CNN is pretty upfront; three journalists resign after an internal investigation determines a story depending on an anonymous source was posted to the CNN website without undergoing standard checks. In the rush to publish, the editorial structure broke down. (CNN retracted the story before it was aired on cable TV; whatever they can verify will,…
Donald Trump has a lot to say about “fake news” — a label he hurls at almost any journalism that portrays him in unflattering light. It seems he’s been using a fake Time magazine cover in his clubs. The news organization has asked him to take down the fake covers. “Donald Trump: The ‘Apprentice’ is…
Are Keds a brand that my college students would recognize as kid shoes? In a handout on how to write short stories, I used “Keds” as a brand name. Should I change that to something like “Spongebob Crocs” instead? Similar:The Anatomy of an Amazon 6-pagerIn the halls of power at Amazon, busy ex…BusinessShattered Mirror #StarTrek #DS9…
With each other as validation, we began to articulate the real, dismal and frightening story of life in The O, which had as its unlikely recruiting grounds the 1970s food co-ops of the US Midwest. After a dramatic exit, I wrote the memoir Inside Out (2002). The book was an effort to understand how I,…
How does our 21st century understanding of mental health affect our understanding of Hamlet? As a teacher, I have for decades approached the play like this: If everyone in the audience agrees that Hamlet was sane or Hamlet was mad, then the production was a failure; Shakespeare’s text was ambiguous, and a good production should…
My sister the computer programmer benefitted early in her career because she was an excellent writer. She was so good at taking notes that people would invite to her important meetings so there would be a good record, and people would consult her about important topics covered during those meetings. My brother the electrical engineer…
Peter spent the day at a chess tournament — the biggest he’s participated in yet. He won three games and lost one, and won a trophy for “Under 800” — but the trophy plaque has a curious misprint. Similar:Why Student Athletes Continue to FailWhen student athletes were asked how muc…Academia1776. Binge-watching Liberty's Kids. New this…
I already have some handouts on writing titles for web pages and writing titles for college papers. I don’t (at the moment) have a full handout on writing headlines for news stories. In this age of clickbait (“Clickbait Tactics Drive the Writing of Headlines on ABC News,” 2015), revisiting Poynter’s advice on writing traditional news…
Similar:Taking a break from my syllabustering in order to design some stairs. I’ve learned so much…Taking a break from my syllabustering in…PersonalMidterm Grades Submitted.AcademiaA #neovictorian #steampunk ship-of-the-line needs a dramatic flag and a conveniently locat…AestheticsSondra's Garden: Butterfly Release Honors Dr. Lettrich (Seton Hill University)”Every good lesson plan has a culminatin…AcademiaI just looked up the context…
This is a challenging writing task. Presidential biographies are a staple of children’s book publishing, and of classrooms across the country. Nonfiction for children is a surging category, particularly in light of a Common Core mandate that schools put greater emphasis on it in their curriculum. Publishers like Penguin Young Readers, Scholastic and Time for…
All of us with Facebook accounts do work for Mark Zuckerberg. Our tagging, sharing, and liking gives Facebook valuable information that advertisers use to reach us. This article describes how Facebook has been courting news organizations, asking them to provide content tailored to Facebook’s needs. Facebook is not interested in an informed, educated public that…
My kids have never seen The Princess Bride. (This is an odd pop culture gap for my 80s-obsessed girl.) Similar:BuzzFeed plagiarism, deleted posts: Jonah Peretti explains.In 2012 my former Slate colleague Farhad…BusinessAssassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of AustriaOn 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinan…CultureAs yearbooks die, colleges lose a link to the pastThis year, for the…
A literary work is a powerful tool for simulating what it’s like to inhabit someone else’s life. Not just tolerating difference, or grudgingly giving “the other side” equal time; but generating real empathy for the diversity of humanity. There is no Frigate like a Book To take us Lands away Nor any Coursers like a…
It’s extremely important to understand what a wide range of people are thinking about, and that includes being exposed to influential ideas that I disagree with. I’d rather not hide from an idea that has power, especially if it turns out I can do something about the issue. The headline is a little misleading… there…
NASDAQ.com throws shade via Reuters: Snapchat is popular among people under 30 who enjoy applying bunny faces and vomiting rainbows onto their selfies, but man yon Wall Street are critical of its high valuation, slowing user growth and lack of profitability. Joel Randewich, NASDAQ.com Similar:Journalism isn’t dying. But it’s changing WAY faster than most people…
Free speech is valuable. It’s dangerous to set the precedent that it’s okay to censor speech as long as you side with the censor and against the position being silenced. A New Jersey school district has suspended a teacher after yearbook photos of two high school students were altered to remove President Donald Trump’s name…
Similar:Nerdling spots typo in space exploration textbook.PersonalThe only snow alert you'll ever need.AmusingI almost cried when I saw this entrance to the children's section of the Kansas City …PersonalSpring 2023 Grades: Submitted! (I only had 3 last-minute submissions to mark today.)AcademiaIs this the little girl I carried? Is this the little boy at play?PersonalMe as…
Similar:Some editing and cropping makes this cartoon a perennial. EthicsT-Shirts for student journalists who recently leveled up to “staff writer”(with bear signe…PersonalWest Side Story Maria MontagePersonalThe Anatomy of a Shakespeare Play: King Lear (Free video lecture from Pict, 2pm Friday)PersonalAmenities are limited on a short range excursion craft, but we can still meet for…
Similar:Two Steps Down the Interactive Fiction RoadWonderfully detailed analysis of two gro…AestheticsTexas School Censors All Of ‘Huck Finn’ Except The N-Words (Satire from The Onion)Is it only a matter of time until this p…BooksA Brief Tour of the Digital Delights of the Folger Shakespeare LibraryBut luckily for you, one does not need t…CybercultureSupport the arts…
Reserving judgments is a matter of infinite hope. Best case scenario? A virtual reality game that is either based around Portal or Half-Life, or unites the franchises into one experience. Valve has invested heavily in VR and clearly values the technology as an entertainment phenomenon – the Portal demo for Vive is one of the…