Weaponizing Empathy: You reacted to the outrageous claim that I crafted specifically to outrage you. But I was just kidding. Now you know how I feel when you do rhetoric on me. (Or something.)

NRATV host Collins Idehen Jr (who goes by the name Colion Noir) made what appeared to be a serious call for legislation to restrict the First Amendment — then said he wanted people who were horrified by that call to know “That’s the same feeling gun owners get when they hear people say the same…

More Evidence That, to Trump, “Fake News” Means Critical News

Nothing really new here, just calling attention to how President Trump uses parentheses to demonstrate that by “fake news,” he means “news that is critical of me.” Similar:The Ascent #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 9) Odo and Quark bicker their way up …Couples in successful relationships always use these 6 phrases: ‘You’ll grow stronger…

My student journalists sport their fashionable “What Would Jerz Do?” wristbands.

Similar:Quick visit to see my mother and siblings.The daughter missed her graduation ceremony because she was performing in Kinetic Theatre’…This was a rough term. Still have a winter term course to publish before midnight but time…My brother drove my mother in to see Carolyn in tonight’s opening night Kinetic Theatre pr…A former student working in…

My journalism students just gave me this wristband: “What would Jerz do? / Verify or duck.”

Similar:Quick visit to see my mother and siblings.The daughter missed her graduation ceremony because she was performing in Kinetic Theatre’…This was a rough term. Still have a winter term course to publish before midnight but time…Students are trusting software like this to do their work.My brother drove my mother in to see Carolyn in tonight’s…

The Justice Department Deleted Language About Press Freedom And Racial Gerrymandering From Its Internal Manual

A subsection titled “Need for Free Press and Public Trial” was removed entirely. That section, which was included in versions of the manual at least as far back as 1988, according to DOJ archives, read as follows: “Likewise, careful weight must be given in each case to the constitutional requirements of a free press and public…

Facebook shrinks fake news after warnings backfire

In its efforts to combat the spread of false news online (whether by malicious people who knew it was propaganda, or through the wishful thinking of overly-credible sheep who saw a post as confirmation of a value they already held), Facebook experimented with flagging stories as “disputed by third-party fact-checkers.” It turns out that a…

The crisis in local journalism has become a crisis of democracy

The paucity of reporters has triggered an invisible power shift toward elected officials. A Pew Research Center study of Baltimore showed an increase in local stories based on press releases from elected officials. The trends in journalism exacerbate the divide between the coasts and the rest of the country. In 2014, almost 1 out of 5 U.S. reporters…

Sobering data; stunning visualization.

This NYT story on the effects of race on the economic future of American citizens offers chilling findings. Come for the data visualization; stay for the thoughtful analysis. Another example of why journalism matters. Black boys raised in America, even in the wealthiest families and living in some of the most well-to-do neighborhoods, still earn…

Keeping things in the proper perspective at 4Cs: Praise for my delivery of a line from Star Trek.

Already met a lot of good people and found opportunities for following up. I’m here through Saturday morning. For now, though, I’m eating a sandwich. Similar:The Ascent #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 9) Odo and Quark bicker their way up …Quick visit to see my mother and siblings.Things Past #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5,…

My buddy JTK helps me make a key point in my slideshow. #4c18 #b29

Putting speaker notes on an iPad is always more fun when using a typeface that invokes TNG Okudagrams. Similar:The Ascent #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 9) Odo and Quark bicker their way up …Visiting the #scienceofpixar exhibit @kaminsciencecenterQuick visit to see my mother and siblings.Things Past #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 8) Odo…

The science of fake news: Addressing fake news requires a multidisciplinary effort

The rise of fake news highlights the erosion of long-standing institutional bulwarks against misinformation in the internet age. Concern over the problem is global. […] Our call is to promote interdisciplinary research to reduce the spread of fake news and to address the underlying pathologies it has revealed. Failures of the U.S. news media in…

Good example of ‘do NOT remove things from photos.’

Hat tip to my former student Kiley Fischer, who brought this story to my attention saying “Good example of ‘do NOT remove things from photos.’” Longtime City Paper reader Edward King-Smith, 37, of Pittsburgh’s Stanton Heights neighborhood was among those who alerted Deitch that his publication included a photo of a woman tattoo artist wearing…