Education Blog

Education and the Media

Mark Walsh is a contributing writer to Education Week. He has covered education issues for more than two decades and in this blog looked at how schools are covered in the general news media and in the popular culture. This blog is no longer being updated.

Education Real Clear Education Editors Leaving to Bring Aggregation to The 74
Andrew J. Rotherham and Emmeline Zhao will head to the education news site founded by Campbell Brown to create an aggregation feature and original content.
Mark Walsh, December 27, 2016
3 min read
Education A New Home and Funders for The Grade, the Education Journalism Site
Prolific and opinionated blogger Alexander Russo's site, started in May 2015, will move from The Washington Monthly to the site of Phi Delta Kappa International.
Mark Walsh, December 20, 2016
2 min read
Education 'The Bad Kids': Documentary on a School Offering a Last Chance for Diploma
The film offers a compelling look at a "continuation" high school in the California desert, where students have their last chance to earn a diploma.
Mark Walsh, December 16, 2016
3 min read
Education The Chronicle of Higher Education Marks 50 Years of Covering Campus Trends
The newspaper has been reporting on a common national culture for colleges and universities that it helped to create since its founding in 1966.
Mark Walsh, December 13, 2016
3 min read
Education DeVos Has a Friend in Campbell Brown, Founder of Education News Site, The 74
The selection of school choice advocate Betsy DeVos for secretary of education puts The 74, founded by the former TV journalist, in an awkward position.
Mark Walsh, November 29, 2016
4 min read
Education Jimmy Kimmel's 'Politically Correct' Thanksgiving School Pageant
The late-night host offers a skit featuring schoolchildren with an update of the first Thanksgiving story "to reflect our modern sensitivities."
Mark Walsh, November 22, 2016
1 min read
Education On 'Ellen,' a Surprise Is in Store for a Los Angeles Charter School
Ellen Degeneres uses her syndicated program to spotlight the Center for Advanced Learning, a charter in a part of South-Central Los Angeles where gangs are rampant.
Mark Walsh, November 21, 2016
1 min read
Education 'Edge of Seventeen' Is a 1980s High School Movie for the Social Media Generation
The new coming-of-age film features Woody Harrelson as a world-weary but understanding teacher to angst-ridden Hailee Steinfeld's high school girl.
Mark Walsh, November 18, 2016
2 min read
Education Gwen Ifill, Veteran Journalist and Co-Anchor of 'PBS NewsHour,' Dies at 61
On the nightly public television news show, Ifill often introduced segments on education produced by Education Week Video, the show's main partner on education news.
Mark Walsh, November 14, 2016
1 min read
Education 'Newtown' Documentary Gets National Theater Simulcast on Nov. 2
The documentary about the shootings of 20 children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut will be shown at theaters nationwide on Wednesday.
Mark Walsh, November 2, 2016
1 min read
Education 'Vice News Tonight' on HBO Examines Education Cuts in Oklahoma
The half-hour show features enterprise reporting, such as its first education piece about a community with a four-day school week.
Mark Walsh, October 24, 2016
1 min read
Education 'Middle School' Movie Is Fun for Students, and a Sticky Situation for Principals
The film is the first from the James Patterson book series about a middle school student dealing with school rules that don't always make sense.
Mark Walsh, October 7, 2016
3 min read
Education On HBO, a 'Class Divide' Between a NYC Private School and a Housing Project
The documentary examines the gentrification of a Manhattan neighborhood where the Avenues private school sits across from the Elliott-Chelsea public housing.
Mark Walsh, October 3, 2016
3 min read
Education Trio of City/Regional Magazines Rate Best Public Schools in Their Areas
Boston, Chicago, and New Jersey Monthly magazines use differing methodologies to rank public high schools (and elementary schools, in one case).
Mark Walsh, September 30, 2016
3 min read