Tag Archives: Columbia Journalism Review

CJR: Why we’re suing New York State

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The Columbia Journalism Review has filed a lawsuit against the state of New York for refusing to release information under the state’s Freedom of Information law.

[T]he records we’re seeking would likely help illuminate the press’ role in a bizarre chain of events in state history that led to the appointment of an Independent Counsel and to the governor dropping his election campaign. Sure, there will be lots of chaff in those e-mails. But perhaps they’d offer some information explaining the resignations, show reporters testing the most bizarre theories circulating at the time, or catalogue an evolving damage-control line from the state’s highest official.

Any of that would all be potentially interesting, and that’s why we will exercise our rights under the law and file suit.

But given the response from the governor’s office, we now also think this suit must be waged to protect the full force of two laws that the state’s press corps rely on: the Freedom of Information Law and the state’s shield law

Full story on the CJR website at this link…

Columbia Journalism Review: Can the new non-profits last?

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Columbia Journalism Review has an insightful feature up on the United States’ burgeoning non-profit journalism industry. Writer Jill Drew looks at the unusual practices that separate organisations like California Watch from traditional newsrooms, and whether the philanthropic donations and other smaller revenue streams on which they rely can sustain the groundbreaking work being done.

The editors agreed; this was big. But then the conversation veered in a direction unfamiliar to traditional newsrooms. Instead of planning how to get the story published before word of it leaked, the excited editors started throwing out ideas for how they could share Johnson’s reporting with a large array of competitive news outlets across the state and around the country. No one would get a scoop; rather, every outlet would run the story at around the same time, customized to resonate with its audience, be they newspaper subscribers, Web readers, television viewers, or radio listeners.

Full story at this link…

Columbia Journalism Review: ‘Is shorter really better?’

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Over at the Columbia Journalism Review, Greg Marx has written a follow-up to Michael Kinsley’s attack on the length and style of newspaper style writing. Marx questions whether shorter really is better and takes another look at ‘expert’ quotes.

The fact that a lot of people still read newspapers, and only newspapers, suggests that they may like – or at least, feel accustomed to – the way newspaper stories are written.

Full post at this link…

CJR: What’s the legality of publishing hacked emails?

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The Columbia Journalism Review takes a look at the [US] legality of reproducing leaked emails, following the publication of thousands of hacked emails from the University of East Anglia’s Climate Research Unit. Some critical comments about the American coverage of the incident underneath the article, too:  Full post at this link…

CJR takes on redundant journalists

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Four laid-off journalists have been recruited by the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) as part of the industry publication’s new Encore Fellowship initiative to give redundant journalists more job opportunities.

According to the CJR, the journalists will work for CJR for nine months and receive support on using their experience in the future. Their work will be featured in both the magazine and the website, from late October.

The Encore initiative has been developed by Civic Ventures, a partner of the project. The Poynter Institute have also partnered CJR for this scheme and will provide educational opportunities tailored to the new journalists’ needs.

The Encore journalists were chosen from journalists who, because of the industry’s economic condition, have left jobs as senior reporters. Encore has received a grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies and hopes that new donors will help an expanded program to launch for 2010.

Update on Futurity.org: the science news site run by US universities

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Last week Journalism.co.uk reported on Futurity.org, publicised as an online news service through which US university departments will publish their scientific findings directly online in a digestible format – a project designed to combat a reduction in science reporting in mainstream media.

We were interested to learn that the site would be included in Google News and asked Lisa Lapin, one of Futurity’s founders and assistant vice president for communications at Stanford University, for more information.

“Google News is recognising Futurity as a news organisation and will be capturing our news for search, and for display within Google News, as they would another news organisation,” she told Journalism.co.uk.

A release initially announced 35 partners, although we now count a total of 39 participating universities featured on the site. All are members of the  Association of American Universities (AAU), an association of leading public and private research universities in the United States and Canada.

We asked Lapin if they would be adding even more to the service:

“As for partners, we wanted to begin with a reasonable size and institutions that have strong research programmes – thus it was natural for us to include AAU universities,” she said.

“To be elected to the AAU is quite an accomplishment and there is already criteria that we didn’t need to develop. There are 62 AAU universities in the US and Canada. We will discuss expanding futurity.org membership, but we would need to develop some criteria to assure that the news remains truly the greatest discoveries coming out of research universities.”

The project has attracted some criticism, as reported by the San Jose Mercury News:

“Any information is better than no information,” said Charlie Petit, a former science reporter at U.S. News & World Report and the San Francisco Chronicle.

“The quality of research university news releases is quite high. They are rather reliable,” he added. “But they are completely absent any skepticism or investigative side.”

Petit followed up with a lengthier comment and example on the Knight Science Journalism Tracker, and said that press releases published by Futurity should be clearly labelled as such:

“Press releases can and often do carry real news, and in professional and ethical style. In aggregate, they serve reporters and the public in an essential way. However:  They may be science writing. They are not independent journalism that seeks (if not always successfully) to get wide opinion and angles on the news. This is not a fine point. It is essential that the distinction be clear.”

Related: Columbia Journalism Review: Is Futurity the Future?

CJR: The Guardian’s Washington bureau chief on US/UK news models

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Our second pick from the Columbia Journalism Review today: a lengthy Q&A with the Guardian’s Washington bureau chief, Ewen MacAskill.

There is lots of ground covered; MacAskill’s explanation of the Guardian’s approach in the States and his thoughts on differences between US and UK journalistic technique make particularly interesting reading.  An extract:

“[I]n some ways, the American system is more transparent, but because of the more adversarial system in Britain, sometimes more stories come out there. It’s a contradiction: the American system is more transparent, but in spite of that, an awful lot goes on behind the scenes that we never get to hear about.”

Full Q&A at this link…

CJR: A ‘new threat’ to Middle East journalism – created in the US

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A piece by Lawrence Pintak and Yosri Fouda in the Columbia Journalism Review argues that ‘well-meaning’ Western journalism rights groups undermine journalism ‘by defending Arab and Iranian online activists who have been jailed or harassed by the authorities’.

Full story at this link…

The Committee to Protect Journalists responds here.

(via Nigel Barlow)


HuffPo doesn’t like being linked to… really?

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“HuffPo Scolds Washingon City Paper for Linking,” says a Washington City Paper headline.

You what? The HuffPo doesn’t like links? Well, one in particular: a link to the HuffingtonPost’s site from a spoof site, made by the Washington City Paper for April Fool’s.

Here’s a summary from Jane Kim at the Columbia Journalism Review:

“This past Tuesday, City Paper columnist Amanda Hess blasted HuffPo for its nipple- (or is that traffic-) driven priorities, after which City Paper received a request from HuffPo asking it to take down the parody page from its archive. One of its reasons: ‘The official was perturbed,’ writes Wemple, ‘that the parody page that virtually no one has clicked on since April Fool’s contains a link to the Huffington Post site.’ No switching necessary (though perhaps a little bit of baiting) in that headline after all.”

Columbia Journalism Review: Identity crisis at the Wall Street Journal?

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Liza Featherstone takes a look at working relationships and attitudes at the Wall Street Journal, since it was sold to Rupert Murdoch in 2007, for the Columbia Journalism Review.

“At the Journal’s offices in lower Manhattan, just about everyone is grateful that the new owner has deep pockets and is willing to invest in reporting – both rare commodities in the industry these days. Yet there are reasons to fear that in the midst of a global financial crisis, arguably the biggest test a business newspaper could face, with greater demand for high-quality journalism on finance and the economy than at anytime in decades, the Journal is abandoning values that have long distinguished it: a commitment to deep reporting and elegant writing.”

Full post at this link…