You might not want to watch this

Several of you suggested links on the gator story to other sites having to do with hunting alligators in Alabama. Here's one I found that might interest you. It might also upset you. Let's just say that after watching it, I felt sorry for the gators.

The extra credit store is now closed

Congratulations to the four students (2 in each section) who correctly answered that the error in the cutline in the DAR picture was that Thomas Jefferson's home was not at Mount Vernon. That was the home of George Washington.

Take a look at the older posts to find the picture and extra-credit offer.

Redeye uses illustration effectively today

Many scenarios seen for journalism's future

Jeff Jarvis rolls out some possible scenarios for the future of journalism in his Buzz Machine blog. Be sure to read the comments as well.

Wonder what's in the picture at the top of his blog? That's a printing press.

From the former "sun never sets" empire

The headline that caught my eye today was this one from The Guardian in the former empire where they used to say the sun would never set on it. Here's its prediction that the sun is now setting on our very own American empire, striking fear in my hegemonic heart.

College papers increasingly going online

Here's an article on what college newspapers are doing online. At first I figured that the neglect of the Kaimin was the usual East Coast bias ("Everything west of the Hudson is camping out"). But there is mention of several papers not only west of the Hudson, but west of the Mississippi.

Despite overlooking the Kaimin, the article is a good starting place for seeing what other university papers are doing online.

Section 1 final offer: Wednesday at 8 a.m.

Responding to the roar of the crowd in Section 1, I have been looking for a time and place to give the in-class portion of the final before Dec. 12, which is the scheduled time.

Room 009 is available from 8 to 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 10. If you cannot take the final at that time, please let me know ASAP. I'll let everyone know for sure once I hear back from anyone who has a conflict.

Section 3, you are still on for Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008, from 3:20 to 5:20 p.m. in Room 004.

Stevens out of Senate, Palin still in the news

Interesting times for Alaska politics. Ted Stevens, longest serving Republican in U.S. Senate history, gets bounced (that's what a criminal conviction a week before the election will do for you), but Sarah Palin's face keeps showing up. Wonder when her Senate campaign begins.

Here's the AP story on Stevens: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gZXmpL3-GlWbhbGKemFmCm_bPPmQD94HVFD80

In case you missed it: Hulk for dictator

In case you missed the teaser on the front of the Daily Skiff, here's the kind of leadership student editors at TCU would like to see: "Hulk Hogan should be America's dictator."

Why didn't the Republicans think of that before Nov. 4?

Three articles worth reading

I saw three articles on Romenesko this morning that I thought worth pointing out to people headed into the field of journalism.

Set aside plenty of time to read this article in the Columbia Journalism Review that argues, "To win the war for our attention, news organizations must make themselves indispensable by producing journalism that helps make sense of the flood of information that inundates us all."

Next up is from the Daily Skiff, The Texas Christian University newspaper, quoting Craig Flournoy, an assistant professor at Southern Methodist University, on how the turmoil in journalism today "benefits young people because it allows them to move up the ladder faster."

And finally, check out this article from the Knight Digital Media Center that quotes Jonathan Weber of New West right here in Missoula on the increasing interest in community news sites.

Trim stories, don't butcher them

I had the feeling some of you charged out of the classroom today intent on using the delete key as a samurai sword on the latest assignment. I have asked for this collection of 1,800 words (I hesitate to call it writing) to come down to 900, and many of you asked why leave that many standing.

I'm a believer in less is more, that longer writing is easier to do than concise writing ("I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one," Mark Twain said -- yea verily). But please use caution that you leave the essential information in this story. If you think you have done that in fewer than 900 words, fine. But I'll be checking it twice over Thanksgiving.

So don't start acting like John Belushi as the Samurai Deli Owner.

Now and then I lead you astray

Several of you have answered the extra credit question by pointing out that the caption says "Then" and "Now" and there is no "Now" photo. In the original publication, there was a second photograph, which I decided not to post. That is not the obvious error that several readers brought to the attention of editors. Sorry about that bum steer.

I am still accepting answers by e-mail. Only one correct answer so far. Keep trying.

That must have been some fire

I was struck by the picture on the front of La Opinion, the Spanish language paper published in Los Angeles, Calif. A photo like that of such destruction is bound to make readers stop and look.

Interesting juxaposition of Arizona stories

One paper is reporting an increase in tuition while another is tracking the rise in salaries of state university presidents.

Now read this: Extra credit on the blog

See anything wrong with this picture and caption? E-mail me if you think you do, and there could be some extra credit coming your way.

Headlines as koans, except when they aren't

koan /koh'an/ n. A Zen teaching riddle. Classically, koans are
attractive paradoxes to be meditated on; their purpose is to help one to
enlightenment by temporarily jamming normal cognitive processing so that
something more interesting can happen (this practice is associated with
Rinzai Zen Buddhism).
-- from http://dictionary.die.net/

You probably knew what a koan was before you read the definition above. But have you ever considered the headline as koan? Jessica Winter at slate.com has. She says of New York Times headline writers: "Your mission is to distill a piece to its essence in a few words without sacrificing nuance, and usually, you are more than up to the task."

But sometimes those headline writers fall into a pattern that looks more philosophical than declaratory. Read all about it.

Festering hemorrhoid or a lure to read on?

This may be all I say about the use of the semicolon since I tend to fall into the camp most clearly represented by Jim McLean. He is described by Hugh A. Mulligan, who worked as a correspondent for The Associated Press for 50 years, as his first boss, “a crusty old hard news hawk” and a newsroom character whose proudest boast was that he had never used a semicolon in his life. Mulligan quotes McLean’s regard of the semicolon as “a festering hemorrhoid hanging between two half-assed clauses.”

Lynne Truss in her book “Eats, Shoots & Leaves” has a loftier outlook on this punctuation mark, quoting Lewis Thomas, American essayist:

“The semicolon tells you that there is still some question about the preceding full sentence; something needs to be added . . .. The period tells you that that is that; if you didn’t get all the meaning you wanted or expected, you got all the writer intended to parcel out and now you have to move along. But with the semicolon you get a pleasant feeling of expectancy; there is more to come; read on; it will get clearer.”
(“The Medusa and the Snail,” 1979)

More simply put, Truss says the semicolon is used between two related sentences where there is no conjunction such as “and” or “but,” and where a comma would be ungrammatical.

Her example: “I loved Opal Fruits; they are now called Starburst, of course.”

Semicolons are also used to separate items in a list that includes commas within it, like this quote today on Salon.com in a tribute to John Leonard, book reviewer, from his acceptance speech in 2006 when he won the National Book Critics Circle lifetime achievement award:

"My whole life I have been waving the names of writers. From these writers, for almost 50 years, I have received narrative, witness, companionship, sanctuary, shock, and steely strangeness; good advice, bad news, deep chords, hurtful discrepancy, and amazing grace.”

“The books we love, love us back. In gratitude, we should promise not to cheat on them -- not to pretend we're better than they are; not to use them as target practice, agitprop, trampolines, photo ops or stalking horses; not to sell out scruple to that scratch-and-sniff infotainment racket in which we posture in front of experience instead of engaging it, and fidget in our cynical opportunism for an angle, a spin, or a take, instead of consulting compass points of principle, and strike attitudes like matches, to admire our wiseguy profiles in the mirrors of the slicks. We are reading for our lives, not performing like seals for some fresh fish."

Get all that? We can discuss in class; there’s always more that could be said about the semicolon, and the colon, too, for that matter.

This page really needs to be noted

I'm still looking back on Front Pages from the election, and this has got to be the one that stands out the most. I'm posting it here days late because I think it worthy of your attention. A quiet, understated presentation that works oh so well, I think.

Check out these links to election front pages

Given that I missed the boat yesterday on finding front pages from the biggest news story this semester, let me try to make up for that by linking to a very good site that not only shows you some of the best pages but discusses them as well. Visualeditors.com looks like a good site to bookmark if you are considering design as a career option. Check it out.

I found Visual Editors through a blog kept by Mark Matassa, a former colleague at The Seattle Times. Mark has an interesting story about the rush on Wednesday morning to get copies of real newspapers, the kind printed on paper. As Mark says, "A funny thing happened on the way to newspapers' funeral: A bunch of news broke out, in the form of yesterday's historic election, and people decided they wanted a paper. Not just the paper's "content" -- usually available free on their websites -- but the actual, old-school newspaper."

Maybe there's life in the old girl yet. Who said that? Besides my late father-in-law?

See you in class.

Trying to see front pages today a trying job

And I gave up trying. The Newseum site with today's front pages is very bogged down, probably from heavy traffic with people seeing how the nation's papers reported and displayed Obama's election.

I never could get past the first page in their gallery, but that was enough to get a taste of how this election was played. The three papers pictured are from the beginning of the Newseum's alphabetized list.

News has a future? Let's talk about that

The University of Montana School of Journalism will be co-hosting a Webcast on the future of the news business. You can be part of it on Monday, Nov. 10, at 4:30 in the afternoon in Room 316. It will probably last until about 6.

Hope you can attend. This is from the news release on the event:

WASHINGTON – The National Press Club, the world’s leading professional
organization for journalists, will Webcast a forum on the future of the
news business to journalism schools at six Western universities.

The Nov. 10 event will be found on the Web at www.visualwebcaster.com/NPCforum.

This NPC Centennial Forum will feature leading national journalists:

Donna Leinwand, national correspondent for USA Today and Club vice
president;

Ed Henry, White House correspondent for CNN;

Amar Bakshi, who spent the last year traveling the world to produce a
Web series “How the World Sees America” that appeared on the Washington
Post and Newsweek Web sites;
and
Mark Jurkowski, associate director of the Project for Excellence in
Journalism.

The panel will be moderated by Gil Klein, a veteran national
correspondent, former National Press Club president and director of the
Club’s Centennial Forums program.

People watching the Webcast will be able to ask questions of the
panelists in real time either by e-mail through the Webcast or by sending an e-mail to NPCforum@gmail.com.

This forum is part of a nationwide conversation the National Press Club
is holding during its 100th anniversary to look at where the news
business is going and what news consumers should be demanding. Schedules
and video highlights of forums in other states can be found on the
Club’s Web site: www.press.org.

Not bad for the gray, old lady

I almost always find something more interesting in the way of Page One layouts than what the gray, old New York Times has to offer. But on a day when oversized mugs of McCain and Obama dominated the nation's front pages, I thought the NYT had the right mix and the right look.

Happy Halloween!

Doing it right when sports is the top story

What if we said our punctuation out loud?

This video provided me with a delightful break and a good laugh this afternoon as I was grading papers. We still have a lesson or two on punctuation ahead of us, and this is a wonderful warm-up to the subject.

Chicago's Redeye faces up to the election

"Bad news for us journalism students"

Thanks again to Charlie Baser in Section 3 for pointing out this article on the state of affairs in the world of journalism today, something she refers to as "bad news for us journalism students..."

It certainly is a time of transition in the industry, and you will face challenges that my generation never did -- like figuring out a new structure for the whole business to pay for itself and ensure it has a future.

But I take heart from the last couple of paragraphs in the story, that someone very important realizes that without "the trusted news sources readers have relied on . . . the Web itself would quickly become a 'cesspool' of useless information." Some how, somewhere and sometime soon (I hope), someone is going to figure out how to prevent that from happening.

A big thanks to Section 1 for editing work

Section 1 of News Editing 380 spent Tuesday's class period going through the stories on MissoulasChoice2008. Today I received this nice note from Dennis Swibold, the professor who has been the main guru on the election project:

"Please tell your copy editors they did good work in editing the election site. I've gone through all of the suggested changes you sent me and followed them in most cases. In the bios I substituted consistency for AP style in some cases, but otherwise, the students' contributions were invaluable.

"So thanks to you, John, for having your class do this and for getting us the changes."

Dennis

Just let me add my own thanks and gratitude for a job well done.

Still time to try for a Dow Jones internship

Here’s a link to the Dow Jones online application. All application materials need to be sent in by Nov. 1.

The editing test will be given Thursday, Oct. 30, from 5-7 p.m. in DAH 316.

Try as I might, I could not resist this one

I try not to have the New York Post up here every day, and I think I've been pretty good about that. But this one sure got my attention.

As we talk about libel in class today, think about this page and what your defense would be if Mr. Whack Job got a lawyer and came after you for libel.

Not to be outdone on the football front . . .

Welcome to Massillon, Ohio, where every male child once received a football at birth. The U.S. may have bombed another country (Syria), presidential candidates may be criss-crossing the state and the economy is teetering on the brink of disaster. But in Massillon, the top news Monday morning is a Saturday afternoon football game that puts the Tigers back in the running for the state high-school playoffs. Time to get out the big type for a banner headline.

A reason to be afraid, very afraid

From The Associated Press on Monday:

MediaNews Group Inc. CEO Dean Singleton said his company was exploring outsourcing in nearly every aspect of their operations.

Singleton said sending copy-editing and design jobs overseas may even be called for.

"One thing we're exploring is having one news desk for all of our newspapers in MediaNews ... maybe even offshore," he said.

MediaNews publishes The Denver Post, The Detroit News and 52 other daily newspapers.

"In today's world, whether your desk is down the hall or around the world, from a computer standpoint, it doesn't matter," Singleton said.

Not everyone agreed with Singleton. The American Copy Editors Society said "sending copy editing overseas is a sure way to kill a paper's credibility."

And the unions that represent copy editors said outsourcing "threatens not only hundreds of jobs, but also quality and credibility – values the beleaguered newspaper industry needs now more than ever."

We've not heard the last of this one. As beginning editors, you'd best stay tuned.

What's important in football-crazy Ohio

With most of the nation's front pages devoted to the presidential campaign, The Times Reporter in New Philadelphia, Ohio (yes, it is a key battleground state in the election, but never mind that) came up with a different headline treatment on the big local subject: the 104th meeting of cross-town football rivals.

Reading assignments for Tuesday's class

For class on Tuesday, please read pages 352 to 369 in the AP Stylebook (2007 edition). The pages may be slightly off in other years' editions, but it is the section that starts out "Legal Principles of Publication" and ends with the section entitled "Corrections and retraction demands" (read that section, too).

We will also be discussing the article I linked to in an earlier post about a TV station that muted a mistake made by a candidate during a debate. Come prepared to take on the role of the editor or producer making the decision on what to do in this ticklish situation.

NYT column puts subjunctive in its place

Here's a good column on the subjunctive by Philip B. Corbett, The New York Times deputy news editor who is also in charge of the paper's style manual. You remember the subjunctive, right? That's the verb mode that, as Corbett says, expresses "an idea that is contrary to fact or entirely hypothetical."

Take a look at the article. It may help you the next time subjunctive comes around, and I know it will

Look, a dog's crawling out of McCain's head!

I thought the Chicago Sun Times was dead on with their headline this morning. Liked the face-off layout, too, although the dog crawling out of McCain's head was a bit disturbing. Your thoughts?

Interested in studying in Germany?

The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals (CBYX) is accepting applications from college-age students and recent graduates throughout the U.S. who are interested in interning, studying, and experiencing culture and everyday life in Germany. CBYX is a scholarship funded by the U.S. and German governments for students in all career fields, and does not require any prior German language knowledge.

Participants spend a year studying and working in their career fields while completely immersed in German language and culture. For more information, visit www.cdsintl.org/cbyx

Application deadline is December 1, 2008 for the program beginning in July 2009.

This comes from Kevin Hood, the University's internship coordinator. His contact information is:
(406) 243-4613 or 2815
(406) 243-5866 (fax)
kevin.hood@mso.umt.edu
Web: www.umt.edu/internships

Montana Standard seeks copy editor

Here's part of the ad:

The Montana Standard (14,500 a.m. daily) in Butte, Montana, is seeking a sports copy editor/page designer.

The right person must be able to multi-task and make good decisions on the fly. Duties include creating eye-catching layouts, clever headlines and choosing a diet of relevant sports and feature stories for our readers. We use QuarkXpress and send pages directly to plate in the pressroom. Online updating may also be part of the job.

Many of our employees receive extensive training and move up to larger metros.

The job is for 40 hours a week, evenings and weekends. It includes benefits. Training for on-line updating of our Web site and web design is included. Visit our site at www.mtstandard.com.

Requirements:
A degree in journalism or related discipline, or equivalent experience. Knowledge and expertise in the use of QuarkXPress and Adobe Photoshop. An ability to write creative, accurate headlines. A desire for quality content, eye-catching layouts and meeting deadlines is a must.

Please send your resume with references, a cover letter and sample pages to:

Human Resources
The Montana Standard
25 W. Granite Street
Butte, MT 59701

Application deadline is Nov. 3, 2008

Here's a Page 1 story we will be discussing

Interesting article here worthy of discussion in our class at some point (next week after the midterm). The Allentown Morning Call has a story on a local TV station that edited out a candidate's mistakes made during a taped debate.

You're the editor. The candidate's campaign comes forward to fess up to the errors. It is after the taping of the debate but before it has been broadcast. What do you do?

One more fever chart on the Dow

Many newspapers have charted recent market activity across their front pages, and the newly redesigned Chicago Tribune used that technique today.

Color screens gone mad or effective use?

We return to the scene of the crime

We all need a Helene of our own

Here's a great article on a copy editor who made a big difference in someone's life. May you all have someone like Helene Pleasants.

Would you use this as your lead headline?

Words that “positively affect the impacts”

Thanks to Charlie Baser in News Editing Section 3 for pointing out this interesting -- and amusing -- article on mangled grammar on the campaign trail. Have look at Maureen Dowd's op-ed piece on Sarah Palin's use of language, which includes some choice observations on past presidents' word wonders.

We're taking on math today

I sent a message to everyone, but just in case you missed it, please bring calculators to class today. I have once again rearranged the class schedule to cover a news math and maybe one or two other subjects before the next story rewrite and the midterm (Oct. 16).

A reminder that AP style quizzes can be turned in any time before the midterm, which will be given two weeks from today (Oct. 16). You will be expected to correct for AP style on both the take-home and in-class portions of the midterm. The take-home portion of the midterm will be due on Oct. 16. So you need to get familiar with AP style soon. In other words, get going on those quizzes.

Stupid, opinionated, but hard to resist

Once again, a revision to the class schedule

OK, I can't seem to leave it alone this semester. I'm changing the schedule once again. Here's the latest reincarnation of how the rest of the semester will go in News Editing 380:


Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008 -- Counting the days: News math (Math assignment due before class on Tuesday, Oct. 7)

Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008 – Still counting: More news math.

Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008 – Is it true? Accuracy and reference materials. (Reference assignment due before class Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008.) Take-home part of midterm will be distributed, due before class on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008.

Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008 – Review for in-class midterm.

Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008 -- In-class midterm (Take-home midterm and all AP quizzes due before class)

Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2008 – Libel, ethics, fairness, taste. (Reading assignment: Libel section in AP Stylebook, pages 352-370.)

Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008 – Problems with ledes: Buried, dense pack and “The council met.” (Reading assignment: Chapter 14 in “Working with Words.”)

Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008 – More on ledes.

Thursday, Oct. 30, 2008 – Getting organized: the beginning, the end and the muddle. (Editing assignment due before class Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008.)

Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008 – Election Day. No class.

Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008 – Still getting organized.

Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2008 – Veteran’s Day. No class.

Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008 -- Ethics online (Reading assignment in “Working with Words:” Chapter 16.

Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008 – Editing online

Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008 – Putting it all together (headlines, stories, photos, online and in print) on national, international and regional desks.

Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008 – In-class quiz

Thursday, Nov. 27, 2008 – Thanksgiving. No class.

Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008 – Last rewrite assignment – and it’s a whopper.

Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008 – Last class, review for in-class final (Take-home part of final will be handed out, due on day of final.)

In-class finals:

Section 1: Friday, Dec. 12, 2008, from 10:10 a.m. to 12:10 p.m.

Section 3: Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008 from 3:20 to 5:20 p.m.

Laramie Boomerang goes beyond the bailout

Some encouraging words for young journalists

The chief environmental correspondent for NBC News, Anne Thompson, says the next generation of journalists will be part of the "figuring it out" process of the changing landscape of journalism.

"You should be excited," Thompson said.

Read the article.

Newsday had it just right today

Friday favorite comes from Mississippi

Please note change in my office hours

I have changed my office hours a bit. The new hours are posted under "the opinion expressed here . . ."

Have a great weekend.

New feature: My favorite Page 1 each day

Thanks to the Newseum

Trouble with Sheppard software? Try this

Some smart person in Section 3 figured out that if the Africa geography game won't load for you, try the dialup version, which is right under the "Play" button. That worked for us in class on Tuesday and has been working ever since.