Month: May 2012
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New at CJR: A guide to responsible birther coverage
My new column at CJR is a visually annotated guide for journalists of how to provide responsible birther coverage without reenforcing the myth. Here’s how it begins: In a series of media interviews conducted before a Las Vegas fundraiser with presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Donald Trump singlehandedly put the debunked birther movement back
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New at CJR: The over-covered image war
I have a new column at Columbia Journalism Review on the way the media has overhyped the risk that Mitt Romney will be “defined” in early campaign skirmishes. Here’s how it begins: The message war in the presidential election got underway in earnest last week, with the Obama campaign releasing a new attack ad and
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New at CJR: The predictable failure of Americans Elect
I have a new column up at Columbia Journalism Review on the failure of the independent group Americans Elect and the pundits who overhyped the group’s efforts. Here’s how it begins: On Thursday, the board of Americans Elect folded its presidential nominating process after the set of declared candidates repeatedly failed to muster the support
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The importance of NSF funding for political science
Last week, Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) sponsored an amendment in the House that would prohibit National Science Foundation support for political science. Other political scientists have already written eloquently about the important research that NSF grants have supported. I thought I would build on their points by highlighting how work I have featured on this
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NPR interview on partisanship versus facts
I was interviewed by NPR’s Shankar Vedantam for a segment that just aired on Morning Edition: The story features my research with Jason Reifler on self-affirmation and misperceptions. Here’s the title and abstract of our manuscript (PDF): Opening the Political Mind? The effects of self-affirmation and graphical information on factual misperceptions People often resist information
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New at CJR: Obama “evolves,” Romney “flip-flops”
I have a new column at Columbia Journalism Review on the differing narratives that the press has applied to the changing political positions of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. Here’s how it begins: Are Barack Obama and Mitt Romney so different after all? Despite the media’s portrayal of Romney as a uniquely craven politician, the