How a Challenge to Tommy Curry Set Off a Chain Reaction

Sensational news travels fast. This interactive graph shows how the news about Tommy J. Curry, a philosopher at Texas A&M University, traveled through the online channels of partisan, nonpartisan, and trade news and commentary.

Mr. Curry gained attention recently when a blogger found the professor’s 2012 radio commentary about racial violence. Conservative websites pounced first, provoking outrage among Texas A&M alumni and forcing a response from the university’s president. That response attracted coverage from the trade press and local news stations.

At the same time, tipsters leaked additional recordings of Mr. Curry talking about race, provoking fresh coverage — and more outrage — from the conservative media. (The professor says those recordings were edited deceptively.)

Click through the timeline below to explore a sampling of articles about Mr. Curry and see which reports were cited in other coverage.

Read the Chronicle profile of Tommy Curry.