tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66427108125643070382012-02-02T01:05:36.238-08:00deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.comBlogger791100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-47512414043771573822012-02-01T23:15:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.816-08:00

Another Sunday, another family walk. This Sunday Number One Son wanted to walk to the Secret Playground and I had another look at the ‘mound’, which has been puzzling me. This time Number One Son insisted in trying to walk up the slide even if the lowest part of it was covered by a water puddle. Naturally, he fell into it but was not too wet so we could continue our walk in the drizzly, cold

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-68435001702109450252012-01-30T18:33:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.816-08:00

Some day, I pray, the Rent-a-Clue truck is going to pull in front of the Columbia (S.C.) police department and actually deliver a load of common sense.Until then, apparently, we will have to continue to fight through the cluelessness that characterizes the department's handling of information, especially when it comes to the state's Freedom of Information Act. OK, in the 20 years I've been in

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-15402104591300948742012-01-30T14:30:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.816-08:00

A blog post today by the editor of the Island Packet serving Hilton Head Island, S.C., and environs shows how journalists still agonize over letting their readers "in" to the newspaper pages (or, more really, the websites).Editor Jeff Kidd has posted 12 questions to help us determine how much 'citizen journalism' you want at islandpacket.com, beaufortgazette.com.Some are interesting, again

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-58117464606332067072012-01-26T10:17:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.816-08:00

There was a time when you needed to go to London you could spend the time after your work appointment how you wished and go to an exhibition, pop to the British Museum or National Portrait Gallery, listen to a lecture or have a pint. However, as a parent you have to remember your responsibilities and collect your offspring in time from the nursery. This can sometimes be trickier than

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-56175439245389443262012-01-18T23:12:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.817-08:00

Near our home is a park area and playground I and Archaeologist Husband call a Secret Park since next to nobody seems to know about its existence. We only know about this playground because one of our neighbours, with a gentle cocker spaniel, found it while taking his dog out.This park is next to a meadow, green fields and a cul-de-sac of a small estate and public footpaths run by and over it.

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-48117982285368047572012-01-12T09:20:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.817-08:00

If you are teaching writing and editing, you could do worse than to have students listen to these two examples from NPR(I like using audio to help teach because it shows the power of creating pictures in people's heads while also being a bit more dimensional than just print. It also shows the necessity for all writers to use their ears and eyes in ways to pick up details like nat sound that yo 

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-48507973708736107932012-01-11T23:38:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.817-08:00

Our Christmas trip to Finland – a long weekend after the Finnish Independence Day of the sixth of December – reminded me about the cultural and climatic differences between my old and new home countries. You can see the differences clearly from the children’s clothing.In Finland you can see children going around from head to toe in winter gear, mostly full overalls or two-piece padded suites with

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-36479662119659135142012-01-09T17:23:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.817-08:00

Some headlines just write themselves ...http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/beezow-doo-doo-zopittybop-bop-bop-busted-article-1.1003302But imagine trying to do this in print with a one-coumn, tight count, like a 10 or 12.(Thanks to Gary Karr for the pointer.)

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-47035537214143473792012-01-06T16:53:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.818-08:00

Ah yes, the Blackboard overlords have struck again adding yet another reason to my list of hating this course management system.In v9.1, BB has eliminated the dropbox, helpfully suggesting that if you want to exchange files with students, use the "assignment manager."Only, did anyone think that not every file exchange involves an assignment?Dropbox, for instance, was perfect for sending a large

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-75277752148910113682012-01-06T05:16:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.818-08:00

This one is online today from a TV station site.* (Seems I'm specializing in fire stories these days.) Updated to also correct street name.Columbia, SC (WLTX)--An early morning fire is smoldering at The Salty Nut Cafe in Five Points.Not a bad lede. If you are keeping score at home and use AP style, that should be S.C., but no one says the station has to do that. One might also ask why "SC" is

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-1107951832629570412012-01-04T23:15:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.818-08:00

Now it is a New Year and one can look back to 2011. Number One Son travelled to Canada with us and saw his Canadian great-grandmother. He also was at his first ever dig. Naturally, we hope he will take up banking or go to the Bar in order to have a decent income. However, we cannot totally keep him away from our own interests – archaeology and museums. Even if we wish him a prosperous career, we

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-60047481899585073152011-12-30T15:34:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.818-08:00

There was a terribly tragic fire in Stamford, Conn., on Christmas. The day later, the following story appeared in my paper.I can't tell whether it was an original AP dispatch or was reworked on the local desk. I've found similar, but not identical, versions online that take care of some of the problems noted below.But the story provides a good case study of editing problems, especially with

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-74690840318556351822011-12-29T11:27:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.819-08:00

This compilation was put together by Europe's Chartered Instituted of Personnel and Development.Worth perusing.

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-81030540486185446532011-12-29T10:15:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.819-08:00

These two infographics about what happens online in 60 seconds are pretty interesting.I always tend to take such things that average numbers with a little grain of salt, but even so, some of the numbers are impressive:370,000 Skype voice calls695,000 Facebook updates600 YouTube videos1,820 terabytes of data created

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-30247587570565936152011-12-29T07:29:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.819-08:00

As expected Number One Son got Pixar’s Cars 2 as a Christmas present. This was the most certain thing about this Christmas. We knew that the critics had panned it but nothing really prepared us for the real problem of the movie – it had been pitched for a totally different audience from the first one. It is clear that the makers have a limited options for a sequel; it recreates the plot of the

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-15406874185338035142011-12-28T05:40:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.819-08:00

I have a class section and seminar (that I've done for the American Copy Editors Society) called "missing in plain sight."I keep coming back to these because with the decimation of copy desks, I'm seeing more cases. So let's see how quickly you can pick out what's missing in this story - and figure out why a copy editor seemingly missed it:South Carolina’s economy got an early Christmas present

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-55336514666304582882011-12-27T05:30:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.819-08:00

I have long admired Paula LaRocque as a writing and language coach* and some of the excellent columns she has penned for SPJ's Quill magazine. But in the past couple of years, it seems to me her columns have taken on more of a rigid approach than a modern observer and user of language should be.Several times, especially with some of her "brevity" examples, I've wanted to write a post saying wait

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-50342434794790567222011-12-26T06:00:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.820-08:00

If you were reading along in The State this past week and came across this story,* you might have spotted a problem:   If state lawmakers want to retire, they would have to give up their seat in the Legislature, according to a proposal moving through the state House of Representatives.   The proposal would end the practice of lawmakers retiring but remaining in office and replacing their $10,400

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-47264555768734297552011-12-24T15:14:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.820-08:00

Eastman Kodak serves as a good case study and reminder for those of us in journalism:You can't sit on your laurelsThe innovation that could save your bacon might be right in your own shop - if you don't discount it"We needed to understand that we were not a family; we were a team."All three can be found in a look by Reuters today at Kodak and its spinoff, Eastman Chemical. The venerable film and

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-1426607871046451282011-12-24T11:04:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.820-08:00

There are some parallels to be drawn between Intuit and its Quicken software and the media industry. Both have tended to do things because they can, not because they really understand the needs of their consumers. Intuit's Quicken 2012 is a good example. One truly wonders how much usability testing it was put through before release.If you've used Quicken for years, as I have, its combination of

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-49125829981149364802011-12-21T23:10:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.820-08:00

Number One Son attended a big Christmas party and encountered his first Father Christmas with Archaeologist Husband. This was not a happy occasion and we have a photo to prove it. Nor is the primeval fear of a Father Christmas at a young age a rare phenomenon. Number One Son’s Number One Friend could stand the situation even less and was quickly carted away from the venue – as I could testify

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-23877966708032685902011-12-20T12:08:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.821-08:00

The inanity of using "and/or" is wonderfully illustrated by a weekend Foxtrot comic. Go to my Tumblr for the comic and discussion.(Logically, "or" includes "and.")

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-51131696875677545832011-12-20T11:54:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.821-08:00

What's wrong this panel from Sunday's "Blondie" cartoon ?Find out.

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-3952452031163592412011-12-20T11:00:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.822-08:00

The December Convergence Newsletter is out with a couple of important articles looking at how news organizations' convergence practices have changed and challenging some of our assumptions about "digital natives."But we also need your help beyond that. Here's an excerpt from the newsletter. Please weigh in:Is some research threatened? We need to hear from you.The article by Jake Batsell and

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-19735453755188124262011-12-20T09:32:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.822-08:00

You know you need some free graphics programs. There's a really nice review and video here:http://opengraphicdesign.blogspot.com/(Thanks to Ed Henninger for the pointer.)

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-78059136566197290292011-12-17T08:13:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.822-08:00

When a correction blows a hole in a previous story and actually raises more questions about what went on, is a small correction buried on page two enough?Here's an example from The State newspaper in Columbia, S.C.The original story:What crosses the jump is this graf (Keel is Mark Keel, head of the State Law Enforcement Division):Keel said the sanctions came because SLED’s prior administration

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-30037458308307999412011-12-17T07:28:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.822-08:00

One inviolate rule of headline writing - it should reflect with fealty what the story actually says.So let's look at this specimen from today's (Columbia, S.C.) State newspaper.Is there really a "ban"?Let me help by starting with the last graf:The provision that Upton got placed into the spending bill will cut off money the Department of Energy would have used to make sure that the regulations

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-28504224502962425712011-12-16T02:39:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.822-08:00

Apart from cars, tractors and trains Number One Son loves airplanes. Living reasonably close to the East Midlands airport and an ambulance helicopter service a large amount of planes crosses the skies above. Almost every time Number One Son sees or hears a plane or helicopter he shouts ‘Airplane!’. This is relatively recent development and he was not this encaged with the planes during the

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-89816222456614858792011-12-15T15:09:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.823-08:00

The folks at Mozilla know Firefox has gone from being an upstart challenger industry to becoming firmly entrenched in some production processes. Knowing and understanding, however, are two different things. Yet another update appeared this week on my various machines, and again, the pre-install message was the same: This or that plug-in is incompatible and so deactivate it.Nope, screw the update

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-91623052975323847292011-12-15T14:04:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.823-08:00

Tired of having to reach over to lift up that heavy AP stylebook? Enter "Styleguard," AP's new plug-in for MS Word that checks as you type.From the news release:AP StyleGuard, powered by Equiom Linquistic Labs, is a powerful yet easysolution that integrates with Microsoft Word and provides automatic checking ofyour documents for AP style.  Using defined structure and rules similar toWord's

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-23974721456275311382011-12-15T13:50:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.823-08:00

Thanks to Lou Phelps of the Savannah Daily News in a column this week for making brutally clear that newspapering is a business - a cutthroat one - that's not necessarily good for journalism. Phelps, a media consultant whose company also publishes the Daily News, seeks to make the point that, when looked at from a cash-flow perspective, newspapering is still a pretty decent business and that "we

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0Unnamed Rd, Savannah, GA 31411, USA31.85889704445453 -81.0131835937530.14913354445453 -83.54003909375 33.56866054445453 -78.48632809375tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-73293744096151786482011-12-13T01:33:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.828-08:00

Some children have their teddy bears and our Number One does have his Mr Hare, too. But he likes toy cars very much indeed and his heart belongs to a very special red McQueen. His ‘Vroom vroom’ is constantly misplaced and looked for. It is taken to bed and it travels with him everywhere we go. Most sweetly, he put rhe Car to a swing the other day and gave it a ride like it was another toddler or

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-81833692769618308742011-12-08T07:32:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.828-08:00

A new blog is up, "Just to Clarify," by Kris Hammond - and I'd recommend you read it occasionally. Hammond is the chief technology officer of Narrative Science, which is focused on turning data into computer-generated narratives.Much of its work is based on research coming out of Northwestern University.His newest post has the provocative title: Why 90% of news will be computer generated in 15

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-36439080785833678842011-12-06T09:05:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.828-08:00

AP has compiled a special guide to style for the holidays. It's below. While we're at it, let's repeat the usual suggestions to avoid trite phrases like "'tis the season," "it's beginning to look a lot like ..." and "the white stuff" for snow.AdventThe four Sundays preceding Christmas."Auld Lang Syne"Sung to greet the New Year, poem by Robert Burns set to Scottish music.BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP)

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-27293660746945398872011-12-01T19:44:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.829-08:00

Data is good in journalism. Selective use of data, not so much.So let's look at the following story from The Nerve, a journalistic endeavor of the S.C. Policy Council. The council is a heavily conservative advocacy organization, but for those critics who would like to dismiss The Nerve's work out of hand as a result, stop.The reporters, many of whom worked for "established" media, know their

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-40691755002863083282011-12-01T05:57:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.829-08:00

A new study from the Reynolds Institute and the National Newspaper Association is being framed as "readers in areas served by community newspapers continue to prefer the community newspaper as their sources of local news and advertising."From the release:The survey, in its sixth year, shows consistent trends.   Readers prefer the printed copy to the online version, with 48 percent saying they

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-10816863891923107502011-11-30T22:44:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.829-08:00

The fact that we had little experience in small children before the arrival of Number One Son is apparent from our lack of awareness about potty training. We paid some vague attention to the few failed attempts the parents of Number One Cousin had in potty training. In addition, Number One Son has shown little awareness of his bowl and other movements until lately.When we all seemed to be ready

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-54471204045360200352011-11-24T08:04:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.829-08:00

I didn't know Tim Huber at AP - he joined after I left. But reading his story today in the Charleston Daily Mail - how he is recovering from a massive stroke - reminds me that once AP, always AP, and I can't help but wish him and his wife the best on this holiday,It's an inspiring story - and not surprising for those of us who know the grit of AP'ers {grin}.Best to all those journalists - at AP

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-67384695525243428052011-11-24T07:28:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.829-08:00

It comes from Nieman Lab, which recounts how a rural Kentucky paper reached out to the Huffington Post to reprint a HuffPo story on a coal miner fighting for safer working conditions.Perhaps what's surprising about this is that it would be seen at all as unusual in 2011 and the age of distributed journalism.Don't be a journalism turkey - have a happy Thanksgiving!

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-49323220679979952732011-11-23T22:34:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.830-08:00

On our summer holiday we ended up testing which sleeping arrangement with a toddler works the best. In order to save money, we always took the free option, which came with the room. The hotels and B&Bs were chosen on the basis of some kind of concession for under fives.In Volterra we could have him in the room for free using the existing bedding. I thought that Number One Son would be happy on a

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-6318642002948519372011-11-23T15:24:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.830-08:00

I admit. I like the idea of style, AP or otherwise. It adds a certain sense of order to things and lets me write instead of having to think about the minutiae.And I enjoy the various style quizzes that pop up in newsletters and other publications I get. It's always fun to see how much I recall.My concern, however, is that they can send the message that it's all about style and that style is a

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-60750233719554234452011-11-22T15:56:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.830-08:00

The S.C. Supreme Court has turned aside the challenge by several counties that said they should not be responsible for paying for the Jan. 21 presidential primary. The primary must be held and the counties and State Election Commission will do so, no questions asked, the court ruled today.But there was also a slapshot at the GOP, which had intended to put these four "advisory" questions on the

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-36112041500114850652011-11-22T14:23:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.830-08:00

Sure, things are tough in the business. Reporters are being given Sisyphean lists of things to do in this age of social media, bringing the predictable backlash.But hey, what good is it if you can't sing about it? Awhile back, the "Copy Editor's Lament" went viral (well, OK, maybe it was just a slight sniffle, but still it was fun).The latest entry, from the Texas Center for Community Journalism,

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-44421474702336435012011-11-21T15:15:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.830-08:00

What do you do if you have a pretty good story about a man who fakes his own abduction and when he calls mom to get $100 in ransom, she talks him down to $60 - but you just don't have that great quote for the headline?Well, you make it up, of course. At least that's what The (Columbia, S.C.) State appeared to do on Saturday. I dare you to find the quote from the hed in the body of the story:So

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-40783763687190564822011-11-17T00:10:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.831-08:00

This summer on our summer holiday before heading to Archaeologist Husband’s father’s house we had a small tour of a few sites in Tuscany. Unlike before we faced visiting the sites with a two-year-old. This meant a new approach to sightseeing and an acknowledgement that the days of spontaneous walks and long lunches were over. This trip was all about realistic timetabling, baby food packs and

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-30053260641837938562011-11-16T12:23:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.831-08:00

So here's the Oscars story as it appeared in The State's printed edition:Can you find what's wrong?LOS ANGELES — After a tumultuous week that saw the departure and replacement of the Oscar show’s host and producer, the film academy enjoyed a night of good vibes Saturday at its third annual Governors Awards. You might even say the force was with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-35438852865161098502011-11-16T07:57:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.831-08:00

AP Stylebook T-shirts (and you'd better get that right, not t-shirts or tee-shirts {grin}).Definitely should be in the pile of holiday packages for every copy editor.ACES should include one in the goodie bag for everyone that goes to its New Orleans meeting in April.Love the slogan: "We wrote the book on style. Edited it, too."

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-46424495927280721302011-11-16T07:51:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.831-08:00

Pointer from Jack Lail to a project coming out of Georgia Tech called Liquid Text.Can you imagine how this could change journalists' ability to extract and organize info?

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-65440306181825329682011-11-16T05:54:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.832-08:00

Here's a lesson for your editing classes - or for any journalist, for that matter - as to why relying on Google (or any other single source, especially in these days of ubiquitous data that also contains easily propagated errors).I gave my editing class a simple car-train accident story the other day. It happened on Bonhomme Richard Drive in Lexington County. But many students went into a tizzy

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-61863767363179900152011-11-15T07:53:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.832-08:00

So yesterday I riffed on the arrogance in an otherwise perceptive look inside Tribune by an an editor at the Los Angeles Review of Books.Then, this morning, I'm reading a fanciful post on Mel Taylor Media of what Steve Jobs would do if he were running a newspaper, and embedded in the middle is this YouTube video of a woman - journalist apparently - wishing ads on the Internet would just go away.

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-73314652163046576042011-11-14T11:08:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.832-08:00

That pretty much sums up my reading of Laurie Winer's part-memoir of her days at the L.A. Times and part-review of James O'Shea's book The Deal from Hell in the Los Angeles Review of Books.True enough, Winer has me more often than not muttering and shaking my fist at her recounting of the cavalier and rapacious sacking that Sam Zell and his minions did to Tribune and the Times.Hers and Dean

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-63220868515593113012011-11-14T07:23:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.832-08:00

Less Anderson, a longtime journalism prof at Wichita State University has died.He's one of the good ones and will be missed. Links and details on the COMJIG blog.

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-17859172230017430562011-11-12T16:03:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.833-08:00

Dean Starkman has two important pieces to read in the Columbia Journalism Review - important because the first one should get you thinking, at least, about the sometimes squishy base on which so many future of news predictions - including a few made here - are based and the second should get you thinking hard about whether newspapers (and to some extent mainstream news organizations, including

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-92047018640316237412011-11-12T14:06:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.833-08:00

Pointed out on the Boston Editors group on Facebook, a bit of crime writing from the Springfield (Mass.) Republican that only a mother could love - the mother of the writer - and then not even a sure thing at that.Raymond Chandler or Dashiell Hammett he ain't. Not even Mickey Spillaine.A sample:The city's mobile forensics investigation truck has been getting a workout this yearEarly Sunday it was

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-21531143736208730892011-11-09T22:43:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.833-08:00

Our cat Shelly, the venerable 18-year old, was a particular favourite of Number One Son. They clearly liked each other and Shelly patiently let our son stroke her even if it often happened to the wrong direction. However, the older Number One Son came the quicker Shelly started to vanish from the spot. She never used her claws against our son but there was clearly only so much she could

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-44508784314814837662011-11-07T15:08:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.833-08:00

File this under pretty compelling reading.I had not heard of this till a pointer from Cyberjournalist today, but I'm really intrigued by Yahoo's "Down But Not Out" project to crowdsource the long-term unemployment morass many Americans have found themselves in.The tricked-out Tumblr blog contains emails from those without jobs. It's pretty compelling -- and at times scary -- reading. The idea

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-15270233752410466832011-11-06T05:44:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.839-08:00

A reminder from the AP style updates this week that it's Achilles' heel but Achilles tendon."homage" takes "an" because the "h" is silent.Hodgkin lymphoma  - no longer "Hodgkin's disease." Distinguished from Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.The "industrial average" part of Dow Jones industrial average is lowercased. (Maybe someday there will be an entry on why AP and others continue to fixate on a

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-61860680213228149112011-11-06T04:21:00.000-08:002012-02-02T01:05:36.839-08:00

There was a fascinating column in Forbes by Adam Hartung this past week that got me thinking - again - about how "big vendor" (just like "big iron" in the IT business) has been a lot of the source of news organization sluggishness that too often has been blamed on newsrooms' reluctance to innovate.I can't endorse the survey because I don't know enough about it (in fact, I'm always skeptical of

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-63698944913872740012011-11-04T07:53:00.000-07:002012-02-02T01:05:36.839-08:00

Please read Wasim Ahmad's wonderfully reasoned post dissecting Gannett's sudden rediscovery of video."Newspaper video" remains an unsettled (at best, still controversial at worst) area of unclear ROI, debates about quality vs. run-and-gun, etc.But the way NOT to do video is to try to force it on every person in the newsroom. Yes, every journalist should be aware of video and every one should be

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-38320653870747282932011-11-03T07:17:00.000-07:002012-02-02T01:05:36.839-08:00

And the hoi polloi ain't happy about it.Apparently Google+ has the great masses of unwashed misusing the "+" operator that allowed you to specify that a term had to appear in the search.Now, Google says it has expanded the functionality of the quote marks so that if you put a single word in quotes, it will also require that word to appear in the search.Wonder how the research librarian community

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-90553667351959186792011-11-03T00:13:00.000-07:002012-02-02T01:05:36.840-08:00

I and Number One Son have gone swimming almost every week since he was three months old. The only longer intervals have been the two month cycle of colds he had when he started the nursery and some occasional travel and illnesses. He likes water and I feel that apart from the gentle exercise it gives him an important skill that may turn out to be lifesaving.For a long time one had to support him,

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-67717018112114345002011-10-30T16:50:00.000-07:002012-02-02T01:05:36.840-08:00

Over at the Monday Note (petty much required reading here at CSJ World every Sunday night) Frédéric Filloux has performed an interesting experiment in looking at news site Web design - mask all the ads and see how much of the site really is left devoted to news.It's pretty eye-opening. For instance, here is the French site 20 Minutes as Filloux found it the other day. He blocked out the ads with

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-8363683751290095742011-10-29T11:34:00.000-07:002012-02-02T01:05:36.840-08:00

I normally don't point out or comment much on political stuff because, well, there's just not much percentage in it.But this entry on the Open Secrets blog. which tracks money in politics, just begged to be pointed out. It's about the creation of one "American Phoenix Super Pac" by a nonprofit called Florida Deep Sea Burials Inc. There are a ton of questions surrounding all the paperwork's errors

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-10562219565214417932011-10-27T10:34:00.000-07:002012-02-02T01:05:36.840-08:00

Google is enforcing limits on maps called through its API -- 2,500 loads a day for a styled map (available sice May 2010) or 25,000 a day for regular maps.It doesn't affect our little corner of the world at Dateline Carolina - we just link to a "mymap" and have low usage. But it does have the development community atwitter.

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-37644003475195606522011-10-26T23:05:00.000-07:002012-02-02T01:05:36.840-08:00

It is clear that trying to bring up a child bilingually is harder than one imagines. Especially, when the Archaeologist Husband has only learnt to say ‘Hello’ in the minority language that is my mother tongue Finnish. To make things harder, it is not an Indo-European language and is spoken only by a handful of persons in our area as their first language. You only hear Finnish on TV about once in

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-31409157408190298572011-10-21T06:14:00.000-07:002012-02-02T01:05:36.841-08:00

A visit to Victoria is not complete without a visit to the Royal British Columbia Museum. Archaeologist Husband’s Aunt was kind enough to drive us to the harbour area next to the Museum so we had a free afternoon for ourselves. This is a very enjoyable museum and we spent hours there. Naturally, for a long while Number One Son took his default museum position and had a good snooze in his

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-79956188095874861342011-10-13T11:41:00.001-07:002011-10-13T11:41:11.329-07:00

Aire Foxy Fun Time

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-52328160452497438492011-10-13T06:20:00.000-07:002012-02-02T01:05:36.841-08:00

Earlier this year we finally made it to Canada to see Number One Son’s Greatgrandmother. Although the cost was considerably higher than with the originally planned date before our Son turned two, him having a seat of his own was heaven sent. The idea to try to make him to sit on our lap in turns for hours (eleven to be precise) still makes me shiver. He was already quite big and heavy and on the

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-77511410797894928412011-10-06T07:01:00.000-07:002012-02-02T01:05:36.844-08:00

The playground time is the most intriguing part of child rearing. On a grey day there seems to be absolutely no one else there at the playground and you follow your toddler around the emptiness out of duty. Unless your toddler is learning new skills, is trying to make continuous escapes through the gates to the drive through road or you have something interesting to think, this can be extremely

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-34624800240720613722011-09-22T08:30:00.000-07:002012-02-02T01:05:36.844-08:00

One way of making sure that your panoramic lunch on a holiday is enjoyable is to make sure that the foods keeps the toddler content and are among his or hers favourites. At Montepulciano, famous for its vino nobile, we were lucky to encounter a restaurant looking up towards the hillock town serving pizza. At lunchtime! This is not guaranteed in Italy before dinnertime. We ate a nice meal of local

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-16943019796730789752011-09-16T23:30:00.000-07:002012-02-02T01:05:36.844-08:00

The Dinosaur Gallery in the Leicester Museum on New Walk opened on the 3rd of September. During that weekend more people visited the museum than ever before during ones weekend. Instead of the normal 760 visitors 5,244 individuals entered the museum. Among these visitors were Archaeologist Husband and Number One Son. This visit was more suitable for the Son’s slightly older Number One Cousin who

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-90183616690379453452011-09-10T01:43:00.000-07:002012-02-02T01:05:36.845-08:00

Number One Son has his own take into museums and archaeological sites. Museums are not necessarily interesting but they may have fascinating additional features, such as large rooms and wide corridors to run through or steps and different bits meant to help wheelchair users to climb over. In the Roman town Luna at Luni near Carrara that managed the marble trade from the famous quarries the

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-11341144194117387042011-09-04T23:50:00.000-07:002012-02-02T01:05:36.845-08:00

The castles tend to be on hillocks for safety, control and good views. This is a problem when you are visiting culturally interesting places with a toddler who is happy to walk in the pedestrian areas on flat land but gets easily tired and dispirited when faced with a steep slope. Dragging a stroller uphill is very dispiriting for a parent and when a ‘lazy’ toddler decides even not to try the

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-78708336707123795532011-09-01T07:26:00.000-07:002012-02-02T01:05:36.845-08:00

Number One Son has just had his first and perhaps only speech therapy session. This was the initial assessment and it seems everything is alright; he just develops at his own pace. A parent cannot be without comparing one’s offspring with others’. At least this parent can’t. Archaeologist Husband seems to take the moral high ground and frown on my slight anxiety. He is right in the sense that if

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-38444673676580999922011-08-28T01:44:00.000-07:002012-02-02T01:05:36.845-08:00

I am writing this while Number One Son is watching Cars for the umpteenth time with a happy smile bursting every time Mater comes to the frame. This all started when we visited Archaeologist Hubby’s father and his house in northern Tuscany. Our son is an early bird so owe had to have something to entertain him in the mornings before or after the morning swim. Not to mention those grey rainy days

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-21046319580369362622011-08-23T23:18:00.000-07:002012-02-02T01:05:36.846-08:00

Every now and then parents discuss on the Internet or at meetings the children’s programs they truly hate. I switch channels when Tweenies is on and hope that I am not faced with Fifi and whatever. Waybaloo used to make both me and the archaeologist hubby puzzled – until Number One Son started to watch it either at the dawn or as part of the bedtime hour. The puzzlement turned into irritation

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-40584065207340018772011-08-20T05:13:00.000-07:002012-02-02T01:05:36.846-08:00

Number One Son is a conference veteran – not to mention conference nurseries and other facilities. It is OK when the talks and sessions you want to hear are not at the same time and you can share the child minding duty. However, if both of you are giving talk, what is a chance that these talks will run simultaneously? It is almost guaranteed that you are on at the same time. In addition, if you

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-16203682624572751852011-08-13T06:20:00.000-07:002012-02-02T01:05:36.846-08:00

Naturally, early into a pregnancy when the tummy is small the only difference for most is the not drinking or socially smoking (that very archaeological vice). The cocktail parties are normally a yawn with the almost non-escapable orange juice. The more thoughtful organisers have also mineral water and apple juice but there is a definite lack of more adult options – probably for cost reasons.

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6642710812564307038.post-25355576627977057242011-08-09T04:15:00.000-07:002012-02-02T01:05:36.846-08:00

I ended up buying this orange stroller totally randomly in the January sales at the end of my maternity leave. I had no intension to buy an orange one, just a stroller of a particular maker my friend who tested strollers for her work as a freelancer in a baby magazine had recommended. However, I could not resist a bargain and little did I know that that bright colour would be very useful when

deworthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16903371095192259185noreply@blogger.com0