A harsh critique of COVID coverage — & how to do better next time
“I was writing a lot of pieces that ran contrary to the establishment narratives… Yet I was able to do that largely within the legacy media.”
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Category: COVID-19
Questioning 70 years of integration, a controversial new Netflix show, & FOMO for secret texts: Best Journalism of the Week (03/28/25)
In this week’s newsletter: A new book raises tough questions about school integration. Why...
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The Reopeners
What was it like for school reopening advocates during the pandemic? What could they have done to change the outcome?
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White House theatrics, the New York Times’ COVID questions, & a model math story: Best Journalism of the Week (03/21/25)
In this week’s newsletter: White House theatrics. How to tell a math story. And: Baby steps...
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COVID Collapse
A new book explores how academic, scientific, and journalistic communities failed to assess...
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COVID shutdown anniversary, when safety tech exposes secrets, & a return to overhead transparencies: Best Journalism of the Week (03/14/25)
It’s the fifth anniversary of the nationwide COVID school shutdown. How high tech student safety efforts can expose students’ personal lives. Reporters share lessons from covering COVID. A surge of education reporters on TV and radio. And: Old-school transparencies still work in 2025. Who knew?
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Learning from COVID
Current and former education journalists look back and share lessons on the 5th anniversary of the start of the pandemic.
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How the pandemic response destroyed the learning culture in one Baltimore high school
This is the story of how virtual learning broke school culture, how administrators failed to rebuild it — and how media coverage overlooked the human toll of these failures.
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Participate in our survey about covering the COVID pandemic?
As the fifth anniversary of the COVID schools lockdown approaches, The Grade is asking journalists...
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Complacency and inertia
Inadequate media coverage contributes to lack of urgency in school recovery efforts, says...
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Downplaying Fauci and Weingarten, the Republican reversal, & 10 new education reporters: Best Education Journalism of the Week (4/28/23)
In this week’s newsletter: Media outlets downplay the Fauci interview and Randi Weingarten’s...
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A more inclusive approach to covering school shutdowns
In the aftermath of the pandemic, a broader approach to school shutdown coverage includes...
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