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Three police officers stand in the middle of a street at night. Another group of officers stands on a lawn with crime scene tape wrapped around lamp poles in the background.
Closing Argument November 5
Ahead of Midterms, Most Americans Say Crime is Up. What Does the Data Say?
More people than ever believe crime is up in their area, polls show. But public perception doesn’t always match reality.
By Jamiles Lartey, Weihua Li and Liset Cruz
The Language Project April 13, 2021
How I Convinced My Incarcerated Peers to Make Language a Priority
Rahsaan Thomas, an imprisoned journalist, has long fought to change the way outside media describe people in prison. One of his toughest crowds? His fellow reporters.
By Rahsaan Thomas
The Language Project April 12, 2021
The Language Project
Rethinking the words journalists use to talk about people who are currently or previously incarcerated.
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The Language Project April 12, 2021
What Words We Use — and Avoid — When Covering People and Incarceration
Journalism is a discipline of clarity. That’s why we’ve solidified our policy about how we talk about people who are currently in or have previously been in prison and jail.
By Akiba Solomon
Life Inside December 10, 2020
Notes From a Wild Election Week Behind Bars
“From time to time you hear someone shout something like, ‘Trump cannot be stopped!’ or, ‘Let’s get this White Nazi out of power!’ There is no gray area.”
By Christopher Blackwell
Feature November 20, 2020
Superpredator: The Media Myth That Demonized a Generation of Black Youth
25 years ago this month, “superpredator” was coined in The Weekly Standard. Media spread the term like wildfire, creating repercussions on policy and culture we are still reckoning with today.
By Carroll Bogert and Lynnell Hancock
Derrick Hardaway in Chicago in October.
Life Inside November 20, 2020
I Wasn’t a Superpredator. I Was a Kid Who Made a Terrible Decision.
In 1994, at age 14, Derrick Hardaway took part in the murder of an 11-year-old. The media used the crime to build the myth of the superpredator—and stuck him with a label he’s still trying to shed.
By Derrick Hardaway as told to Carroll Bogert
Justice Lab October 28, 2020
When Does Murder Make The News? It Depends On The Victim’s Race.
Mainstream media is less likely to cover Black homicide victims and less likely to portray them as complex human beings, a new study shows.
By Beth Schwartzapfel
Aunjanue Ellis as Sharonne Salaam and Ethan Herisse as Yusef Salaam in a film still from Ava DuVernay's “When They See Us.”
Commentary May 31, 2019
It's Time to Change the Way the Media Covers Crime
Ava DuVernay's 'When They See Us' revisits the Central Park jogger case. Here’s what we’ve learned since then
By Carroll Bogert
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House.
Quiz December 16, 2018
Can You Pass Our 2018 Quiz?
Test your memory on some of the year’s top criminal justice stories.
By Nicole Lewis
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