As in any other playoff, candidate rhetoric let loose during the U.S. presidential race can be tough. We’ve held a front row seat to the 2012 showdown for over a year, with tensions still rising as the general election looms nearer. Some of the barbs launched along the campaign trail have been laughable: Newt Gingrich’s television ad incriminating Mitt Romney for his ability to speak French comes to mind. Others are not. The dialogue surrounding U.S. poverty and inequality, two issues that are hotter than ever during a deep recession that the nation has shown incapable of simply shaking off [...]
On Your Mind
A conversation with Ron Scherer, reporter for the Christian Science Monitor
Ron Scherer is a reporter for the Christian Science Monitor, where he has worked for 36 years. Previously, he worked for U.S. News & World Report and United Press International, and wrote for The Armored Sentinel at the U.S. Army base in Fort Hood, Texas, where he served during the Vietnam War. Scherer spoke with... »
The narrative: Uncovering the human face of poverty with Jim Tankersley
Jim Tankersley is the lead economics reporter for National Journal, a news organization based in Washington, D.C. and focused on politics and policy. Tankersley joined NJ in Sept. 2010, and has previously worked for the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Toledo Blade, the Rocky Mountain News and The Oregonian. According to... »
The nature of the divide: Derek Thompson on poverty coverage in business journalism
You might think business journalists rarely cover poverty, but the archive of Derek Thompson’s stories at TheAtlantic.com suggests otherwise. Thompson, 25, is a senior editor at The Atlantic who oversees business coverage for the organization’s website. He graduated from Northwestern University in 2008 and began working for The Atlantic the following fall. In... »
An opportunity to share
This week, the onPoverty team received an email from Anne Christnovich, an active journalist and student. Read her message below: “I’m a reporter finishing up school at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Right now, I’m on our Public Safety beat as an advanced reporter at our city paper. “Columbia – where I live and go... »
National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week at Washington and Lee University
In 2009, there were 3 million individuals who were homeless and approximately 15 million Americans who suffered from long term unemployment. National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness week took place November 14-20, and was co-sponsored by the National Coalition for the Homeless and National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness. Students at Washington and Lee... »
Welcome to “on Your Mind”
Welcome! My colleagues and I are pleased to announce the unveiling of onYourMind, onPoverty’s blog component. onYourMind has been part of our vision from the beginning, a forum to generate and host discussions of relevant issues facing the coverage of poverty in the United States. Here, we take a step beyond simply conveying the... »