C.J. Robinson
@cj-robinson.bsky.social
2026-27 @upshot.nytimes.com Fellow Previously @towcenter.bsky.social https://cj-robinson.github.io/
Primary polls had a bad year. What does that mean for general election polls, which are ramping up after Labor Day? My colleagues Caroline Soler & Evan Reynolds looked at the data: Big misses in primary polling != similar misses in generals. More from them here --> 🎁 nyti.ms/4cMthcJ
Headed to Houston for #positconf! I can’t overstate the impact that @posit.co’s opensource products & packages (RStudio, Positron, tidyverse) have had on me as a journalist & data nerd 🤓 Thrilled/terrified to be giving a keynote presentation on Tues. If you’re there, say hello! conf.posit.co/2026/
Fun charts here on Hollywood's relative box office boom. “The catch is when you adjust for inflation." Via @christinezhang.bsky.social and Brooks Barnes www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Hollywood’s Box Office Boom Comes With 248 Million Missing Tickets
Strong box office sales this summer have Hollywood celebrating. But a closer look at the numbers offers a sobering reality check.
nytimes.com
Almost every state that passed an economywide emissions target for 2030 is behind pace. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/04/u...
Behind on 2030 Climate Goals, States Are Cutting or Even Scrapping Them (Gift Article)
Ambitious aims have given way to political anxiety over rising costs for consumers.
nytimes.com
Max Spero—a cofounder of Pangram, an AI detection tool popular among journalists—asks, “If you’re not going to bother writing your newsletter, why should I read it?” Read Carolina Abbott Galvão. www.cjr.org/analysis/pan...
Pangram dreams of a slop-free future.
Max Spero—a cofounder of Pangram, an AI detection tool popular among journalists—asks, “If you’re not going to bother writing your newsletter, why should I read it?”
cjr.org
SCOOP: 404 Media placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it. What did we find? It ended up at an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books. Yes. This is literally the logo outside the Amazon warehouse door. Read now:
We Tracked a Shipment of Rare Books. It Ended at an Amazon AI Training Facility
We placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it, and found an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books.
404media.co
We analyzed 2,200 campaign websites for @washingtonpost.com to track the rise of AI policy. It's not just data centers. Hundreds of candidates discuss AI policy -- more than Israel, manufacturing, or racism. One candidate promised to pass legislation to "prevent AI from ever becoming 'alive.'"
The operation of a "skill game" is so similar to that of a normal slot machine that the loophole is far from obvious. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/14/u...
How Pennsylvania Got Hooked on Games That Look a Lot Like Slot Machines
A legal loophole kept “skill games” from being considered gambling. Now lawmakers are trying to save them from a court ruling.
nytimes.com
New from me: The percentage of high-ranking officer nominations going to women is currently at its lowest level in over two decades. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/u...
Women’s Share of Top Military Promotions Falls as Hegseth Blocks Nominees (Gift Article)
The percentage of high-ranking officer nominations going to women is currently at its lowest level in over two decades.
nytimes.com
Under Hegseth, Women’s Share of Top Military Promotions Plunged This Year The percentage of high-ranking officer nominations going to women is currently at its lowest level in over two decades. Via @cj-robinson.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/u...
How Well Is the Progressive Left Actually Doing? Its wins have been largely confined to highly educated and heavily Democratic parts of urban America. But two races could change that. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/u...
I Tried Investigating a Mysterious Media Company. A Police Report Was Filed Against Me. Who was in charge—Pleroma, the International Business Times, or something else? Read @riddhisetty.bsky.social's strange tale. www.cjr.org/feature/i-tr...
I tried investigating a mysterious media company. A police report was filed against me.
Who was in charge—Pleroma, the International Business Times, or something else?
cjr.org
🚨DATA ALERT🚨 I started a 🤓 newsletter w/ @caitlingilbert.bsky.social & @jdharden.bsky.social, check it out if you wanna go down some fun data rabbit holes unrelated to our day jobs 🧵 wrongnumber.beehiiv.com
Home | Wrong Number
a newsletter for our data hyperfixations
wrongnumber.beehiiv.com
Catherine Herridge, a former Fox News reporter, is being compelled to pay $800 a day until she reveals confidential sources. Read @riddhisetty.bsky.social www.cjr.org/analysis/pri...
Private matters.
Catherine Herridge, a former Fox News reporter, is being compelled to pay $800 a day until she reveals confidential sources.
cjr.org
Graham Platner announced his plans to drop out of the Maine Senate race yesterday. We counted how often this has happened in the past 30 years. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/09/u...
Replacing a Senate Nominee Is Rare. Has It Ever Worked?
nytimes.com
How Restoration News, a media outlet funded by conservative donors, is “waging a permanent campaign to defeat the radical left,” by C.J. Robinson. www.cjr.org/tow_center/i...
Inside Restoration News, a political nonprofit’s “newsroom.”
How a media outlet funded by conservative donors is “waging a permanent campaign to defeat the radical left.”
cjr.org
If you have index funds — such as in a 401(k) — they may soon include shares of the mega company. Here’s a rough calculation. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/12/u...
How Much SpaceX Are You About to Own?
nytimes.com
The SpaceX IPO is a big deal. How big? We built a calculator to see how SpaceX might impact your index funds in the coming days: www.nytimes.com/2026/06/12/u...
How Much SpaceX Are You About to Own?
nytimes.com
While open-protocol tools show some promise in helping publishers take back control over how AI bots access and present their content, technical solutions alone cannot resolve what is a systemic problem. (w/ @aisvarya17.bsky.social for @columjournreview.bsky.social) www.cjr.org/tow_center/a...
AI agents are coming for news. Can publishers reclaim control?
The good news and the bad news about AI agents for journalism.
cjr.org
The folks at Northwestern are holding an Agentic AI Investigative Journalism Challenge using press releases from my Congress Press project. First place is $5,000. www.gain-agent-challenge.northwestern.edu
The Agentic AI Investigative Journalism Challenge |
An Open Competition for Investigative TeamsThe Agentic AI Investigative Journalism ChallengeCoding agents can now work through messy document dumps, sur...
gain-agent-challenge.northwestern.edu
Hello -- I'm looking for active X Community Notes contributors who want to talk to me for a piece on @indicator.media. Happy to use their pseudonym in the story. Please share with your networks!
some really, really exciting news. we're hiring a two-year reporting fellow to cover higher ed in NYC but especially CUNY!! come work with me and dive into an amazing, complicated and under-covered beat
Higher Education Reporter at THE CITY
About THE CITYThe Organization THE CITY is New York City’s award-winning nonprofit, nonpartisan local news organization. Working across all five boroughs, our stellar journalists bring diverse skills ...
city-report-inc.breezy.hr
Tow Center's @dmil.bsky.social on the use of AI in newsrooms from our latest panel event "Using AI to Map Charlotte's Local News and Civic Landscape". www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pm0... View the full report here: tow.cjr.org/charlotte-20...
Prediction markets have evolved drastically since 2024. New from me in @columjournreview.bsky.social looking at how--and if--journalists should cover these markets in the upcoming election cycle. www.cjr.org/tow_center/a...
A bet is not a poll.
Polymarket and Kalshi offer to predict the future. Journalists should be wary, especially during elections.
cjr.org
Similes are all around us. But, if you haven’t considered this figure of speech since grade school this visual essay is for you: pudding.cool/2026/05/simi...
Incredible graphic
Andrew Ba Tran@abtran.bsky.social · 4mo agoWe got our hands on internal ICE records that show how widespread use of force, like punches, kicks, takedown maneuvers, restraint holds, and less-lethal weapons such as Tasers and pepper spray in detention centers has grown wapo.st/4tdgBRA (1/)
Jane's Walk is BACK for another year of niche neighborhood and history-themed city strolls, and we've rounded up some of the best ones on offer — sign up now before they sell out! nygroove.nyc/best-janes-w...
Walk smart, not hard: The best of Jane's Walk 2026
The annual event of niche historical walks is back, and we combed through the calendar for you
nygroove.nyc
Google’s attempts to repackage news are encroaching on publishers. As a cofounder of WTF Is SEO?, an industry newsletter, has observed: “A growing sentiment is that Google is not a partner but a competitor.” Read C.J. Robinson for @towcenter.bsky.social. www.cjr.org/tow_center/t...
The identity crisis coming for news SEO.
Google’s attempts to repackage news are encroaching on publishers. As a cofounder of WTF Is SEO?, an industry newsletter, has observed: “A growing sentiment is that Google is not a partner but a compe...
cjr.org
