Journalists are often criticized for emphasizing bad news. On a day when there are no commercial airliner crashes, there’s no need for a story on the fact that everyone who flew today landed safely. I prefer to get my news from the web, so I don’t follow TV news in any form. However, I was…
From the Wall Street Journal: At a March 10 church choir practice in Washington state, 87% of attendees were infected, said Lea Hamner, an epidemiologist with the Skagit County public-health department and lead author of a study on an investigation that warned about the potential for “superspreader” events, in which one or a small number…
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Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. Racing the Romulans to engage a starship-sized space creature near a pending supernova, the Enterprise takes aboard a first-contact specialist with a troubled past. Civilian Tam Elbrum’s sensitivity to the thoughts of others makes him so impatient and arrogant with the humanoid crew (at one point even shoving Picard…
Based on the number of people I saw at Wal-Mart who were not covering their faces, sadly this won’t last long. NEW: Pennsylvania is one of three states recognized by the CDC for having the most COVID-19 case reduction success. Pennsylvania has had a downward trajectory of COVID-19 cases for more than 42 days. Hawaii…
In the context of my role as a teacher interested in encouraging my students to understand the difference between credible information and propaganda, this language from DonaldJTrump.com will make a good discussion topic. I teach my journalism students to cover stories fairly. Journalists would not be doing their job if they simply repeated the results of…
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Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. In the comic first act, the crew conspires to send a grumpy Picard on shore leave. Crusher: You told me your four days on Zylchin Three were wonderful. Picard: I lied. Later on the resort Planet Risa, Picard tries to relax, but he’s interrupted by a meet-cute with a…
Happy Flag Day! All flags matter, but nobody needs to say that out loud, because we are rational and well-meaning individuals who recognize my expression of respect for my nation’s flag in no way interferes with anyone else’s ability to express respect for their own flags. Similar:How dual loyalties created an ethics problem for Chris…
The Huffington Post reports that dozens of sources agree that an ABC News executive created a racist and toxic work environment. ABC told The Huffington Post “we have placed Barbara Fedida on administrative leave while we conduct a thorough and complete investigation.” Barbara Fedida, a senior ABC News executive in charge of talent, is on…
Cops are trained to make snap decisions under highly stressful situations. Often their training saves lives. Sometimes they deeply regret decisions they make. After thinking back on his recent behavior while working during a protest at Foley Square May 31, NYPD officer Robert Cattani offered a heartfelt apology: “I know I made the wrong decision,”…
Andrew Gelman of “Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science” writes: Peer review is fine for what it is—it tells you that a paper is up to standard in its subfield. Peer reviewers can catch missing references in the literature review. That can be helpful! But if peer review catches anything that the original authors…
Using bits and pieces of real news in order to distort the public perception of a story is unethical. Not all news organizations distort the truth this way. What do you think about the ones that do? Today, Fox re-labeled three different altered images, identifying each as a “collage” and posting a note that says…
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Carefully choosing language that fits your slant is a powerful form of persuasion. I try to teach my students to recognize and avoid biased language, which is a more difficult process than simply firing back with different biased terms that support your own slant (“You’re an anti-choice woman hater,” “No, you’re an anti-life baby killer!”).…
Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. The episode feels like a gimmick approved by a cigar-chomping producer who barked at a room of scrappy doe-eyed writers: “Put a script on my desk by 4pm today, or tomorrow you’ll be back on the bus to Dubuque!” Picard is transported to a windowless chamber where he and…
Medium is not a peer-reviewed source, and the author is anonymous, which affects how credible this article is. The clickbaity headline obscures the fact that this essay offers a good argument that much of the good done by cops doesn’t involve having a “monopoly on state violence.” It’s also a reminder that being “blue” as…