Poynter Blog Network » Reporting, Writing & Editing http://blognetwork.poynter.org/writing/ Poynter Blog Network » Reporting, Writing & Editing blognetwork.poynter.org en headsup: the blog: Proof, evidence, judgment http://headsuptheblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/proof-evidence-judgment.html Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0500 http://headsuptheblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/proof-evidence-judgment.html Two matters are worth talking about here -- neither of which, it should probably be noted from the outset, has anything to do with people's inalienable right to believe whatever they want about the supernatural. But they have quite a bit to do with how journalism [...] ]]> The Grammarphobia Blog: Hits and misses http://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2009/11/hits-and-misses.html Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:10:00 -0500 http://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2009/11/hits-and-misses.html
A: An unscientific analysis of Google hits for ?anti-intuitive? suggests [...] ]]> Untold Stories: Pakistan: Playing the Spy Card http://pulitzercenter.typepad.com/untold_stories/2009/11/economics-of-security-playing-the-spy-card.html Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:30:21 -0500 http://pulitzercenter.typepad.com/untold_stories/2009/11/economics-of-security-playing-the-spy-card.html M

Maha Atal, for the Pulitzer Center 

I'm settled, at last, in Islamabad, and trying to get my head around the transformation afoot here. Certainly, the country has come a long way since I was last here in 2005. One thing that is new is the size and the vibrancy of Pakistani [...] ]]> Common Sense Journalism: No Casseroles for You! http://commonsensej.blogspot.com/2009/11/no-casseroles-for-you.html Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:14:00 -0500 http://commonsensej.blogspot.com/2009/11/no-casseroles-for-you.html
Here's one I was looking at because one of my favorite TV personalities, Guy Fieri of "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" [...] ]]> Blogslot: more lowercase silliness http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/billwalsh/~3/I5PUL5xyEHw/more-lowercase-silliness.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:31:00 -0500 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/billwalsh/~3/I5PUL5xyEHw/more-lowercase-silliness.html
Filter magazine's review of the Regina Spektor album "Far" begins:

The lowercase 'f' in far is telling.
No, it isn't.

The review continues to lowercase the album title (and, in an extra added bonus blow to reading comprehension, uses neither italics nor quotation marks), presumably because [...] ]]> The Engine Room: Why is the TV show 'SMart' called 'SMart'? http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/engineroom/~3/LFsE2m5aQ-Q/why-is-tv-show-smart-called-smart.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:04:00 -0500 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/engineroom/~3/LFsE2m5aQ-Q/why-is-tv-show-smart-called-smart.html There's a long-running BBC TV show called SMart. It's about art and it's aimed at children. So why the name 'SMart'?

Well, obviously, the word 'smart' contains within it the word 'art'. So far, so good. It's just that capital 'M' that bugs me.

I would have [...] ]]> Gangrey.com: Point A To Point B http://gangrey.com/2269 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:12:24 -0500 http://gangrey.com/2269 [...] ]]> Al's Morning Meeting: Recommendation for Fewer PAP Screens Sure to Set Off Controversy http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=2&aid=173900 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:32:38 -0500 http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=2&aid=173900 [...] ]]> Working With Words: After All, It Worked ... http://workingwithwords.blogspot.com/2009/11/after-all-it-worked-pretty-well-for-him.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:56:00 -0500 http://workingwithwords.blogspot.com/2009/11/after-all-it-worked-pretty-well-for-him.html After All, It Worked
Pretty Well For Him

'Try not to become a man of success but a man of value.'
--Albert Einstein. Like most of what the great one did and said, this seemingly simple maxim contains deeper layers of insight. How are you [...] ]]> The Grammarphobia Blog: The daffydils of Broadway http://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2009/11/daffydils-of-broadway.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:10:00 -0500 http://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2009/11/daffydils-of-broadway.html
A: "Lullaby of Broadway" celebrates "The rumble of the [...] ]]> Untold Stories: Kerala: Between the ?icon? and the ?supremo? http://pulitzercenter.typepad.com/untold_stories/2009/11/kerala-between-the-icon-and-the-supremo.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:38:47 -0500 http://pulitzercenter.typepad.com/untold_stories/2009/11/kerala-between-the-icon-and-the-supremo.html

Karl E. Meyer and Shareen Brysac, for the Pulitzer Center 

Cricket Beach cricket, Kannur

Kannur, November 19 ? Cricket in India is not just a pastime, it is a passion. This was confirmed afresh as we arrived today in Kannur, a seaside city on the northern coast of [...] ]]> headsup: the blog: Intent vs. deed http://headsuptheblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/intent-vs-deed.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:05:00 -0500 http://headsuptheblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/intent-vs-deed.html A defensive lapse at Wichita gives the annoying weasel Todd Tiahrt a free shot at his opponent's fusebox. Let's have a look, in case something similar crops up around the country.

The problem isn't the story, which manages to note in the second graf [...] ]]> Al's Morning Meeting: "Authenticated Streaming" Could Change Broadcast TV http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=2&aid=173762 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:49 -0500 http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=2&aid=173762 is about to usher in a sea change for television through technology called "authenticated streaming." It is expected to launch nationwide to 15 million customers before Dec. 11.

In short, this technology will allow you to watch television programs on your broadband-connected computer. [...] ]]> Words at Work: Hitting the Nail on the Head http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/fenX/~3/COIUrOHwRxE/hitting-nail-on-head.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:51:00 -0500 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/fenX/~3/COIUrOHwRxE/hitting-nail-on-head.html The Colorado Springs Independent has a stinging piece on Freedom Communications and its outsourcing of staff work. This editor really says it all but read the whole piece.  "Companies always screw their employees, unless it's a company who realizes its value is in having intellectual property," says Al Lewis, award-winning columnist [...] ]]> Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing: 197 GG "Where" Versus "In Which" http://traffic.libsyn.com/grammar/grammar197_where-vs-in.mp3 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:48:45 -0500 http://traffic.libsyn.com/grammar/grammar197_where-vs-in.mp3 [...] ]]> Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing: ?Where? Versus ?In Which? http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/where-versus-in-whichadverbs.aspx Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:24:00 -0500 http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/where-versus-in-whichadverbs.aspx [...] ]]> headsup: the blog: Eek, a Jayhawk http://headsuptheblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/eek-jayhawk.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:35:00 -0500 http://headsuptheblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/eek-jayhawk.html And this just in* from MSNBC's sports desk: Kansas eeks win!

Tnx to Sean for the screen grab. Now stay tuned for UNC vs. OSU.

* OK, "just in yesterday" -- busy times around the old manse. [...] ]]> The Engine Room: The city of Derby, Iowa: population 131 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/engineroom/~3/Cf1Cqs1r2M4/city-of-derby-iowa-population-131.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:08:00 -0500 http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/engineroom/~3/Cf1Cqs1r2M4/city-of-derby-iowa-population-131.html The Wikipedia page on Derby, Iowa begins:

Derby is a city in Lucas County, Iowa, United States. The population was 131 at the 2000 census.


A city with 131 inhabitants! That made me laugh. Even St David's, the UK's smallest city, has a population of 1,800 (ish).
[...] ]]> Al's Morning Meeting: California Restricts TV Sales to Energy-Efficient Models http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=2&aid=173777 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:02:11 -0500 http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=2&aid=173777 California Energy Commission voted to increase the energy-efficiency requirements for televisions. In fact, the rules that begin in 2011 and take full effect in 2013 are so strict that only a fourth of the televisions currently on the market meet them. Trends like this often start [...] ]]> headsup: the blog: Lying with (other people's) stats, ch. LXXVII http://headsuptheblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/lying-with-other-peoples-stats-ch.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:54:00 -0500 http://headsuptheblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/lying-with-other-peoples-stats-ch.html What are you supposed to do when you want to report on a survey, but the numbers don't quite say what you want them to? Listen and attend as the Fair 'n' Balanced Network offers two solutions:
1) Ignore inconvenient numbers
2) Lie about [...] ]]> Gangrey.com: Killing Time http://gangrey.com/2268 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:12:21 -0500 http://gangrey.com/2268 [...] ]]> Untold Stories: Sixty hours of terror: The attack on Mumbai http://pulitzercenter.typepad.com/untold_stories/2009/11/sixty-hours-of-terror-part-four-of-a-fourpart-series-on-the-november-2008-terror-attacks-in-mumbai.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:58:30 -0500 http://pulitzercenter.typepad.com/untold_stories/2009/11/sixty-hours-of-terror-part-four-of-a-fourpart-series-on-the-november-2008-terror-attacks-in-mumbai.html

Jason Motlagh, Special to the Pulitzer Center

Virginia Quarterly Review



Over the past two years the Pulitzer Center has supported Jason Motlagh's reporting from south Asia, working in collaboration with print and broadcast outlets to produce extraordinary projects on India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. Over the next four [...] ]]> The Grammarphobia Blog: The exact same time http://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2009/11/exact-same-time.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:10:00 -0500 http://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2009/11/exact-same-time.html [...] ]]> Working With Words: The Act of Writing As an Exercise ... http://workingwithwords.blogspot.com/2009/11/act-of-writing-as-exercise-in-honesty.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:48:00 -0500 http://workingwithwords.blogspot.com/2009/11/act-of-writing-as-exercise-in-honesty.html The Act of Writing As an Exercise in Honesty

'Somehow, when we start writing, all the lies we told ourselves, all the deceptions and mistaken beliefs that we held up as a shield, are challenged. We can do it in prose or poetry, in fiction or non-fiction, in a [...] ]]> Triangle Grammar Guide: Word of the year: Unfriend http://blogs.newsobserver.com/grammar/word-of-the-year-unfriend Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:05:03 -0500 http://blogs.newsobserver.com/grammar/word-of-the-year-unfriend

Oxford University Press, publisher of the New Oxford American Dictionary, has chosen "unfriend" as the word of the year for 2009. Here is the definition, according to the OUP blog:

unfriend ? verb ? To remove someone as a ?friend? on a social networking site such as Facebook.

Of [...] ]]>