January, 2010
Maynard diversity workshop worth it
Tomorrow, we will spend our Saturday with Newhouse School colleagues at a daylong Professional Development Diversity Workshop. It will be led by Dori Maynard, of the Maynard Institute in Oakland, Calif. We both have heard Maynard before — a few years back in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., when we attended a regional meeting of the New [...]
“Real people” quotes: We can do better
In a class Tuesday, we got to talking about one of those things reporters seem to universally hate: Getting a few “real people” quotes after a speech or similar event. It’s a rush to grab someone from the crowd as everyone files out, and it usually yields those kind of “drive-by” quotes that add little. [...]
Sign up for Al’s Morning Meeting
Here’s a shoutout to Al Tompkins’ Al’s Morning Meeting. It’s a must read for me every day. You know, not every idea needs to be your own, original idea. Every day, news organizations are basically writing the same stories, or the same kinds of stories, with their own personal twist and their own local taste. [...]
Everyone must be a safety, now
I learned, and I always have passed along, that copy editors are the gatekeepers of a news operation — the last line of defense against errors being published. And then not long ago, while I was listening to an analyst describe what just happened during an NFL game, I realized that the last line of [...]
Have fun in the newsroom: Video
I was chatting with a colleague once, and I volunteered that it was important to have fun in the newsroom and the classroom. Work hard, play hard. I think that’s especially so now, when the everyday stress of the business is multiplied by all the uncertainty. My colleague responded to me: “That’s the last thing [...]
Train yourself for smaller copy desks
Washington Post ombudsman Andrew Alexander recently wrote about readers’ concerns about errors in the paper and on the Web site. The causes are obvious and have been much discussed: Fewer people have less time to read more copy. Some copy isn’t reviewed at all. At ACES, Neil Holdway’s recent post discusses the “good old days,” [...]
