The Facts on Truth

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Truth

The WORDmeister Sez: Chicago Tribune columnist Rex Huppke recently reported the death of Facts, which earlier this month finally succumbed to the scourge of political inanity (The Death of Facts, 360 B.C.-A.D. 2012). NPR took up the tale Saturday. In 2005, philosopher-King Stephen Colbert recognized that Truth also was on its deathbed when he swapped “truthiness” for truth. Here, some commentary on the decline of truth and fact over time.  

“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.” — Buddha

“I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.” —Abrahan Lincoln (1809-1865)

“Facts and truth really don't have much to do with each other.” —William Faulkner (1897-1962)

“In wartime [or politics], truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies.” —Winston Churchill (1879-1965)

“Truth is so rare that it is delightful to tell it.” —Emily Dickinson (1830-1886)

“Truth is by nature self-evident. As soon as you remove the cobwebs of ignorance that surround it, it shines clear.” —Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

“You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you mad.” —Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)

“If you ever injected truth into politics you’d have no politics.” —Will Rogers (1879-1935)

“To the shock of most sentient beings, Facts died Wednesday, April 18, [2012] after a long battle for relevancy with the 24-hour news cycle, blogs and the Internet.” —Rex Huppke, columnist, 2012




• Editorial Comment: Like obscenity, I know truth when I see it.   

• Yesterday’s WORD: Mad Advice Did you miss yesterday’s WORDs from advertising mogul David Ogilvy, on how to write? Click here. 

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PeezPIX by Ted Pease 
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Baby Lulu, in 2003.
Lulu the Bighearted Dog left us much too soon. 
2002-2012 RIP

Mad Advice

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How to Write
“The better you write, the higher you go in Ogilvy & Mather. People who think well, write well. Woolly minded people write woolly memos, woolly letters and woolly speeches.

“Good writing is not a natural gift. You have to learn to write well. Here are 10 hints:

1. Read the Roman-Raphaelson book on writing. Read it three times.
2. Write the way you talk. Naturally.
3. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
4. Never use jargon words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass.
5. Never write more than two pages on any subject.
6. Check your quotations.
7. Never send a letter or a memo on the day you write it. Read it aloud the next morning — and then edit it.
8. If it is something important, get a colleague to improve it.
9. Before you send your letter or your memo, make sure it is crystal clear what you want the recipient to do.
10. If you want ACTION, don’t write. Go and tell the guy what you want.”

—David Ogilvy (1911-1999), advertising executive and the original “Mad Man,” 1982 URL 

• Editorial Comment: #11. Buy cigs. #12. Have a drink. #13. Make lists. 

• Yesterday’s WORD: Who Is a Journalist? Did you miss yesterday’s WORDs from NPR’s Robert Seigel describing the investigative journalist? Click here.

News from our award-winning student news site, The Hard News Café  



• HNC Weekly News Roundup 
• Aggies TV News—Cache Rendezvous (April 25)
• JCOM honors Class of 2012, outstanding students; awards scholarships 
• Decision nears on proposed Oneida Narrows dam, but fight not over yet, by Allie Jeppson 
• Cancer foes generate hope doing laps all night for Relay For Life, by Rebecca Holliday• Hyrum city promises help for home owners in Wapiti Bluff subdivision, by Tara Alvey
• Wellsville turns down request for commercial rezone, by Jimena Herrero
• Aggie TV News for April 19, 2012 
• USU journalists dominate annual regional Mark of Excellence Awards 
• JCOM Prof, SLTrib Photographer Win Journalism Ethics Award 
• GUEST COLUMN: Obama leads the way in kindness, civility, by Helen Cannon

PeezPIX by Ted Pease 
Catalog here
Good Doggone.
Lulu the Bighearted Dog left us much too soon. 
2002-2012 RIP

Who is a journalist?

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Job Description
“Journalism covers a multitude of jobs, from writing advice columns to covering wars, but investigative journalism occupies a special place. It is the most complex discipline within the profession. It entails poking your nose into places it's not welcome. It often requires the skills of a detective, the nerve of a charlatan, and the persuasive powers of a seducer.”

—Robert Siegel, radio host, National Public Radio. URL April 25, 2012
• See Charles Lewis’s great new website, “Investigating Power”

• Editorial Comment: Then there's the bourbon bottle in the drawer and the kevlar coat. 
 
• Of interest: Study: J-school grads’ unemployment rate better than average

• Yesterday’s WORD Redux: Not Normal Did you miss yesterday’s WORDs political scientist Lynn Vavreck and WaPost political blogger Ezra Klein on frenzied political news coverage? Click here. 

News from our award-winning student news site, The Hard News Café  



• HNC Weekly News Roundup 
• JCOM honors Class of 2012, outstanding students; awards scholarships 
• Decision nears on proposed Oneida Narrows dam, but fight not over yet, by Allie Jeppson 
• USU honors its athletes, teams of the year at USTARS dinner, by Rebecca Holliday
• Cancer foes generate hope doing laps all night for Relay For Life, by Rebecca Holliday
• Mendon historian loves to discover and share the past, by Josh Ruggles
• New names in Nibley: City manager Zook and municipal judge Cook, by Tmera Bradley
• Hyrum city promises help for home owners in Wapiti Bluff subdivision, by Tara Alvey
• Wellsville turns down request for commercial rezone, by Jimena Herrero
• Aggie TV News for April 19, 2012 
• USU journalists dominate annual regional Mark of Excellence Awards 
• JCOM Prof, SLTrib Photographer Win Journalism Ethics Award 
• GUEST COLUMN: Obama leads the way in kindness, civility, by Helen Cannon

PeezPIX by Ted Pease 
Catalog here
Good Doggone.
Lulu the Bighearted Dog left us much too soon. 
2002-2012 RIP






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Is Anyone Paying Attention?

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Obsessed—Not

Lynn Vavreck, UCLA political scientist: “Most people don’t care about politics. They’re not running around with these preformed opinions in their head. They worry about what they’ll make for dinner and how to get their kids to bed. And that hasn’t changed. For us, that’s an alien world. We think about  politics all the time. But we’re not normal. The 24-hour news cycle has not really affected the average American who isn’t into politics. And that’s really important to remember.”

Ezra Klein, political blogger: “I think most people in Washington believe voters would make better decisions if they spent more time following politics. But I spend a lot of time following politics, and quite often, I couldn’t be happier that voters are tuning out the inanities that obsess this town. Better that they worry about real mountains rather than hyped-up molehills.”

—Ezra Klein, blogger and columnist, 

“Always remember: ‘We’re not normal,’” 

Wonkblog, The Washington Post, 4/20/12

• Editorial Comment: If a Gingrich falls in the forest, does it make a sound? Give me a ring in November, willya?

• RERUN: Terrific! Did you miss yesterday’s WORDs from writer extraordinaire E.B. White, about the writer’s responsibility? Click here.

• Of interest: Study: J-school grads’ unemployment rate better than average

News from our award-winning student news site, The Hard News Café 
• HNC Weekly News Roundup 
• JCOM honors Class of 2012, outstanding students; awards scholarships 
• Decision nears on proposed Oneida Narrows dam, but fight not over yet, by Allie Jeppson 
• USU honors its athletes, teams of the year at USTARS dinner, by Rebecca Holliday
• Cancer foes generate hope doing laps all night for Relay For Life, by Rebecca Holliday
• Mendon historian loves to discover and share the past, by Josh Ruggles
• New names in Nibley: City manager Zook and municipal judge Cook, by Tmera Bradley
• Hyrum city promises help for home owners in Wapiti Bluff subdivision, by Tara Alvey
• Wellsville turns down request for commercial rezone, by Jimena Herrero
• Aggie TV News for April 19, 2012 
• USU journalists dominate annual regional Mark of Excellence Awards 
• JCOM Prof, SLTrib Photographer Win Journalism Ethics Award 
• GUEST COLUMN: Obama leads the way in kindness, civility, by Helen Cannon

PeezPIX by Ted Pease 
Catalog here

Good Doggone.
Lulu the Bighearted Dog left us much too soon. 
2002-2012 RIP

E.B. Revisited

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The Writer’s Responsibility

“A writer should concern himself with whatever absorbs his fancy, stirs his heart, and unlimbers his typewriter. I feel no obligation to deal with politics. I do feel a responsibility to society because of going into print: a writer has the duty to be good, not lousy; true, not false; lively, not dull; accurate, not full of error. He should tend to lift people up, not lower them down. Writers do not merely reflect and interpret life, they inform and shape life.”

—E.B. White (1899-1985), writer, in “E. B. White, The Art of the Essay No. 1,”interviewed by George Plimpton and Frank H. Crowther, The Paris Review, Fall 1969

Link to Today’s WORD: E.B. Revisited

• Editorial Comment: Thanks, Elwyn. That puts it to me.




• RERUN: RIP, Facts, 360 B.C.-2012 A.D. Did you miss yesterday’s WORDs from columnist Rex Huppke on the sad, sorry death of Facts? Click here.

News from our award-winning student news site, The Hard News Café 
• HNC Weekly News Roundup 
• JCOM honors Class of 2012, outstanding students; awards scholarships 
• Decision nears on proposed Oneida Narrows dam, but fight not over yet, by Allie Jeppson 
• USU honors its athletes, teams of the year at USTARS dinner, by Rebecca Holliday
• Cancer foes generate hope doing laps all night for Relay For Life, by Rebecca Holliday
• Mendon historian loves to discover and share the past, by Josh Ruggles
• New names in Nibley: City manager Zook and municipal judge Cook, by Tmera Bradley
• Hyrum city promises help for home owners in Wapiti Bluff subdivision, by Tara Alvey
• Wellsville turns down request for commercial rezone, by Jimena Herrero
• Aggie TV News for April 19, 2012 
• USU journalists dominate annual regional Mark of Excellence Awards 
• JCOM Prof, SLTrib Photographer Win Journalism Ethics Award 
• GUEST COLUMN: Obama leads the way in kindness, civility, by Helen Cannon

PeezPIX by Ted Pease 
Catalog here

Good Doggone.
Lulu the Bighearted Dog left us much too soon last night. 
2002-2012 RIP

RIP Facts

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Death of Facts, 360 B.C.-A.D. 2012
 

“A quick review of the long and illustrious career of Facts reveals some of the world’s most cherished absolutes: Gravity makes things fall down; 2 + 2 = 4; the sky is blue.

“But for many, Facts’ most memorable moments came in simple day-to-day realities, from a child’s certainty of its mother’s love to the comforting knowledge that a favorite television show would start promptly at 8 p.m.

“Over the centuries, Facts became such a prevalent part of most people's lives that Irish philosopher Edmund Burke once said: ‘Facts are to the mind what food is to the body.’

“To the shock of most sentient beings, Facts died Wednesday, April 18, after a long battle for relevancy with the 24-hour news cycle, blogs and the Internet. Though few expected Facts to pull out of its years-long downward spiral, the official cause of death was from injuries suffered last week when Florida Republican Rep. Allen West steadfastly declared that as many as 81 of his fellow members of the U.S. House of Representatives are communists.

“Facts held on for several days after that assault—brought on without a scrap of evidence or reason—before expiring peacefully at its home in a high school physics book. Facts was 2,372.”
 

—Rex W. Huppke, reporter and columnist,  

“Facts, 360 B.C.-A.D. 2012 In memoriam: After years of health problems, Facts has finally died,” The Chicago Tribune,

April 19, 2012

• Editorial Comment: Facts was preceded in death by Truth. Send flowers to Hope.

• RERUN: Enough Books, Already! Did you miss yesterday’s WORDs from Albert Einstein, who said reading too many books makes your brain lazy? Click here.

News from our award-winning student news site, The Hard News Café  



• HNC Weekly News Roundup 
• JCOM honors Class of 2012, outstanding students; awards scholarships 
• Decision nears on proposed Oneida Narrows dam, but fight not over yet, by Allie Jeppson 
• USU honors its athletes, teams of the year at USTARS dinner, by Rebecca Holliday
• Cancer foes generate hope doing laps all night for Relay For Life, by Rebecca Holliday
• Mendon historian loves to discover and share the past, by Josh Ruggles
• New names in Nibley: City manager Zook and municipal judge Cook, by Tmera Bradley
• Hyrum city promises help for home owners in Wapiti Bluff subdivision, by Tara Alvey
• Wellsville turns down request for commercial rezone, by Jimena Herrero
• Aggie TV News for April 19, 2012 
• USU journalists dominate annual regional Mark of Excellence Awards 
• JCOM Prof, SLTrib Photographer Win Journalism Ethics Award 
• GUEST COLUMN: Obama leads the way in kindness, civility, by Helen Cannon

PeezPIX by Ted Pease Catalog here


U.S. Coast Guard rescue boat Humboldt Bay

Enough Books, Already—Now Do!

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Put that Book Down

“Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.”

—Albert Einstein (1879-1955),
genius and doer
(Who also said,
“I have no special talent.
I am only passionately curious.”)

• Editorial Comment: Those are some words for the end of a school year: There is no try, grasshopper. There is only do. Get out there.

• RERUN: In A Coma Did you miss yesterday’s WORDs about commas from NYTimes columnist Ben Yagoda? Click here.

• JCOM CELEBRATES 2012: The JCOM Department celebrates the end of a GREAT year and congratulates its Class of 2012 TODAY at 2 p.m. in the Ag Building Auditorium (#101), followed by a reception and open house of new JCOM offices and labs. Outstanding Student Awards, 2012-13 Scholarships, general hilarity in the last week of classes. Junior Emily Landeen produced this video of student feedback on the department.

News from our award-winning student news site, The Hard News Café
• Weekly HNC News Roundup
• Wellsville turns down request for commercial rezone, by Jimena Herrero
• Aggie TV News for April 19, 2012
• USU journalists dominate annual regional Mark of Excellence Awards
• JCOM Prof, SLTrib Photographer Win Journalism Ethics Award
• Laketown man gets August trial date for ER sex charge, by Tmera Bradley
• Richmond Council approves use of building for Zumba class, by Chris Lee
• Sign up now if you want to be in Hyrum’s 4th of July parade and fest, by Tara Alvey
• Aggie journalists collect 17 prizes at annual Mark of Excellence Awards, by D. Whitney Smith
• Remembering the 2005 van crash victims at Ag building memorial, by Allie Jeppson
• GUEST COLUMN: Obama leads the way in kindness, civility, by Helen Cannon
• Should Mormons be vegetarians? Yes, says guest speaker, by Sean O’Sullivan
• Search warrant for dorm room leads to three arrests, by Josh Ruggles

PeezPIX by Ted Pease
Catalog here


Fang the Wonder Cat died last week, 1995-2012
Hairballs in Heaven




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Oh, No! Punctuation Revisited. Again.

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Block That Comma!

“The New Yorker has always been scrupulous, bordering on fetishistic, about commas, in large part because of its founder Harold Ross’s mania for precision and clarity. E.B. White, who was subject to the magazine’s editing for more than five decades, remarked in a Paris Review interview, ‘Commas in The New Yorker fall with the precision of knives in a circus act, outlining the victim.’

“There are many examples, but one particular comma use is consistently and pretty much only found in The New Yorker. An example is a sentence from an article by Jane Mayer in the double issue dated Feb. 13 and 20:

Before [Lee] Atwater died, of brain cancer, in 1991, he expressed regret over the “naked cruelty” he had shown to [Michael] Dukakis in making “Willie Horton his running mate.”

“No other publication would put a comma after ‘died’ or ‘cancer.’ The New Yorker does so because otherwise (or so the thinking goes), the sentence would suggest that Atwater died multiple times and of multiple causes.”

—Ben Yagoda,
professor, columnist and author,

“Fanfare for the Comma Man,”
The New York Times,
April 9, 2012
Image: Peter Arkle

• Editorial Comment: That New Yorker punctuation abuse, always, bugs me. Anyone who has to edit student writing will, regularly, fall into a coma.

• RERUN: Uncle Walter Did you miss yesterday’s WORDs remembering Walter Cronkite’s first CBS evening newscast, 50 years ago this week? Click here.

• 2012 JCOM Awards: The JCOM Department celebrates the end of a GREAT year and congratulates its Class of 2012 Friday at 2 p.m. in the Ag Building Auditorium (#101), followed by a reception and open house of new JCOM offices and labs. Outstanding Student Awards, 2012-13 Scholarships, general hilarity in the last week of classes. Junior Emily Landeen produced this video of student feedback on the department.

News from our award-winning student news site, The Hard News Café
• Weekly HNC News Roundup
• USU journalists dominate annual regional Mark of Excellence Awards
• JCOM Prof, SLTrib Photographer Win Journalism Ethics Award
• Laketown man gets August trial date for ER sex charge, by Tmera Bradley
• Richmond Council approves use of building for Zumba class, by Chris Lee
• Sign up now if you want to be in Hyrum’s 4th of July parade and fest, by Tara Alvey
• Aggie journalists collect 17 prizes at annual Mark of Excellence Awards, by D. Whitney Smith
• ATV News (4/12): Fraternity drinking, the BYU ‘It Gets Better’ video, Baby Animal Days . . . and more!
• Remembering the 2005 van crash victims at Ag building memorial, by Allie Jeppson
• GUEST COLUMN: Obama leads the way in kindness, civility, by Helen Cannon
• Should Mormons be vegetarians? Yes, says guest speaker, by Sean O’Sullivan
• Search warrant for dorm room leads to three arrests, by Josh Ruggles
• Up Close at the 2012 Utah Legislature: An Intern’s Perspective, by Lis Stewart

PeezPIX by Ted Pease
Catalog here


Fang the Wonder Cat died last week, 1995-2012
Hairballs in Heaven




.

Golden Uncle Walter

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The WORDmeister sez: It’s somehow fitting, coming two days after the death of CBS bulldog Mike Wallace at 93, that Monday marked the golden 50th anniversary of the first Walter Cronkite broadcast of the CBS evening news, which changed journalism. Uncle Walter died at 92 in 2009.

And That’s the Way It Was

“(CBS News)—Fifty years ago, John Kennedy was in the White House, and Barack Obama was in diapers. The future of Berlin was in the morning papers, and the future of CBS News moved into the anchor chair.

“‘Good evening from CBS News headquarters in New York. Civil war threatens Algeria tonight,’ Walter Cronkite announced during one of his early broadcasts.” . . .

“‘This is the evening edition of CBS News with Walter Cronkite,’ the announcer proclaimed.

“The new set featured a bank of black-and-white monitors. Variety, the showbiz magazine, called it ‘visual razzmatazz.’ The technology was primitive by today’s standards.” . . .

“Unfortunately, Cronkite’s debut was not recorded. This edition—four months later—is the only known recording of the broadcast from that era. ‘More news in a moment after this word from Aerowax,’ Cronkite said.” . . .

“[Cronkite’s] first broadcast . . . ended in Cronkite inviting viewers to get the details of the stories he’d reported in the next day’s papers. ‘An explosion broke out amongst the suits and management, who were very upset that Walter was sending people to read newspapers instead of coming to him for the news,’ [producer Sanford] Socolow recalled.

“So Cronkite came up with an alternative sign-off, the one he’d use for the next 19 years: ‘And that’s the way it is.’”

—Scott Pelley, CBS News,
“50 years after Cronkite took the anchor chair, his legacy lives on,”
April 16, 2012
VIDEO: CBS News marks historic Cronkite anniversary
VIDEO: A golden Cronkite anniversary

• Editorial Comment: TV advice to read the news in the papers—is that 1962-style convergence?

• RERUN: Dental Hygienists Did you miss yesterday’s WORDs on a study that finds journalism among the worst jobs in 2012, while dental assistants and actuaries rank at the top? Click here.

• 2012 JCOM Awards: The JCOM Department celebrates the end of a GREAT year and congratulates its Class of 2012 Friday at 2 p.m. in the Ag Building Auditorium (#101), followed by a reception and open house of new JCOM offices and labs. Outstanding Student Awards, 2012-13 Scholarships, general hilarity in the last week of classes. Junior Emily Landeen produced this video of student feedback on the department.

News from our award-winning student news site, The Hard News Café
• Weekly HNC News Roundup
• JCOM Prof, SLTrib Photographer Win Journalism Ethics Award
• Laketown man gets August trial date for ER sex charge, by Tmera Bradley
• Richmond Council approves use of building for Zumba class, by Chris Lee
• Sign up now if you want to be in Hyrum’s 4th of July parade and fest, by Tara Alvey
• Aggie journalists collect 17 prizes at annual Mark of Excellence Awards, by D. Whitney Smith
• ATV News (4/12): Fraternity drinking, the BYU ‘It Gets Better’ video, Baby Animal Days . . . and more!
• Remembering the 2005 van crash victims at Ag building memorial, by Allie Jeppson
• GUEST COLUMN: Obama leads the way in kindness, civility, by Helen Cannon
• Should Mormons be vegetarians? Yes, says guest speaker, by Sean O’Sullivan
• Search warrant for dorm room leads to three arrests, by Josh Ruggles
• Up Close at the 2012 Utah Legislature: An Intern’s Perspective, by Lis Stewart

PeezPIX by Ted Pease
Catalog here


Fang the Wonder Cat died last week, 1995-2012
Hairballs in Heaven




.