Michael Hoyt

True the Coverage

cjr.org — Just about everyone in Washington agrees that the IRS's blanket targeting of Tea Party groups by keying on words in their titles was, at best, misguided. But that doesn't mean that every Tea Party organization that found itself under the IRS microscope was wrongly targeted-a nuance sometimes lost in the coverage.

Columbia Journalism Review

cjr.org — I have been commenting on Washington scandals for nearly four decades-ever since the dead-drunk Wilbur Mills, the unduly lionized chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, was stopped by the police in the middle of the night accompanied by a stripper, Fanny Foxe, who immediately dove into the Tidal Basin.

Columbia Journalism Review

cjr.org — I have been commenting on Washington scandals for nearly four decades-ever since the dead-drunk Wilbur Mills, the unduly lionized chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, was stopped by the police in the middle of the night accompanied by a stripper, Fanny Foxe, who immediately dove into the Tidal Basin.

What's behind the rate increases? : Columbia Journalism Review

cjr.org — Rate hikes just keep coming. The latest we've heard about come from Blue Cross Blue Shield in North Carolina, which just warned 125,000 customers who bought individual policies to brace themselves for unusually large increases. CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maryland announced hikes averaging 25 percent for its individual policies and about 15 percent for small businesses.

Peggy Noonan loses it on the IRS story

cjr.org — We are in the midst of the worst Washington scandal since Watergate. That's Peggy Noonan today in The Wall Street Journal , and no, she will not be laughed out of Washington. There are papers to sell and clicks to harvest.

The other IRS scandal

cjr.org — The burgeoning "scandal" over how the IRS chose for review 75 applicants for tax-exempt status puts on full display an unfortunate tendency in journalism-to quote people accurately without explaining the underlying context. Yes, it is as wrong for IRS employees to select groups to scrutinize based on their names as it is for police to stop and frisk young...

The insanity of hospital pricing

cjr.org — Last week's release of the wildly varying prices that hospitals charge Medicare may no longer be news du jour , but it's worth revisiting the topic, because it was and is an important story, it was an important step by the government, and it offers important follow-up opportunities for the media.

Q&A: Shaun McKinnon, veteran water reporter

cjr.org — PROVO, UT - Water issues may not be the sexy beat to which young journalists first aspire, but here in the southwest, such coverage is critical-and, unfortunately, receding, says Arizona Republic senior reporter and self-described "water geek" Shaun McKinnon. "Water reporters are definitely an endangered group of people," said McKinnon, who has covered water for more than 14 years for...

The other IRS target: the press

cjr.org — Conservatives are howling about the IRS targeting Tea Party groups applying for nonprofit tax exemptions. Well, welcome to our world. Nonprofit journalism has been going through the same thing for the last few years, with almost none of the screeching-even though journalism organizations had a much better case for tax exemptions than did the Tea Party groups.