Thursday, March 31, 2022

Sidekick

“Dogs feel very strongly that they should always go with you in the car, in case the need should arise for them to bark violently at nothing right in your ear.” 

—Dave Barry, writer, musician and dog lover. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Editorial Comment: Nothing to do with journalism, just an excuse for a Stella page.



PeezPIX

Surf's Up!
 
 
Look Who’s Laughing! in the April issue of Senior News. HAHAHahahahahaha
 
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

 

 

 

Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Errata

Every journalist knows the feeling. Your story — or the story you’ve edited — has been published, maybe on a tight deadline, and you realize too late that it contains a mistake. Cue the stages of grief: Defensive disbelief. Horror. Resignation. Self-flagellation. And finally, a humiliating correction notice permanently branded on your work.”

 —Margaret Sullivan, media reporter,The existential dread of journalists watching the Sarah Palin trial,” The Washington Post, Feb. 11, 2022.







 

 

 

 

 

Editorial Comment: Journalists are human, too. Sort of.



PeezPIX

Spiny Balls
 
Look Who’s Laughing! in the April issue of Senior News. HAHAHahahahahaha
 
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

 

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Interesting Humans

If you want to be a good photographer read a lot, watch a lot of movies, travel . . . don't just look at photos. To be a good photographer you need to be an interesting human being.”

Maggie Steber, photographer, “These Women Photographers Changed the World,” National Geographic, March 25, 2022. (Thanks to alert PhotoWORDster Mark Larson)

 




 

 

 

 

• Editorial Comment: Photographers have depth of field.

 

 

PeezPIX 

Look Who’s Laughing! in the April issue of Senior News. HAHAHahahahahaha

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

Monday, March 28, 2022

Be a Bird

“Punctuation matters. In fact, sometimes it’s the life or death of a sentence. Hyphens. Full stops. Colons. Semicolons. Ellipses. Parentheses. They’re the containers of a sentence. They scaffold your words.” . . .

“But then again, a sentence can be over-examined. Good grammar can slow a sentence — or indeed a wheelbarrow — down.” . . .

“Sometimes we make a mistake on purpose. . . . On occasion we write a sentence that isn’t, in fact, correct, but it sings. And the question is: would you rather be the ornithologist or the bird?”

—Colum McCann, novelist, “So you want to be a writer? Essential tips for aspiring novelists,” The Guardian, May 13, 2017.



 

 

 

 

• Editorial Comment: As a writer, I’m kind of wingless and flightless and nearly extinct — like a Dodo.

 

 

PeezPIX 

Look Who’s Laughing! in the April issue of Senior News. HAHAHahahahahaha

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 


Friday, March 25, 2022

GOP Media Management

I knew that the confirmation hearings for Ketanji Brown Jackson would produce a lot of insults and smears from Republicans trying to be racist enough for Fox News viewers to get the message but not so racist The New York Times would have to acknowledge it.

—Elie Mystal, columnist, “Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Long Pause Explained Racism and Sexism in America,” The Nation, March 24, 2022.





 

 

• Editorial Comment: A hard needle to thread — racist, but not TOO much.

 

 

PeezPIX  

It’s April. No foolin’. Check out the latest Senior News, Look Who’s Laughing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

Thursday, March 24, 2022

RIP, Madame Ambassador

Quotes from Madeleine Albright:

“The real question is: who has the responsibility to uphold human rights? The answer to that is: everyone.” —“Fascism: A Warning,” 2018.

“I have spent a lifetime looking for remedies to all manner of life's problems — personal, social, political, global. I am deeply suspicious of those who offer simple solutions and statements of absolute certainty or who claim full possession of the truth.” —“Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948,” 2012

“It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.” Exclusive Interview, Huffington Post, 2010.

“Democracy is not only a form of state, it is not just something that is embodied in a constitution; democracy is a view of life, it requires a belief in human beings, in humanity. . . . I have already said that democracy is a discussion. But the real discussion is possible only if people trust each other and if they try fairly to find the truth.”
—“Fascism: A Warning,” 2018.

“There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women.” “Celebrating Inspiration” luncheon, WNBA, 2006

“This is the first rule of deception: repeated often enough, almost any statement, story, or smear can start to sound plausible. The Internet should be an ally of freedom and a gateway to knowledge; in some cases, it is neither.” —“Fascism: A Warning,” 2018.

“It is easier to remove tyrants and destroy concentration camps than to kill the ideas that gave them birth.”  —“Fascism: A Warning,” 2018.

“History would be far different
if we did not tend to hear God
most clearly when we think
He is telling us
exactly what it is
we want to hear”

The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God, and World Affairs,” 2006.

—Madeleine Albright (1937-2022), scholar, teacher, diplomat, author and the first woman U.S. secretary of State, died Wednesday. NYTimes obit.

 

• Editorial Comment: Extraordinary woman, human, public servant. Thank you, Madame Ambassador.

 

 

PeezPIX  

Little River Morning

 

 

 

 

 

Read all about it! The March issue of Senior News: Age & Ageism. Check it out!

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

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

At the Library

“Live in the library! Live in the library, for Christ’s sake. Don’t live on your goddamn computer and the internet and all that crap. Go to the library.”

—Ray Bradbury (1920-2012), writer, from “Telling the Truth,” keynote address of The Sixth Annual Writers’ Symposium by the Sea, Point Loma Nazarene University, 2001.

 

 

 

 

 

• Editorial Comment: Lose yourself — and find yourself — there.

 

 

PeezPIX 

Fogwalking, 2016.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read all about it! The March issue of Senior News: Age & Ageism. Check it out!

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


Tuesday, March 22, 2022

‘Hunting Us Down‘

  

“MARIUPOL, Ukraine (AP) — The Russians were hunting us down. They had a list of names, including ours, and they were closing in.

“We were the only international journalists left in the Ukrainian city, and we had been documenting its siege by Russian troops for more than two weeks. We were reporting inside the hospital where gunmen began stalking the corridors. Surgeons gave us white scrubs to wear as camouflage.”

—Mystslav Chernov, video journalist, “Names on a list: Fleeing Mariupol, one checkpoint at a time,” The Associated Press, March 21, 2022. Image: AP photographer Evgeniy Maloletka helps evacuate wounded in Mariupol. Mystslav Chernov photo/AP.

 

 

• Editorial Comment: Without them, Putin can murder Ukraine in secret.

 

PeezPIX 

Good night, 2013.

 

 

 

 

Read all about it! The March issue of Senior News: Aging & Ageism. Check it out!

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



 

Monday, March 21, 2022

‘Raw Courage”

WORDmeister says: I know this is too long, but it’s too heartbreaking to shorten.

“Nicholas Kristof said something prophetic on last Sunday's ‘Reliable Sources’ telecast: ‘I'm not sure people fully appreciate — it is the photographers and the TV journalists and video journalists who take so much of the risk" in war zones. ‘Those of us who have a notebook can hang back a little bit,’ but photographers ‘show so much raw courage.’ . . .

 

Heidi Levine, a 30-year veteran of war zones like Iraq and Syria, told CNN's John King that fellow photographers in Ukraine are in shock that ‘what we're seeing is actually happening. I mean, how could this be happening in 2022?’ It just feels like ‘we have learned absolutely nothing from history,’ she said.

 

“Levine has been on assignment for The Washington Post in Kyiv. Here are some of her recent photos. She told King about waking up with nightmares. ‘I think I just can't imagine being on the other side of my camera,’ she said.

 

“‘I even saw a cemetery where the graves were destroyed from the shelling,’ she added. ‘So even the dead are not allowed to rest in peace here.’”

 

—Brian Stelter, host, “Reliable Sources: On the Front Lines,” CNN, March 17, 2022. 

 

 

• Editorial Comment: Photojournalists have always shown extreme courage in wartime. Increasingly, it’s also desperation and despair. Listen to photojournalist Heidi Levine's conversation here.

 

 

PeezPIX 

Full Moon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read all about it! The March issue of Senior News: Age & Ageism. Check it out!

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