Pete Vernon
Columbia Journalism Review
New York, NY, United States
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Past articles by Pete:
How a retired journalist helped swing Maine’s senate race
Bill Nemitz remembers the moment he realized a new front had been opened in one of the most important senate races in the country. It was early October; Nemitz, a columnist for the Portland Press Herald, had his home television muted during a commercial break when he saw a familiar face appear on screen. It […] → Read More
How the press covered the last four years of Trump
In November 2017, the International Center for Journalists gave Fox News’s Chris Wallace an award for excellence in journalism. In his acceptance speech, he noted that President Trump’s attacks on the media threaten democracy, but then pivoted to scold his peers. “Even if Trump is trying to undermine the press for his own calculated reasons,” […] → Read More
NBC’s Megyn Kelly bet goes bust
Viewers of Today’s 9 am hour on Thursday could be forgiven for glancing at their calendars with confusion during the program’s opening moments. “Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the show. I’m Megyn Kelly. Happy Friday,” Kelly said into the camera. The mistake stemmed from the fact that Kelly, whose time at NBC is coming […] → Read More
After day of bombs, Trump blames media for ‘Anger we see today’
After a day that saw targets of his verbal barrages targeted by bombs delivered through the mail, President Trump blamed the media for the current state of political discourse. “A very big part of the Anger we see today in our society is caused by the purposely false and inaccurate reporting of the Mainstream Media […] → Read More
Caravan coverage plays into Trump’s hands
As President Trump works to highlight immigration concerns ahead of the midterm elections, he’s found willing media partners. For days, Trump has stoked alarm about “the caravan,” a group of Central American migrants making their way northward. Relying on the sort of racial fear-mongering that was a feature of his 2016 campaign, Trump on Monday […] → Read More
Saudi Arabia faces fresh scrutiny after Khashoggi’s murder
The murder of Jamal Khashoggi, along with mounting evidence that the Saudi government was involved in his killing, has brought a fresh round of scrutiny to the kingdom’s actions at home and abroad. Look no further than the front page of Sunday’s New York Times, where the entire above-the-fold space was dedicated to articles on […] → Read More
Midterm coverage beyond Trump
After the 2016 contest for the presidency, when many media outlets missed the rise of Donald Trump, they were left grasping for explanations. There had been too much focus on the horse race, not enough coverage of people on the ground, a fundamental misunderstanding of what polls actually say. All were seen as missteps. Now, […] → Read More
Remembering the man at the center of an international crisis
What comes next in the story of Jamal Khashoggi? As the grisly details of the Saudi journalist’s murder have become public and the focus has shifted to the official response from the White House, The Washington Post is trying to ensure that the man at the center of the story is not forgotten. The Post’s […] → Read More
Saudi Arabia attempts to explain away journalist’s murder
Two weeks after Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi went missing after entering his nation’s consulate in Ankara, the Saudi government is preparing a report that will acknowledge his death was the result of an interrogation gone wrong. CNN’s Clarissa Ward and Tim Lister report that the Saudis will claim that the detainment of Khashoggi was intended […] → Read More
Reexamining coverage of MBS after Khashoggi’s disappearance
“There’s a streak in American journalism to allow glittering narratives about budding authoritarians to obscure less appealing facts,” writes The New York Times’s Jim Rutenberg in the return of the “Mediator” column. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the budding authoritarian Rutenberg writes of, received glowing press coverage for much of the past year, right […] → Read More
Yes, Hurricane Michael is a climate change story
The ferocity of Hurricane Michael came into view on Thursday as images of devastation filtered out of the Florida panhandle. Stories on the storm’s trail of ruin appear on the front pages of today’s New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal. In a helicopter above Mexico City, Florida, CNN’s Brooke Baldwin captured footage […] → Read More
If the president writes it, should USA Today publish?
News outlets have long held to the principle that when the president speaks, his words are newsworthy. President Trump, whose frequent lies and misleading claims are a feature of his communications strategy, has challenged that maxim during the 2016 campaign and since taking office. Instant fact checks, quick analysis, and contextual reporting have become vital […] → Read More
Podcast: #MeToo reporting, one year after Weinstein
On this week’s episode, Pete speaks with CJR’s Nausicaa Renner and Alexandria Neason about one year of #MeToo reporting, discussing its successes and its shortcomings. Then, CJR Delacorte Fellow Amanda Darrach joins the pod to talk about her reporting on one California city’s struggle with the increasing polarization in local media. SHOW NOTES: As men […] → Read More
Struggling to tell the biggest story in the world
The projections are dire: Widespread drought, food shortages, and a mass die-off of coral reefs as soon as 2040. That is the future we’re facing, according to a new report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The story received prominent coverage on the homepages of the The New York Times and The Washington […] → Read More
The silencing of a Saudi truth teller
The disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi last Tuesday has drawn the attention of the media world. His reported murder at the hands of Saudi government agents at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul threatens to spark an international incident. For those who knew him, the uncertainty surrounding his fate is excruciating and his situation serves […] → Read More
Marking one year of #MeToo coverage
One year ago, on the afternoon of October 5, 2017, The New York Times published an exposé on Harvey Weinstein that shook the entertainment world. Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey detailed Weinstein’s predatory behavior and the lengths to which he went to cover it up. Soon after, Ronan Farrow wrote a story, published by The […] → Read More
The White House responds to NYT report on Trump money
President Trump called it “old, boring and often told.” Sarah Sanders labeled it “a totally false attack, based on an old recycled news story.” Charles Harder, the president’s lawyer, threatened to sue. But when Donald Trump’s press secretary was asked to name anything in The New York Times’s blockbuster story that was specifically inaccurate, she […] → Read More
Podcast: Reporting on Trump’s business past with David Cay Johnston
On this week’s episode, Pete talks with Pulitzer-winning investigative reporter David Cay Johnston, who has spent decades covering Donald Trump’s business dealings, about The New York Times’s investigation into how the president got rich. Then, CJR’s Nausicaa Renner and Alexandria Neason join the pod to discuss media ethics questions raised by reporting on Christine Blasey […] → Read More
The new WH press strategy: insults, MAGA rallies, & monthly briefings
Monday provided an illustration of the White House’s evolved communications strategy. Just before noon, President Trump appeared in the Rose Garden to announce a new trade deal, and took questions from reporters. By evening, the president was in Johnson City, Tennessee, holding a campaign-style rally. There was no “daily” press briefing, just as there hadn’t […] → Read More
Kavanaugh aftermath dominates weekend coverage
“Our understanding of sexual violence against women and the trauma—the lifelong trauma that ensues—has not progressed since I covered the Anita Hill hearings 27 years ago,” Katie Couric told CNN’s Brian Stelter on Sunday morning. The fallout from Thursday’s testimony of Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh continued over the weekend, dominating coverage as confusion […] → Read More