A new issue of Ryerson Review of Journalism is out. Tim Groeling (UCLA) and Matthew Baum (Harvard): Partisan News Before Fox: Newspaper Partisanship and Partisan Polarization, 1881-1972. Kenneth S. Rogerson (Duke): Fact Checking the Fact Checkers: Verification Web Sites, Partisanship and Sourcing. Rosie Gray and Jessica Testa on the inside story of Mint Press News’ defense of Assad: A small Minnesota news outlet caused a storm when it ran a story claiming Syria’s rebels carried out a chemical attack near Damascus in August. Is Barrett Brown a journalist or an activist? Regardless of the answer, his case is an outrage. Freedom of information: Ken Auletta on the newspaper that took on the N.S.A. Meet the NSA-proof Drop Box for whistleblowers: A new way for sources to reach journalists, based on technology developed by the late activist and coder Aaron Swartz. From the Tow Center, a look at the effects of mass surveillance on journalism. Amy Davidson on when journalists are called traitors. Glenn Greenwald on the perfect epitaph for establishment journalism. Philip Di Salvo on the rise of the drone-journalists. Peta Krost Maunder on the future of investigative journalism. Street-beat confidential: Journalist Juan Gonzalez has been writing about wrongs for thirty-five years — what's he got today? Alex Pareene on how Politico invents/generates “news”. Laura Bennett on the weird, desperate world of Washington Post TV. Matthew Engel reviews Romps, Tots and Boffins: The Strange Language of News by Robert Hutton.
