A tiny bit of rogue news leaked through the ads.
Hey, Newsweek, alert your webmaster. I can still see some news through your wall of ads.
Journalism by the Numbers (a pedagogical play in one scene) #math
(Lights up on a college journalism classroom. The professor enters, surveys the room.) Professor: Math! Students: (Shocked reaction.) Professor: Math!! Students: (Scattered cries of “No!”) Professor: MATH!!! Students: NO!!! (Blackout.) (40 minutes later.) Professor: So, at the very least when you encounter numbers in your reporting, contact sources who can help you…
Last night I dreamed I was a stagehand during a metatheatrical number called “Butts in Seats.”
I saw Seton Hill’s production of The Drowsy Chaperone last night, which I loved. After I left the theater, I realized I left my hat under the seat, so I went back into the house for it. As I passed in front of the stage, Karen Glass and a line of black-clad theater technicians walked…
The Drowsy Chaperone @setonhilluniversity
Know your rights: photographers — what to do if you are stopped or detained for taking photographs
When is it legal to make a video in a public place? A kerfluffle at my local mall involves a restaurant owner accused of mocking and taking video of a special needs person having a meltdown. Several times a week I take my son to the food court and hand him my credit card. More…
The Booming Japanese Rent-a-Friend Business
We had a case recently where a dying man wanted to see his grandchild, but it would not have been born in time. His daughter was able to rent an infant for the day.
Vanessa Otero’s Updated Media Bias Chart (Liberal/Mainstream/Conservative; Facts/Analysis/Opinion/Propaganda/Fake News) UPDATED 5.1
Otero goes into great detail describing her criteria for placing the various news sources. She changed a few labels and shifted position for a few sources. It’s not perfect. It’s not the only answer. It is, nevertheless, a very useful way to get us to think about what we’re clicking on, reading, and sharing. Update,…
William Zinsser: What Is Good Writing? (Clarity, Simplicity, Brevity, and Humanity.)
Most of the students in my “News Writing” class don’t want to be journalists, but they all want to make a living from their writing skills. I’m trying to emphasize some of the markers that journalists put into their work, in order to signal that their work is credible. For instance, one saying in journalism…
Oh , potatoes and molasses. If you want some, you can ask us.
MS-Word’s helpful “View -> Focus” mode delays stress-related breakdowns.
You won’t usually catch me saying anything nice about Microsoft. (Ok, Flight Simulator was good.) A few days ago when life was a little more stressful than usual, I found myself nearly overwhelmed by what should have been a routine editing task. Then I stumbled across MS-Words’s View->Focus mode, which hides most of the intrusive…
My crazy Friday night involved tweaking the graphic for an #MLAstyle instructional web page. #partylikeaprofessor
Why fake news works
Fake news works on our emotions, usually by stoking our fears or confirming our biases. Real news relies on verifiable facts, including emotions only by attributing them to credible sources, and placing those emotions in context. We help spread fake news when we let our emotions guide our reactions, rather than taking a minute to…
The Man Who Photographed Ghosts
This review of a book about early photography offers some thoughtful reflections on how technology has been frequently used to distort the truth rather than reveal it. It’s a quote — I’d never seen it before — from Franz Kafka: “Nothing can be so deceiving as a photograph.” It immediately caught my interest because it…
Epic Game of Thrones pun battle. Carolyn Jerz Vs. Greg Kerestan
Here is the transcript the girl provided, of her pun battle with my former student and Stage Right’s resident lyricist & character actor Greg Kerestan.
The heir to the throne of Gondor and and a scruffy looking nerf herder are handing out candy.
Another chess tournament with the boy.
About the Sinkhole in the Adjunct Faculty Lounge, and Other Mid-Semester Announcements
I recently spoke with the Sarah Sutton, General Manager of the Walmart on Victory Boulevard, and she’d like me to express to you all that while she’s still willing to permit any adjunct faculty members in need of shelter to sleep in the loading bay behind the store, trapping and consuming the seagulls that flock…
If you want to work with words, then journalism courses are very practical options.
A student just booked an appointment to discuss picking up journalism as a second major. Excellent choice!
Rediscovering History’s Lost First Female Video Game Designer
RCA’s console never rivaled the impact of Atari’s VCS, Magnavox’s Odyssey, or Mattel’s Intellivision, and few people remember it today. But the true story behind it is fascinating. Its underlying technology began in 1969 as a personal computer developed at home by one man with a vision, Joseph Weisbecker. His daughter, Joyce, ended up being…