and now - Tallying the staff turnover at the overhauled magazine
Why serious journalism can coexist with audience-pleasing content - Legacy media organizations should experiment with digital platforms while continuing to publish hard news
Email blasts from CJR writers and editors
The rise of feelings journalism (TNR)
“Bloom engaged in an increasingly popular style of writing, which I’ve discussed on my blog before, which I call “feelings journalism.” It involves a writer making an argument based on what they imagine someone else is thinking, what they feel may be another person’s feelings. The realm of fact, of reporting, has been left behind.”
Things a war correspondent should never say (WSJ)
“The correspondent retelling war stories surely knows that fellow correspondents had faced the same dangers or worse”
The joyful, bloody media circus of bringing down Brian Williams (Bloomberg)
“In the media, we eat our own for sport”
On WaPo trying to interview a cow (National Journal)
“‘I wasn’t milked on the White House lawn by a strange man,’ The Washington Post—the venerable institution that would later come to break the Watergate scandal and win 48 Pulitzers—quoted her, a farm animal, as saying”
Greg Marx discusses democracy and news with Tom Rosenstiel of the American Press Institute
CJR's Guide to Online News Startups
ACEsTooHigh.com – Reporting on the science, education, and policy surrounding childhood trauma
Who Owns What
The Business of Digital Journalism
A report from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Questions and exercises for journalism students.
