Good Company

 

“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.”

—Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926), Austrian poet & novelist, “The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge,” 1910.

• Editorial Comment: People still do that, do they?

PeezPIX 

Yes, they do! November’s SENIOR NEWS celebrates the book. Online here.

 

FREE! TODAY'S WORD ON JOURNALISM This free “service” is sent to rafts of subscribers worldwide more or less every weekday morning during WORD season. If you have recovered from whatever illness led you to subscribe and don’t want it anymore, send “unsubscribe” to ted.pease@gmail.com. Or if you want to afflict someone else, send me the email address and watch the fun begin. (Disclaimer: Don’t shoot the messenger. I just quote ’em, I don’t necessarily endorse ’em.)

 

“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.”—Tom Stoppard

 

 

_____________
Edward C. Pease, Ph.D.
Professor & Department Head Emeritus
Department of Journalism & Communication
Utah State University
Today's WORD on Journalism

Down at the Library

“Books hold most of the secrets of the world, most of the thoughts that men and women have had. And when you are reading a book, you and the author are alone together — just the two of you. A library is a good place to go when you feel unhappy, for there, in a book, you may find encouragement and comfort. A library is a good place to go when you feel bewildered or undecided, for there, in a book, you may have your question answered. Books are good company, in sad times and happy times, for books are people — people who have managed to stay alive by hiding between the covers of a book.”

—E.B. White (1899-1985), writer, letter to the children of Troy, Michigan, April 14, 1971. 

• Editorial Comment: Or sleeping in a carrel behind the stacks

PeezPIX 

Epiphany

 

 

 

The November issue of SENIOR NEWS — “Books Make a Difference” — comes out today. Look for it.

 

FREE! TODAY'S WORD ON JOURNALISM This free “service” is sent to rafts of subscribers worldwide more or less every weekday morning during WORD season. If you have recovered from whatever illness led you to subscribe and don’t want it anymore, send “unsubscribe” to ted.pease@gmail.com. Or if you want to afflict someone else, send me the email address and watch the fun begin. (Disclaimer: Don’t shoot the messenger. I just quote ’em, I don’t necessarily endorse ’em.)

 

“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.”—Tom Stoppard

 

 

_____________
Edward C. Pease, Ph.D.
Professor & Department Head Emeritus
Department of Journalism & Communication
Utah State University
Today's WORD on Journalism

Requiem for the Local Rag

“The Hawk Eye was never perfect. Readers complained about typos or misspellings. Conservatives in town called it a liberal rag, and some lefties didn’t think it was progressive enough. But all the staffers at the paper lived in the area—you could call the editor on his landline and complain about a story, and you could confront Mike Sweet about his latest column in the produce section at Hy-Vee. People often did. And even The Hawk Eye’s most passionate detractors would still cut out the articles about their granddaughter’s softball team and stick them on the fridge.”

—Elaine Godfrey, reporter, “What We Lost When Gannett Came to Town,” The Atlantic, Oct. 5, 2021.

• Editorial Comment: Those were the days.

PeezPIX 

Grandmother Rock & Dog

 

 

 

The October issue of SENIOR NEWS is scary good. Online here.

 

FREE! TODAY'S WORD ON JOURNALISM This free “service” is sent to rafts of subscribers worldwide more or less every weekday morning during WORD season. If you have recovered from whatever illness led you to subscribe and don’t want it anymore, send “unsubscribe” to ted.pease@gmail.com. Or if you want to afflict someone else, send me the email address and watch the fun begin. (Disclaimer: Don’t shoot the messenger. I just quote ’em, I don’t necessarily endorse ’em.)

 

“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.”—Tom Stoppard

 

 

_____________
Edward C. Pease, Ph.D.
Professor & Department Head Emeritus
Department of Journalism & Communication
Utah State University
Today's WORD on Journalism

Murder in the Newsroom

 

“They call Alden a vulture hedge fund, and I think that’s honestly a misnomer. A vulture doesn’t hold a wounded animal’s head underwater. This is predatory.”

—Charlie Johnson, former Chicago Tribune Metro reporter, in McKay Coppins, “A Secretive Hedge Fund Is Gutting Newsrooms: Inside Alden Global Capital,” The Atlantic, Oct. 14, 2021. 

• Editorial Comment: As we watch idly, is democracy next?

PeezPIX 

Oldtimers

 

 

 

The October issue of SENIOR NEWS is scary good. Online here.

 

FREE! TODAY'S WORD ON JOURNALISM This free “service” is sent to rafts of subscribers worldwide more or less every weekday morning during WORD season. If you have recovered from whatever illness led you to subscribe and don’t want it anymore, send “unsubscribe” to ted.pease@gmail.com. Or if you want to afflict someone else, send me the email address and watch the fun begin. (Disclaimer: Don’t shoot the messenger. I just quote ’em, I don’t necessarily endorse ’em.)

 

“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.”—Tom Stoppard

 

 

_____________
Edward C. Pease, Ph.D.
Professor & Department Head Emeritus
Department of Journalism & Communication
Utah State University
Today's WORD on Journalism

Why We Write

CORRECTED!

“Writing is like sex. First you do it for love, then you do it for your friends, and then you do it for money.”

—Virginia Woolf (1882-1941), English author. Image: Woolf & companion in London during Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918-19.

• Editorial Comment: For many of us, not much money, at that. For either writing or sex....

• Fact-Check ALERT: Quotemeister nonpareil Dr. Mardy Grothe gently points out to the WORD that this quote surely did not come from Virginia Woolf, providing this sleuthing by Quote Investigator, who concludes that it probably originated with playwright Ferenc Molnár. My thanks, as always, to Dr. Mardy. See the QI’s discussion here.

PeezPIX 

Pewetole Sunset

 

 

 

The October issue of SENIOR NEWS is scary good. Online here.

 

FREE! TODAY'S WORD ON JOURNALISM This free “service” is sent to rafts of subscribers worldwide more or less every weekday morning during WORD season. If you have recovered from whatever illness led you to subscribe and don’t want it anymore, send “unsubscribe” to ted.pease@gmail.com. Or if you want to afflict someone else, send me the email address and watch the fun begin. (Disclaimer: Don’t shoot the messenger. I just quote ’em, I don’t necessarily endorse ’em.)

 

“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.”—Tom Stoppard

 

 

_____________
Edward C. Pease, Ph.D.
Professor & Department Head Emeritus
Department of Journalism & Communication
Utah State University
Today's WORD on Journalism

NYT Book Review at 125

“As an editor’s note from 1897 points out, ‘Life is worth living because there are books.’”

—Tina Jordan, deputy editor of the Book Review and co-author of “The New York Times Book Review: 125 Years of Literary History,” 2021. See “The Birth of The New York Times Book Review,” Oct. 21, 2021.

• Editorial Comment: 125 years! Sheesh. I am *so* behind in my reading!

• Related: “125 Years of Book Review Covers,” NYTBR (the “old grey lady"?)

PeezPIX 

Pewetole Sky

 

 

 

The October issue of SENIOR NEWS is scary good. Online here.

 

FREE! TODAY'S WORD ON JOURNALISM This free “service” is sent to rafts of subscribers worldwide more or less every weekday morning during WORD season. If you have recovered from whatever illness led you to subscribe and don’t want it anymore, send “unsubscribe” to ted.pease@gmail.com. Or if you want to afflict someone else, send me the email address and watch the fun begin. (Disclaimer: Don’t shoot the messenger. I just quote ’em, I don’t necessarily endorse ’em.)

 

“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.”—Tom Stoppard

 

 

_____________
Edward C. Pease, Ph.D.
Professor & Department Head Emeritus
Department of Journalism & Communication
Utah State University
Today's WORD on Journalism

Read All About It!

  

“When local journalism dies, we no longer read shared headlines and, in turn, we understand one another less. having fewer shared sets of facts also erodes trust in our democracy and obscures the pathways for people to participate in it. . . .

“If local news disappears, so does our democracy.”

—Lindsay Schrupp, editor-in-chief, The Courier Newsroom, “How Can We Save Democracy? Start with Local Journalism,” CourierNewsroom.com, Nov. 25, 2019. 

• Editorial Comment: The great experiment. Poof!

PeezPIX 

Pie-Bound

 

 

 

The October issue of SENIOR NEWS is scary good. Online here.

 

FREE! TODAY'S WORD ON JOURNALISM This free “service” is sent to rafts of subscribers worldwide more or less every weekday morning during WORD season. If you have recovered from whatever illness led you to subscribe and don’t want it anymore, send “unsubscribe” to ted.pease@gmail.com. Or if you want to afflict someone else, send me the email address and watch the fun begin. (Disclaimer: Don’t shoot the messenger. I just quote ’em, I don’t necessarily endorse ’em.)

 

“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.”—Tom Stoppard

 

 

_____________
Edward C. Pease, Ph.D.
Professor & Department Head Emeritus
Department of Journalism & Communication
Utah State University
Today's WORD on Journalism

Breakfast of Champions

 

“Take me ham away, take away my eggs, even my Chili, but leave me my newspaper.”

—Will Rogers (1879-1935), cowboy commentator, actor and newspaper columnist. See “Will Rogers’ Weekly Articles, Vol. 1,” 1980. 

• Editorial Comment: Over easy . . . 

PeezPIX 

Trinidad Harbor Moorings (off-season)

 

 

 

The October issue of SENIOR NEWS is scary good. Online here.

 

FREE! TODAY'S WORD ON JOURNALISM This free “service” is sent to rafts of subscribers worldwide more or less every weekday morning during WORD season. If you have recovered from whatever illness led you to subscribe and don’t want it anymore, send “unsubscribe” to ted.pease@gmail.com. Or if you want to afflict someone else, send me the email address and watch the fun begin. (Disclaimer: Don’t shoot the messenger. I just quote ’em, I don’t necessarily endorse ’em.)

 

“I don’t think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones, in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.”—Tom Stoppard

 

 

_____________
Edward C. Pease, Ph.D.
Professor & Department Head Emeritus
Department of Journalism & Communication
Utah State University
Today's WORD on Journalism