Articles

Somewhere back there, someone decided that rather than jump off a slave ship and kill themselves, they saw a future. Rather than give up and die and not deal with…

The local head of a nationally recognized charity earns nearly $200,000 a year, travels the globe at the nonprofit’s expense and receives a new car of the model of his…

Joyce Purnick speaks for many a metro and state editor when she describes the strain of keeping up with the news while watching for the big stories. At a midsize…

When I was teaching journalism—communication, as most educators prefer nowadays—the authors of a widely used introductory textbook insisted that part of the media’s mission is the "transference of culture." Meaning,…

Joyce Purnick is right about almost everything, which means that a lot of the rest of us—and maybe even Purnick herself—should be rethinking some of the things that we do.She’s…

When newspapers start believing what they are told, there is no surer way to cheat a reader. Good reporters never take a politician’s word, but verify claims instead. Reporters know…

Harvard President Calls for Better Training—Asks About 'Credentialing' Journalists

Twenty-five years ago when I was a special assistant to Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox, one of my daily tasks was to help him figure out the news. Why were…

The American Civil Liberties Union has defended the Bill of Rights since its founding in 1920. This proud record does not necessarily mean that the ACLU welcomes an exercise of…

They Are Responsible for Letting Rumors Run Amuck In Coverage of the Clinton-Lewinsky Story