Category Archives: newspapers

Do you know where your most important readers are?

I’m trying to write more in February, and besides what I’ll write for work, I’ll also be writing about one of the few things I know about: digital media. What do I do? In short, I get the right information, at the right time, to the right audiences. And I’d like to help media, inContinue reading “Do you know where your most important readers are?”

The JFK assassination and when events fade from memory into history

“It was a day I recall vividly like it was yesterday. We were, that very day, discussing the three branches of government (at a Miami high school) and the role of the President. I was making allusions to President Kennedy and the things he was doing when the announcement came over the speaker that heContinue reading “The JFK assassination and when events fade from memory into history”

The online news media on 9/11 and 10 years later

The now-defunct Rocky Mountain News (Denver), on Sept. 11, 2001 The Internet was already making its presence known to media in 2001, even if it was still not on the minds of most. Print and television were still raking in outrageous profits despite signs of trouble, and after all, AOL Instant Messenger was as advancedContinue reading “The online news media on 9/11 and 10 years later”

The laziness of "localizing" news stories

As local and metro newspapers have lost relevance (and staff) outside of their immediate geographic areas, they’ve tried to substitute actually being there with “localizing.” Sometimes, it has relevance, such as when there’s an indigenous population in the area (although the paper should be covering them regularly if they want them as readers, right?), orContinue reading “The laziness of "localizing" news stories”

Necrophilia-inducing typos and other editing links: A roundup

Yeah, that headline had better bring results, or I’m going to be upset. Anyways, what’s happening in the world of copy editing, editing and journalism at large: Word Grrls notes how one missing letter on a book-seller’s site goes from the sassy, if cliche, “Dead Sexy” to the disturbingly niche “Dead Sex.” Unless that meansContinue reading “Necrophilia-inducing typos and other editing links: A roundup”

When editors must say, "You don’t know what you’re talking about"

My professional copy-editing work includes a daily publication looking, through brief summaries, at the nuclear energy industry. Editorials and guest columns on the idea of nuclear energy are a major part of industry news because, well, there hasn’t been a new nuclear plant built in a while. Often, those op-eds are by experts in theContinue reading “When editors must say, "You don’t know what you’re talking about"”

People notice bad editing, Part 2

SXC.hu image by cobrasoft In Part 1, we took a look at some examples of bad, sloppy or nonexistent editing being noticed by readers and journalists. The disconnect of journalism and editing, caused by corporate decision-making and journalism’s slide into financial hardship, is showing itself. These are the smaller signs of the ridiculousness of “doingContinue reading “People notice bad editing, Part 2”

Journalism and BS detectors, or, The Washington Post fails at math and disclosure

I’m sitting on Saturday afternoon and reading the Washington Post. I know, not the paper it used to be. But since I’ve only been in D.C. since August, it doesn’t seem so bad. Hmm, there’s a column about the Ward 1 race, and it actually tries to profile all four of the major candidates. ThatContinue reading “Journalism and BS detectors, or, The Washington Post fails at math and disclosure”