I decided to create a new Banned For Life blog for all future examples of cringeworthy news media cliches. It’s here. Mostly finished but some fine-tuning remains. Banned For Life is my one lasting online legacy … it’s been around…
Author: tom
You may be hearing about this guy
Four years ago I interviewed a 17-year-old hormonal Alaskan guy named Marty Beckerman, who at that tender age imagined himself the next Dave Barry. Now he’s 21, he’s got a new book out and reviewers are calling him a rough…
On writers being editors
Book editor and freelance writer Jen Weiss passes some tips along. Once you’ve finished writing, try putting it away for a while. A day, a week?however long it’ll take you to nearly forget about it. Most writers I know agree…
Getting the “real” story
CJR’s Campaign Desk, on the facts of President Bush’s National Guard service: Here’s the real story. In May of 1972, Bush moved from Texas to Alabama to work as campaign manager for Republican Winton “Red” Blount’s senate campaign. He requested…
N.Y. Times boss on The Trail
Cyberjournalist Jonathan Dube interviews Len Apcar, the New York Times editor in chief, on Times on the Trail. Apcar doesn’t like to think of this new thingie as a blog; he prefers “news service.” I did not want to jump…
Commonsense journalism blog
It’s the work of Doug Fisher, a journalism prof at University of South Carolina. An observation from the Poynter “convergence conference” he’s attending: Out of the ethics discussion came one “ah ha” moment: While convergence gives us more freedom, it…
Sanity about Vietnam
Doug Clifton, Vietnam vet, on the coverage of Bush & Kerry’s war records: So to Bush’s detractors: Why demean him for doing what anyone with any sense would have done? If you can escape getting shot at by an angry…
Bottom-up editing
Nicole offers a bit of novel advice: Get in the habit of doing one read on stories backward, starting with the last paragraph, then the second-to-last, etc. This will allow you to focus on the grammar and individual words rather…
Recommended reading
Seth Finkelstein has an interesting blog. He also has some of the best responses to my responses to Jay Rosen’s blog postings.
New blog for editors
I can still say I was first, but the obvious shortcomings of Prints the Chaff have no doubt inspired a newspaper editors’ blog for grownups who spell journalism with a capital J. This blog is for Global Journalism Issues and…