tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64080332024-03-07T02:51:27.620-05:00Common Sense JournalismAn extension of the Common Sense Journalism monthly column by Doug Fisher, former broadcaster, newspaper reporter and wire service editor. From new media to old, much of journalism is just plain common sense.Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.comBlogger2329125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-944899196560968752024-02-10T13:16:00.001-05:002024-02-13T10:20:26.739-05:00AP Photographer Lou Krasky -- A Remembrance <p>CORRECTS that Lou joined AP in 1968, not 1986.</p><p>I'm sad to report today that longtime AP photographer Lou Krasky has died at 86.</p><p>Services are Tuesday noon at Shives Funeral Home on Trenholm.</p><p><a href="https://www.shivesfuneralhome.com/m/obituaries/Louis-Krasky/MemorialEvents">https://www.shivesfuneralhome.com/m/obituaries/Louis-Krasky/MemorialEvents</a></p><p>Lou joined the Columbia, SC, bureau in 1968 and retired in 2004. For nine years as news editor I had the pleasure -- no, the honor -- of working with "Krasky" (a bit of affectionate shorthand from our shared NY City upbringing -- it seems sadly appropriate that this is where I am writing this today).</p><p>Lou knew everyone and was warmly greated by governors, senators, and pols of all stripes when he showed up. He also was a journalist in the truest sense with an eye for who was where and what was out of place. The result was that he saved all our bacon more than a few times by helping us grab a tough interview or sidling over and whispering, "Hey, you may want to ..."</p><p>He was a master at getting the tough shot and had a list of stringers and a rapport with them and member photographers that any photo agency would have killed for.</p><p>He defined the word "dependable." Whether it was coverage of a routine news conference or of Susan Smith; Shannon Faulkner, the first woman at the Citadel; the killing of Michael Jordan's father; the lowering of the Confederate flag at the Statehouse; or numerous hurricanes, Lou always had our backs. I knew I could concentrate on overall coverage and Lou would be transmitting or overseeing transmission of the exactly right photo at the exactly right time.</p><p>And, yes, he took pity on me by letting me golf with him.</p><p>As former AP colleague Jeffrey Collins said when he texted me the news, "They stopped making them like Lou."</p><p>Here is something I wrote when Lou retired in 2004.</p><p><a href="https://commonsensej.blogspot.com/2004/10/krasky-has-left-building.html">https://commonsensej.blogspot.com/2004/10/krasky-has-left-building.html</a></p>Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-25059862844771049642023-09-09T13:46:00.001-04:002023-09-09T16:58:06.618-04:00Newsrooms using AI to make some money off local archives? It's poisible, but ...<p> This is interesting. Should newsrooms train chatbots on their own content in an attempt to capture traffic from answering locally oriented questions/research (and some $$ in the process)?</p><p><a href="https://rjionline.org/news/building-a-chatbot-trained-on-your-newsrooms-content/">https://rjionline.org/news/building-a-chatbot-trained-on-your-newsrooms-content/</a></p><p>It's an intriguing concept, but I'd suggest that except for the largest legacy newsrooms, one's content is not enough to provide the comprehensiveness (breadth and historical depth) to avoid bias and minimize troubling artifacts. That's especially because we know how bad many "print" newsrooms have been at preserving content and digitizing older materials. Broadcast is even worse.</p><p>But a local cooperative where everyone can get a share of the proceeds might work, though we also know hard those have been to put together in recent years.</p><p>(And before you ask, I can see big chains trying to do it across their properties, but thats's not the point here, and I actually don't think it would work that well. Do I really want to search across Gannett? Or do I really want to go deep across South Succotash? I'd suggest it's the latter.)</p><p>This is where libraries could have a key role as nucleii oi such efforts. But, again, we know how difficult it is to get a buch of like-minded (as in make money) news orgs to cooperate. Throw a nonprofit/governmental org into the mix and it becomes exponentially complicated, with the chances of the for-profit orgs sloughing off stuff on the NP.</p><p><br /></p><div><br /></div>Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-90916101815187964002023-09-01T12:47:00.003-04:002023-09-01T12:47:41.201-04:00Student journalism, statehouse reporting and community news<p>A couple of interesting things today from the University of Vermont's Center for Community News for faculty involved in running or developing community news projects and especially those trying to fill the loss of statehouse reporting.</p><p><b>Statehouse reporting report</b></p><p>The decline in statehouse reporting across the US has been well- documented. It's also been documented how damaging this is to public knowledge since it can be argued that what hapoens at state legislatures has far more impact on people than what happens in Congress or at City Hall.</p><p>University journalism journalism programs have in some cases stepped in to fill the gap. The University of Vermont's Center for Community News now counts about 20 such programs.</p><p>The center has put out a report taking a deep look at such programs. It's worth downloading.</p><p><span style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="https://www.uvm.edu/sites/default/files/Center-for-Community-News/pdfs/Final_Statehouse_Report_HK_3.31.2023.pdf">https://www.uvm.edu/sites/default/files/Center-for-Community-News/pdfs/Final_Statehouse_Report_HK_3.31.2023.pdf</a></span></p><p><b>Resources for faculty</b></p><p>There are a couple of interesting community journalism conferences this month <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/ccn/events">https://www.uvm.edu/ccn/events</a></p><p>One focuses on university-sponsored news operations covering statehouses Sept. 28-30 at Missouri.</p><p>The other (Sept. 8 online) is aimed at improving the faculty resources page put out by the Center for Community News. You can find the page here. </p><p> <a href="https://www.uvm.edu/ccn/faculty-resources">https://www.uvm.edu/ccn/faculty-resources</a></p>Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-75434403076543598092023-03-08T12:44:00.002-05:002023-03-08T12:44:26.241-05:00Refocusing a lede<p> In the rush on breaking news, we often get our syntactical feet tangled up. Happens to all of us.</p><p>Here's a lede that could use rework.</p><p>-- Have police been violating rights only following the investigation?</p><p>-- Is the Justice Department the most important thing?</p><p></p><blockquote>LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department has found Louisville police have engaged in a pattern of violating constitutional rights following an investigation prompted by the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor.</blockquote><p></p><p>Perhaps this as one possibility?</p><p></p><blockquote>LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville police have consistently violated constitutional rights, the U.S. Justice Department says after an investigation prompted by the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor.</blockquote><p></p>Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-29247360394121680232023-03-05T16:25:00.002-05:002023-03-05T16:33:39.839-05:00Using a parallel series for more powerful writing<p> Whew, the first sentence of this graf in an AP story requires some mental mastication through its 43 words.</p><p>Let's dissect how judicious use of parallel elements in series can produce tighter, more powerful writing that most of all is easier on readers.</p><p></p><blockquote>In the process, true crime enthusiasts, concerned onlookers and many others found the latest subject of their fascination in the yearslong unraveling of a mystery that jurors weighed in a six-week trial that culminated in a deliberation that took less than three hours. Murdaugh, 54, received life in prison at a Friday morning sentencing.</blockquote><p></p><p>The sentence uses a somewhat parallel structure built around the decreasing time elements, but it's blurred because the time element is obscured or changes form as we go along.</p><p>-- yearslong unraveling of a mystery (establishes a form for readers, time-object in a nice tight phrase)</p><p>-- that jurors weighed in a six-week trial (six-week trial keeps the time-object pattern but it's pushed back and obscured by the verbiage in front)</p><p>-- that culminated in a deliberation that took less than three hours (reverses the pattern to object-time; might be "less than three hours of deliberation" or "a less than three-hour deliberation,"* but the verbiage still obscures the power of the decreasing time elements).</p><p>It might be better formed as a clear series:</p><p></p><blockquote>In the process, true-crime enthusiasts, concerned onlookers and many others found the latest subject of their fascination in a yearslong unraveling of a mystery, a six-week trial, and less than three hours of jury deliberation. Murdaugh, 54, received life in prison at a Friday morning sentencing.</blockquote><p></p><p>The very structure itself leads to a culmination, a form of "show," which we know is almost always more powerful that "tell."</p><p>That's also 35 words, 20% shorter, 36 if you don't hyphenate "true crime." But I would argue for hyphenation because what's being said is enthuiasts of true crime, not true enthusiasts of crime.</p><p>* "A less than three-hour jury deliberation" is a tad shorter, but it does seem a bit forced, and the short-short-longer structure is a long-used one. And the last part allows readers to catch a mental breath before moving on.</p><p><br /></p><p>The story is at <a href="https://apnews.com/article/alex-murdaugh-murder-trial-4f1116609e6c49115f45616121961997" target="_blank">https://apnews.com/article/alex-murdaugh-murder-trial-4f1116609e6c49115f45616121961997</a></p>Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-61461029858160034262022-10-22T18:50:00.001-04:002022-10-22T18:50:05.300-04:00How mosquitoes smell story shows the need for context in science journalism<div><span>The numerous stories this week about how some people are mosquito magnets highlight some things that are right with science and science journalism, but some weakness as well.</span><br /><br /><span>Let's start with this, which is a release from Rockefeller University. It's dated 10/22, though I'm not sure why since the study (<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2022.07.024">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2022.07.024</a>) was published in July, unless the site is one of those that perniciously shows you the current date whenever you open it, a very bad practice.</span><br /><br /><a class="x1edh9d7 xmper1u x1fey0fg" href="https://scitechdaily.com/unlocking-the-mystery-how-mosquitoes-smell-humans/"><span>https://scitechdaily.com/unlocking-the-mystery-how-mosquitoes-smell-humans/</span></a><br /><br /><span>The good in it and some of the stories that were generated from it: It illustrates the iterative nature of science, in this case how a researcher, Leslie Vosshall, who has been key to development of one theory (of how mosquitoes "smell" human odors) is not afraid, with new research to say, hey, maybe that's not right.</span><br /><br /><span>The not so good: The release, unfortunately, (and as a result, some of the stories) just uses a throw-away graf to mention the post doc researcher, Meg Younger, who was central to the discovery of how mosquitoes smell. (And, as is often the way of the world in science, she is also listed last on the paper, though a note says she and eight other authors contributed equally.)</span><br /><br /><span>To NPR's credit (in August), it zeroed in on that researcher and the importance of her work (<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/08/18/1118137632/mosquitoes-surprise-researcher-with-their-weird-sense-of-smell">https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2022/08/18/1118137632/mosquitoes-surprise-researcher-with-their-weird-sense-of-smell</a>).</span><br /><br /><span>I don't remember hearing so much about that first paper, which appears to be foundational and provides important context to this week's stories A search limited from 8/1 to 8/30 shows mostly non-trad or very specialized sites on the first SERP, with only NPR and The Atlantic representing mainstream media. </span><br /><br /><span>(Search on "mosquitoes smell," open ended with no quote marks.)</span><br /><br /><span>Contrast that with this week and another paper in the same journal (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2022.09.034) from the same lab that is attracting a lot of media attention. AP, the Washington Post, CNN, USA Today, the NY Post, CBS, and Euronews have all turned up at the top of the SERP depending on when I've searched and what search engine.</span><br /><br /><span>Granted, the current paper is a lot sexier and more focused on the finding that a particular chemical emitted by humans sends mosquitoes a signal the buffet is open. Even given the science speak, the title of the most recent paper, "Differential mosquito attraction to humans is associated with skin-derived carboxylic acid levels," is more approachable than that of the first paper, "Non canonical odor coding in the mosquito."</span><br /><br /><span>But if you read the current crop of stories, you might come away with the sense that if we can just get rid of that chemical (you can't; it's vital to your health) or mask it or somehow modify mosquito genetics, we can solve this.</span><br /><br /><span>Problem is, in the current crop of stories you will be hard-pressed to find any sense of iteration, that the July paper laid a critical groundwork and introduces some complications. (That paper, if you read it or the NPR story, basically says the old model scientists had that there is one neuron for every type of smell doesn't work with mosquitoes whose neurons apparently are Swiss Army knives when it comes to picking up smells. Thus, they can adapt.)</span><br /><br /><span>The only glancing reference to this at the bottom of the AP story </span><a class="x1edh9d7 xmper1u x1fey0fg" href="https://apnews.com/article/why-some-people-get-more-mosquito-bites-a221709809aadd0b27a47c4a32c8921b"><span>https://apnews.com/article/why-some-people-get-more-mosquito-bites-a221709809aadd0b27a47c4a32c8921b</span></a><span> (on which many others were based or just simply relayed) is this:</span><br /><br /></div><div><span></span><blockquote><span> "The study proved this point: Researchers also did the experiment with mosquitoes whose genes were edited to damage their sense of smell. The bugs still flocked to the same mosquito magnets.</span><br /><br /><span> 'Mosquitoes are resilient,' Vosshall said. 'They have many backup plans to be able to find us and bite us.'" (Vosshall is the lab head.)</span></blockquote><span></span><br /><span> The problem: Even with this buried at the bottom, the lack of more complete iterative context (which should be summarized somewhere higher up even if expanded on here) may leave people thinking solutions are easier than they are.</span><br /><br /><span>This provides a good illustration because many of the other variables are controlled for. Both papers were in the same journal, they both come from the same lab, and they both cover aspects of the same topic.</span><br /><br /><span>So it would have been nice, I think, to acknowledge the earlier work and Younger's importance to it and put in a graf or two saying how the latest paper advances, expands, modifies, etc , that earlier work, or provide clearer context as to why that earlier work complicates things going forward.</span><br /><br /><span>Such things can easily become insipid boilerplate, but if done well can help provide reinforcement that science is iterative, not a wowser "new" all the time.</span><br /><br /><span>So it's good to keep in mind when seeing MSM science coverage that with their tendency to be like moths to a flame -- timing, one outlet that everyone follows deciding to pick it up, a better PR effort, etc. -- what seems "new" might not be quite so much when put in context.</span><br /><br /><span>Part of this comes from my thesis that some of our covid issues, political and social aside, come from failing to provide that context of what's come before. I think a fair chunk of the public has come to see science as a one-and-done thing (for lack of a better term). That leads to the unrealistic expectation, in covid for instance, of quick answers and miracle cures, and when they aren't forthcoming because things tend not to be absolutes but statistical improvements (i.e., the vaccines don't prevent covid, they increase your chances of not getting it, and if you do, of surviving or avoiding long-term effects), the false impression leaves a big opening for the charlatans.</span></div>Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-81462059962268986752021-03-02T12:11:00.000-05:002021-03-02T12:11:52.633-05:00A bit of backstory on the Vernon Jordan shooting<p> With the word today of civil rights leader Vernon Jordan's death (<a href="https://apnews.com/article/bill-clinton-vernon-jordan-archive-9ca12262adc98e0d6615c67432b6fdbf "><span class="py34i1dx"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-2-0"><span data-text="true">https://apnews.com/article/bill-clinton-vernon-jordan-archive-9ca12262adc98e0d6615c67432b6fdbf</span></span></span><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-3-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></a>), I thought I'd share a bit of back story on the reporting around the attempt to assassinate him in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where I was working as a reporter in 1980.</p><p>Those were heady times, with a lot more access than we have today, but journalism still is about having that mentality that you're going to get the story, whatever it takes.</p><p></p><p>-----------------------------------</p><div data-contents="true"><div class="bi6gxh9e" data-block="true" data-editor="d4t0" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-text="true"></span></span></span><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> I was deeply involved in covering his shooting in Fort Wayne, for instance breaking results of the police interview of Martha Coleman, the woman he was with. </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true">She had been secreted away, and trying to get any information out of that hermetically sealed environment was, to put it mildly, difficult. We knew she'd been interviewed extensively and possibly given a polygraph. We HAD to get the results. The Times, NY Daily News and what seemed like half the nation's other major media had set up shop in the Journal-Gazette newsroom and were trying to pry out the same info. </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true">I finally told Dana Heupel, the city editor, I thought I could get it. </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true">The Oyster Bar on Calhoun Street was both a cop/prosecutor hangout (back room) and a press bar (front room). We mingled, and the rules of engagement were what happened and was said there stayed there. </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true">But this was different. This wasn't some local scandal, it was international news. </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true">I knew the prosecutor handling the case would be there. He and his wife were, along with another couple. I walked up to the table, made my apologies, flipped a chair around from the next table, looked at him and said, "We need to talk." </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true">Over the next 10 minutes (possibly aided by a drink or two before I arrived), he pretty much told me everything, much of it on the record.
I raced back to the newsroom. </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true">The issue then was keeping it secret while I typed the story on deadline on my Selectric with all the prying eyes and ears around.
But we managed to get it through the process and onto the front page unnoticed, and it was sweet to see the national corps swear profusely when the paper came out. </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true">The J-G got the drop on the initial story in a twist too. </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true">I had left WPTA-TV as assignment editor not long before. At 2 a.m., the phone rang in our apartment. ABC had my number from the affiliates' news operation directory and was on the line. </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true">What did I know about Jordan's shooting? Hadn't heard about it, but I would scramble, I said. I think I might have forgotten to mention I was now at the paper.
I immediately called Dana. His wife answered.</span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true">"It's Doug Fisher. Sorry to call at this hour. But I need to talk to Dana. It's a big story." </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true">I heard her wake Dana. "Dana. It's Doug. He says he has a big story."</span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true">"It damn well better be," I heard in the background.</span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true">A groggy and obviously annoyed Dana comes on the line. </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true">"What is it?" </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true">"Vernon Jordan's been shot." </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true">Pause. </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true">"What?" </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true">"Vernon Jordan, the civil right leader's been shot. At the Marriott." </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true">"Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit." </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true">After that day, we had the "Oh, shit" scale for the importance of a breaking news event. </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true">Little remembered is this was debut weekend of CNN and its first major live effort when President Carter visited Jordan at Parkview Hospital (around the block from where we lived).</span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-1-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div><div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a6ocj-0-0"><span class="py34i1dx"><span data-offset-key="a6ocj-4-0"><span data-text="true"><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2012/02/23/opinion/harber-cnn-32-years/index.html "><span class="py34i1dx"><span data-offset-key="6pcig-4-0"><span data-text="true">https://www.cnn.com/2012/02/23/opinion/harber-cnn-32-years/index.html</span></span></span> </a><br /></span></span></span></div></div></div>Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0Fort Wayne, IN, USA41.079273 -85.139351312.769039163821155 -120.2956013 69.389506836178839 -49.9831013tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-46719503889477770722018-08-29T11:47:00.002-04:002018-08-29T12:47:11.836-04:00Cannot vs. would not commentFairly regularly, I see sentences like this in stories:<br />
<br />
"Mayor Jane Darby said she cannot comment because the lawsuit is ongoing." (<a href="https://www.southcarolinaradionetwork.com/2018/08/28/group-sues-edisto-beach-after-town-bans-religious-worship-services-from-its-civic-center/" target="_blank">Group sues Edisto Beach after town bans religious worship services from its civic center</a>)<br />
<br />
She certainly can comment if she wants to, unless there is a clear policy, law, etc., that prevents her.<br />
<br />
And
maybe there is. But too often stories say an official said he or she
"cannot" comment. Often, a stock phrase that like "because the lawsuit
is ongoing" is thrown in - phrases that when you parse them really don't
say much.<br />
<br />
And that subtly makes us complicit in one of
the favorite parlor games of many politicians and too many public
officials: linguistic obfuscation.<br />
<br />
She <i>would not comment</i>. It's a conscious decision. We should make clear to readers/users that's the case.<br />
<br />
If an official says he or she <i>can't</i> comment, then the conversation should be like this:<br />
<br />
Them: I'm sorry, I can't comment on that.<br />
<br />
You: Why is that?<br />
<br />
Them: It's an ongoing legal case.<br />
<br />
You: Yes, but why can't you comment? Is there a policy or is this your decision.<br />
<br />
Them: I just don't comment on ongoing cases.<br />
<br />
You: OK, then you would not comment. I understand.<br />
<br />
If, OTOH, there's this:<br />
<br />
You: Yes, but why can't you comment? Is there a policy or is this your decision?<br />
<br />
Them: Yes, we have a policy against commenting in such cases.<br />
<br />
You: Oh, is that a written policy? Where can I get a copy of it?<br />
<br />
Them: Uh ....<br />
<br />
Then
I'd probably still say the person would not comment and cited a (fill in
your governing body) policy against talking about ongoing legal cases.
(And you should continue pressing for that policy, just because ...)<br />
<br />
If
the person were able to produce details of that policy or say it was on
the advice of a lawyer, etc., then "can't" is closer to acceptable. But
you now know details of why and should tell folks.<br />
<br />
And even then, I think I'd favor "would not" with the explanation.<br />
<br />
The
only times I think "cannot" is clearly called for is when there are
legal repercussions if the person talks. So if the mayor says she can't
comment because of a judge's gag order or she can't comment because
state law says officials can't talk about such and such, then OK.<br />
<br />
In most cases, whether to comment is a decision made with free will,
which takes "would." Even with a "policy," a person usually is free to
decide to ignore it. (All the time we use anonymous sources who are doing
just that, don't we? So that little nicety doesn't seem to trouble us.) <br />
<br />
"Can't"
seldom should be used, and when it is it should always have solid
explanation, not just a tossed-off stock phrase, because the subtle but
important implication is that the decision is being taken out of the
person's hands. If we acquiesce, it provides a veil of plausible
deniability. It's a reason pols and public officials like to use it,
just as they adore the passive ("mistakes were made").<br />
<br />
Our job isn't to provide linguistic cover.<br />
<br />
<br />
(Usage notes:<br />
<br />
-
The widely established form is "declined to", not just "declined,"
comment. You decline something offered to you (another piece of pie,
perhaps), but you decline to offer something (in this case, a comment)
to someone else. The argument could be that you are declining the chance
to comment, shortened to declined comment, but that's really not the
sense of the interaction. And why even use that bureaucratic form when
"would not" is perfectly fine?<br />
<br />
- Avoid "refused" - the
connotation has overtones of malice on your part. But if you catch his
or her honor carting away a bag of money and you ask what's up and all
you get is stony silence, then, yeah, "refused" might fit the bill.)Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-72961385646932172622018-04-30T11:16:00.001-04:002018-04-30T11:17:14.714-04:00AP style change - collide<div class="_5pbx userContent _22jv _3576" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">
Buried in some of the AP style change entries last week was a bit of common sense:<br />
<br />
Two objects now don't have to be in motion to <b>collide</b>: The previous
entry stated "two objects must be in motion before they can collide. A
moving train cannot collide with a stopped train." Now, "We dropped the
previous rule that two objects must be in motion before they can
collide. The entry has been deleted."<br />
<br />
<b>Homepage</b> is also now one word, in keeping with a lot of evolving online usage. </div>
Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-88145650113882351682017-09-06T12:20:00.001-04:002017-09-06T12:24:40.738-04:00Screw transparency - two lessons in hidden government and the piggy bankI'd call your attention today from two stories from Columbia, S.C., that show how public officials do their best to hide the money that flows from the government "piggy bank."<br />
<br />
<b>Our first exhibit</b><br />
<br />
A<a href="https://thenerve.org/and-poof-nuke-econ-develop-gone-too/" target="_blank"> story from The Nerve </a>on how EnginuitySC appears to be quietly stepping away from its much-touted nuclear initiative now that the V.C. Summer nuclear project has collapsed. But of even more interest to me is the info, deep in the story, that this government-backed nonprofit has contracted out its management to a firm, <a href="http://sagaciouspartners.com/about-us/team/" target="_blank">Sagacious Partners</a>, run by Engenuity's current and former directors.<br />
<br />
(Also interesting to me is that Sagacious manages to neglect to mention Engenuity anywhere in its partners' bios that I can see (a search on the page turned up nada). And, yes, <a href="http://www.engenuitysc.com/" target="_blank">EngenuitySC</a> is a quasi-public agency - it's often referenced that way in government reports and budgets, and it has received millions of state money, which makes it subject to the FOIA.)<br />
<br />
The effect of contracting out management is to hide the actual salaries under a lump-sum payment to Sagacious (though an FOIA for the contract might be revealing, but not necessarily -- see the next entry). I invite you to tool through <a href="http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2016/352/321/2016-352321058-0d91c9e0-9.pdf" target="_blank">Engenuity's Form 990 tax return </a>that The Nerve helpfully has linked to.<br />
<br />
<b>Our second exhibit ...</b><br />
<br />
Comes from the investigative site Quorum Columbia, where investigative reporter Ron Aiken dropped an open records request on Richland County for details of what it's paid in legal bills recently.<br />
<br />
The total? About $5 million.<br />
<br />
Except the county <a href="http://quorumcolumbia.org/2017/09/06/documents-show-richland-county-paid-5m-to-outside-law-firms-over-past-year/" target="_blank">won't say what it paid for</a>. It redacted all the details.<br />
<br />
The site is by subscription, but here's an excerpt: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Quorum’s review of the County’s legal spending from May 2016 to August 2017 showed payments to:<br />
<ul>
<li>McNair Law Firm (governmental affairs), $354,689</li>
<li>Gignilliat Savitz & Bettis (employment and labor law), $252,125</li>
<li>Attorney Malane S. Pike (governmental affairs, property tax/assessment issues), $260,933</li>
<li>Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough (governmental affairs), $45,104</li>
<li>Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein (governmental affairs, accounting and finance compliance), $207,979</li>
<li>Willoughby & Hoefer (governmental affairs), $3,874,488.</li>
</ul>
The amounts are easy to discover.<br />
The work performed for them is not.<br />
For this story Quorum asked for both the latest invoice and copy of
the contract between the County and each of the firms listed. In the 44
pages provided, any and every mention of specific work performed by a
firm on invoices submitted was completely redacted. The only information
even hinting at the nature of the work came in generalized summaries in
the original contracts between the firms and the County, some of which
were signed long after the firm or individual was receiving large,
regular payments from the County.</blockquote>
Here's an example:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgp634vJAV2LK_n7UMTHWdoDeGcfezkqZFqDSbBtTH6_VYzd7krurnNmW8kUvzQ7-QjPmpEMT53phOyPF-osJmzJuSWe3Fwe9zeudCRfyJZQucRuhtRY50atBQNEdJMxg-Qxfv/s1600/FOIA_richlandcounty-leagalspending-excerptrdaction.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="676" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgp634vJAV2LK_n7UMTHWdoDeGcfezkqZFqDSbBtTH6_VYzd7krurnNmW8kUvzQ7-QjPmpEMT53phOyPF-osJmzJuSWe3Fwe9zeudCRfyJZQucRuhtRY50atBQNEdJMxg-Qxfv/s320/FOIA_richlandcounty-leagalspending-excerptrdaction.png" width="256" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
As pointed out in the story, there's a real question here about flagrant abuse of the attorney-client privilege exemption, not to mention that taxpayers footed these bills for outside counsel when the county also has a well-paid legal office. (Aiken also provided a link to a <a href="http://quorumcolumbia.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Rich-Co-Legal-Qstn-ompleted-FOI-Request-Aiken-R-8.29.17.pdf" target="_blank">PDF of the full county response</a>. It's a beauty of redaction to behold.)<br />
<br />
Just a reminder that even when <a href="http://scstatehouse.gov/code/t30c004.php" target="_blank">a Legislature says clearly that the public's business is supposed to be ... well ... public</a>, that's open to creative interpretation.Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-46667507264792958582017-08-30T11:17:00.002-04:002017-08-30T11:49:26.410-04:00Our media paranoia runneth overThis
was a note in today's Connecting, the daily email newsletter for AP
retirees and others who are interested. For copyright, I won't post the
photos, but have given the links. (This is the <a href="http://connectingarchive.org/" target="_blank">Connecting archive</a>, where a PDF of the issue should eventually show up thanks to Paul Shane, the indefatigable editor.)
<b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>Was this AP photo 'sanitized' by cartoonist?</b> <br />
<br />
Here is HPD SWAT member Daryl Hudeck as he carries Catherine Pham and her son Aiden to safety:
<a href="https://www.apnews.com/e8ee6288b0f7466eaf4743ffee3fbc5a">https://www.apnews.com/e8ee6288b0f7466eaf4743ffee3fbc5a</a><br />
<br />
Here is the Indianapolis Star's Gary Varvel's version of that photo (note,
this is a collection page, so the cartoon may start moving toward the
bottom after a few days).
<a href="http://www.indystar.com/picture-gallery/opinion/columnists/varvel/2017/08/28/gary-varvels-hurricane-cartoons/105043796/">http://www.indystar.com/picture-gallery/opinion/columnists/varvel/2017/08/28/gary-varvels-hurricane-cartoons/105043796/ </a>
A<br />
<br />
And This is what someone wrote in to Connecting:
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu1YxPMke3Udv7tUf9xRfEU3IYwiQgfkNBeb2EjbKCYsitInRCOqkmnmHUVEtJzb9yrV8rHPzDD__4ar02Z1ocrqGYsQEnFQOXWoJ-6ERqIS_mLn-spVcymXgLCz5oXpqsXX-Z/s1600/conencting-note-varvel-cartoon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="620" data-original-width="628" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu1YxPMke3Udv7tUf9xRfEU3IYwiQgfkNBeb2EjbKCYsitInRCOqkmnmHUVEtJzb9yrV8rHPzDD__4ar02Z1ocrqGYsQEnFQOXWoJ-6ERqIS_mLn-spVcymXgLCz5oXpqsXX-Z/s400/conencting-note-varvel-cartoon.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
OK,
we've
officially gone bonkers.<br />
<br />
Yes, cartoonists are supposed to provoke strong
reactions. But to accuse Varvel of "sanitizing" the photo with his
editorial cartoon?
Artists simplify for a reason -- to make a
point. Should Varvel have put "SWAT" or "POLICE" on the cap? (That
wasn't on the original that I can see, though it's hard to make out what
is there.) Perhaps, but then can't it be argued that would marginalize
EMS, firefighters, and all the volunteer rescuers who have headed to
the area to help?<br />
<br />
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="27j99-0-0">
</div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="27j99-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="27j99-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="44fe1-0-0"><span data-text="true">Varvel's
interpretation celebrates the idea that all of humanity, no matter or
race, our occupation or our political persuasion, pulls together in
times of such crisis.<br /><br />He
didn't put the person standing in the back in either? Should all the
other rescuers be annoyed? He didn't put the submerged car in either -
should the automakers be
pissed? He didn't put the highway in. Should the road builders be ticked
off? </span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span data-offset-key="27j99-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="44fe1-0-0"><span data-text="true">We have become paranoid -- looking for a bogeyman and perceived
grievances under every
(media) rock.</span></span></span></span><br />
</div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="27j99-0-0">
</div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="27j99-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="27j99-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="44fe1-0-0"><span data-text="true">This
writer, and others, apparently, who share his views, have tried to
take what I consider a noble image, both the original and Varvel's, and
turn it into yet another point of divisiveness. Fortunately, I think
Varvel's will prevail.</span></span> </span></span></div>
Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-9677567201451516752017-03-24T16:50:00.000-04:002017-03-24T16:52:13.023-04:00Flyer: AP finally bends to common usageThe pressure became too much to bear.<br />
<br />
Time to update those style quizzes. From today's ACES meeting, AP
finally bends to common usage:
<br />
<br />
"AP style now uses flyer with a Y for frequent flyer and advertising
flyer. An exception is 'take a flier,' as in take a risk"<br />
<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/APStylebook/status/845343227435794433">https://twitter.com/APStylebook/status/845343227435794433</a><br />
<br />
The full AP entry:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="example">Flyer</span> is the preferred term for a person flying in an aircraft, and for handbills: <span class="example">He used his frequent flyer miles; they put up flyers announcing the show.</span> Use <span class="example">flier</span> in the phrase <span class="example">take a flier</span>, meaning <span class="example">to take a big risk</span>.
</blockquote>
Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-21777010026364041502017-03-19T22:55:00.000-04:002017-03-19T22:55:36.346-04:00Another SC FOIA audit has too many failing grades It's nice to know that in South Carolina, the more things change, the more things stay the same, at least when it comes to state agencies' arrogance over <a href="http://scstatehouse.gov/code/t30c004.php" target="_blank">the S.C. Freedom of Information Act.</a><br />
<br />
When I supervised the first statewide FOIA audit at the AP almost 20 years ago, we found widespread violations (and even creepier stuff, such as police or sheriff's offices running license plate checks on those asking for basic information that is routinely supposed to be public, even without a request).<br />
<br />
During the years, my reporting classes have routinely tested local police and sheriffs, with the same scofflaws, led by Columbia, at the bottom every time. <br />
<br />
The SC Policy Council <a href="http://www.scpolicycouncil.org/research/transparency/freedom-of-information-in-s-c-an-experiment" target="_blank">recently ran its own limited test</a>. First, the conclusion because it is important and because I don't want it to get lost at the bottom:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
There simply aren’t that many FOIA requests for agencies to deal with.
One of the most popular arguments against tightening the state’s FOIA
law goes something like this: If you require agencies to respond more
substantively to requests, those agencies’ public information offices
will do nothing but respond to fishing expeditions by people looking for
scandal. Our study doesn’t support that conclusion. Only the Department
of Transportation received a significant number of FOIA requests; other
agencies received far fewer. As for DOT, a $2 billion agency with a
robust public information office should be able to handle 400 or 500
requests in a year. </blockquote>
<br />
So here's what the Policy Council did: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
On November 8, 2016, we asked for:
<br />
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
► the number of FOIA requests the agency has received in the past three fiscal years;</div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
► the number of FOIA requests to which the agency the responded by producing documents over the past three fiscal years;</div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
► the names/identities of those who have submitted FOIA requests to the agency in the past three fiscal years;</div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
► an itemized list of each FOIA charge for the past three fiscal years; and</div>
<div style="padding-left: 30px;">
► an itemized list of each FOIA charge
that was collected in the past three fiscal years and a detailed summary
how the funds were spent.</div>
The state agencies were these: Clemson University, the Department of
Commerce, the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of
Education, the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), the State
Ports Authority (SPA), Santee Cooper, the South Carolina Research
Authority (SCRA), the University of South Carolina (USC), the South
Carolina House of Representatives, and the South Carolina Senate.</blockquote>
<br />
The results -- and keep in mind that South Carolina's law has a 15-day limit for the agency to acknowledge the request but no actual time limit on when the agency must produce the records (the grades are mine based on something similar we did with the AP audit):<br />
<ul>
<li> Clemson: Said it got the request, never provided the records. Grade: D</li>
<li>Commerce: Generally provided the information, but cited 52 cases of exemptions. However, Commerce does have a broad exemption for economic development deals in progress. So, even though I'm always somewhat skeptical because that exemption has been abused, give it a good-faith effort. And it did supply requesters' names, so it earned a B.</li>
<li>Transportation: Provided most of the info, but refused to supply the names, citing the law's privacy exemption. Because that privacy claim is doubtful (more on that later), a C+.</li>
<li>Education: Said it got the request, never provided the records. Grade: D</li>
<li>MUSC: Said it got the request, never provided the records. Grade: D</li>
<li>Ports Authority: Responded fully. Grade: A.</li>
<li>Santee Cooper: Responded fully. Grade: A.</li>
<li>Research Authority: Responded fully except for one request. Again, because it deals in areas where the economic development exemption could creep in, grade it A-.</li>
<li>University South Carolina: Did not even respond. Grade: F.</li>
<li>S.C. House: Responded fully within the law's constraints, except that five members pulled the "legislative memoranda, communications, etc." card from the deck and blocked their specific information. Does that exemption rankle? Yes, but it is on the books and at least the House leadership and staff tried. Grade: B.</li>
<li>S.C. Senate: Pulled a blanket memorandum exemption and piled on with the potentially bogus personal privacy exemption. Grade: F </li>
</ul>
So if you're plotting out the grades in this class:<br />
A/A-: 3 .... B+/B: 2 ... C+/C: 1 ... D: 3 ... F: 2<br />
<br />
A D is considered failing in your major, and government agencies' "major," as said clearly at the top of the FOIA and in court decisions, should be serving the public interest with disclosure. That 45% of the class has failed says a lot. On the other hand, there are also 45% A's and B's, which were rare in the original audit. So <i>dum spiero spero</i>.<br />
<br />
But in this, the "So Sue Me (repeatedly, most likely) State," it has been difficult to get lawmakers, even those intent on improving the FOIA, to understand the extent to which the privacy exemption is being abused - and the extent to which the abuse is growing.<br />
<br />
The Columbia Police Department is <a href="http://commonsensej.blogspot.com/2012/01/columbia-police-really-that-clueless.html" target="_blank">the champ in this area, blocking records that clearly should be open, even without a request</a>. But there are plenty of other agencies and departments not far behind.<br />
<br />
That link has a detailed discussion. But a quick recap:<br />
<ul>
<li>Private information in public records must be segregated and the rest released.</li>
<li>S.C. courts have shown an inclination to narrowly construe any privacy exemption and certainly not extend it to matters of any public interest. (The attorney general's office looked at the court record and basically told a sheriff to <a href="http://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/06may23tanner.pdf" target="_blank">stop trying to invent exemptions, including privacy</a>.) A crime victim would seem to be, as unfortunate as this is, a person of limited public interest. So would a person, to my mind, making an FOIA request:</li>
<blockquote>
As the state Appeals Court put it in<a href="http://www.sccourts.org/opinions/HTMLFiles/COA/3771.htm" target="_blank"> the Burton case:</a> Our Supreme Court has defined the “right to privacy” as the right
of an individual to be let alone and to live a life free from unwarranted publicity.
<u>Sloan v. South Carolina Dep’t of Pub. Safety</u>, 355 S.C. 321, 586 S.E.2d
108 (2003). However, “‘one of the primary limitations placed on the right of
privacy is that it does not prohibit the publication of matter which is of legitimate
public or general interest.’” <u>Society of Prof’l Journalists v. Sexton</u>,
283 S.C. 563, 566, 324 S.E.2d 313, 315 (1984) (quoting <u>Meetze v. Associated
Press</u>, 230 S.C. 330, 95 S.E.2d 606 (1956)). Indeed, the Court has held
that, as a matter of law, “if a person, whether willingly or not, becomes an
actor in an event of public or general interest, ‘then the publication of his
connection with such an occurrence is not an invasion of his right to privacy.’”
<u>Doe v. Berkeley Publishers</u>, 329 S.C. 412, 414, 496 S.E.2d 636, 637 (1998)
(quoting <u>Meetze</u>, 230 S.C. at 337, 95 S.E.2d at 609). </blockquote>
<li>Who is making FOIA requests is a matter public interest, both to see if a handful of requesters are flooding the system and as another check on power and influence. Institutions (companies, foundations, etc.) generally don't spend their time and money making FOIA requests unless they are researching a matter of deep interest to them, which also usually means it or will become a matter of public interest.</li>
</ul>
I know bad cases make bad law -- I'm always afraid of that. And nothing is a slam dunk when it comes to privacy, especially in these days of national security hacking and wiretap revelations.<br />
<br />
But I sure wish some player with enough resources to wait out what could be a protracted court case can find a named plaintiff and take on one of these "failing" agencies or the Columbia cops. Until then, periodic FOIA audits are likely to be South Carolina's own "Groundhog Day."<br />
<br />
<ul>
</ul>
Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-7580464360135476572017-02-04T12:42:00.001-05:002017-02-04T12:42:52.162-05:00Buried treasures in Trump's ordersThe coverage of President Trump's executive orders has been intense and informative.<br />
<br />
Yet I can think of no other time that it is incumbent on us as journalists -- and just as citizens or plain old human beings -- to <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/executive-orders" target="_blank">read the texts </a>of those orders (I'd encourage you to bookmark that link) and ponder (and seek a range of informed guidance on) what they really say. This means every journalist because, as we've seen already, the tentacles of these have the potential to reach into almost every community.<br />
<br />
I know, it is a lot to ask in a world already demanding too much of our time and mental processing power. But while the media coverage (and what we filter from it) gives us the most salient, emotional points, these orders are filled with gifts that have the potential to keep on giving (tongue firmly planted in cheek, lest you interpret that as an endorsement).<br />
<br />
For instance, in one of Trump's immigration orders (there are at least three, if you count the one primarily dealing with the border wall) is language prompting our t<a href="http://www.politico.com/agenda/story/2017/02/trump-vetting-executive-order-immigration-000293" target="_blank">ypical sky is (well could be) falling stories</a>.<br />
<br />
The alarm is well-placed, but you also need to put it in wider context and understanding of the system. Such stories tend to rouse the populace for a relative instant, but the process is a long grind that requires constant vigilance. What usually happens is that the emotion subsides, we move on to other things, and the long, slow engagement is left to the lawyers and lobbyists (and a few journalists, if we are lucky) whose natural habitat is deep in the muck (that swamp Trump said he wants to drain?).<br />
<br />
Now, more than ever, to follow that usual pattern is to wake up one day and go WTF?<br />
<br />
<b>The screening system order - perspective</b><br />
<b> </b><br />
Yes, you should be concerned about this proposed screening system (if nothing else but for the retaliation it could invite on the world stage).<br />
<br />
But as with all such things (including most laws passed by Congress), the devil will be in the administrative details. What needs to be watched closely, of course, is the agency rule making under this authority. I agree the language is very broad. So is a lot of legislation. Definition of irony - the same process has been used to promulgate many of the regulations across government that the Trump administration finds abhorrent.<br /><br />Here is <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/27/executive-order-protecting-nation-foreign-terrorist-entry-united-states" target="_blank">the language</a> (you'll have to scroll down to Section 4): "This program will include the development of a uniform screening standard and procedure, such as in-person interviews; a database of identity documents proffered by applicants to ensure that duplicate documents are not used by multiple applicants; amended application forms that include questions aimed at identifying fraudulent answers and malicious intent; a mechanism to ensure that the applicant is who the applicant claims to be; a process to evaluate the applicant's likelihood of becoming a positively contributing member of society and the applicant's ability to make contributions to the national interest; and a mechanism to assess whether or not the applicant has the intent to commit criminal or terrorist acts after entering the United States."<br /><br />The "such as" standard does not not mean, for instance, that in-person interviews would have to be done for every person. "Uniform" as used in law does not necessarily mean the exact same thing for everyone. It means you can set up a series of exemptions, but the policy has to be applied uniformly, not arbitrarily, and there must be clearly stated (and constitutional) reasons for the disparate treatment.<br /><br />Don't read this as my endorsement. Far from it. It's scary what could be done under this language. I'm suspecting the ultimate end is to create a vast database, far more intrusive than now. (And with just a few legal gymnastics, well, we'll extend that to U.S. citizens who have traveled to whatever countries we think are baddies -- or house baddies -- because, you know, you might have picked up the germs and we can never be too careful and ...<br />
<br />
Think I'm being a bit paranoid? Perhaps, but remember the "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture_Memos" target="_blank">enhanced interrogation" legal gymnastics</a> or those WMDs Iraq supposedly had?)<br />
<br />
<b>But wait, there's more ...</b><br />
<b> </b><br />
But while this order has garnered the lion's share of publicity, just as concerning is some of the language in the other immigration/border orders that has not gotten a lot of publicity. For instance, here is the l<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/25/presidential-executive-order-enhancing-public-safety-interior-united" target="_blank">anguage buried in another executive order</a>:<br /><br />Sec. 5. Enforcement Priorities. In executing faithfully the immigration laws of the United States, the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) shall prioritize for removal those aliens described by the Congress in sections 212(a)(2), (a)(3), and (a)(6)(C), 235, and 237(a)(2) and (4) of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2), (a)(3), and (a)(6)(C), 1225, and 1227(a)(2) and (4)), as well as removable aliens who: <br /><br />(a) Have been convicted of any criminal offense;<br /><br />(b) Have been charged with any criminal offense, <span style="background-color: yellow;">where such charge has not been resolved</span>; <br /><br />(c) H<span style="background-color: yellow;">ave committed acts that constitute a chargeable criminal offense;</span><br />(d) Have engaged in fraud or willful misrepresentation in connection with any official matter or application before a governmental agency; <br /><br />(e) <span style="background-color: yellow;">Have abused any program related to receipt of public benefits;</span><br />(f) Are subject to a final order of removal, but who have not complied with their legal obligation to depart the United States; or<br /><br />(g) I<span style="background-color: yellow;">n the judgment of an immigration officer, otherwise pose a risk to public safety or national security</span>. <br /><br />I don't know about you, but (b) - littering?, (c ) - WTF?, (e) - what does "abused" mean, (g) - no room for abuse there, eh?<br />
<br />
Ought to give a lot of pause.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I like to think due process is one of those things that borders on a human right and that (once we decided it should apply to everyone) has distinguished the United States.<br /><br />Also, consider these sections:<br /><br />Sec. 13. Office for Victims of Crimes Committed by Removable Aliens. The Secretary shall direct the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to take all appropriate and lawful action to establish within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement an office to provide proactive, timely, adequate, and professional services to victims of crimes committed by removable aliens and the family members of such victims. This office shall provide quarterly reports studying the effects of the victimization by criminal aliens present in the United States.<br /><br />Sec. 14. Privacy Act. Agencies shall, to the extent consistent with applicable law, ensure that their privacy policies exclude persons who are not United States citizens or lawful permanent residents from the protections of the Privacy Act regarding personally identifiable information. <br /><br />Fascinating to me that we propose to establish a government bureaucracy devoted solely to victims of crimes by removable aliens. (How are they different from other crime victims?)<br />
<br />
And we'll suspend privacy laws for anyone not a citizen or lawful resident? Seems we've seen something like this before in the Japanese internment camps and in Nazi Germany? <br />
<br />
At least, for now, we're not proposing they be penned in or wear a special mark.Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-22095400520468446262017-01-31T14:15:00.001-05:002017-01-31T16:54:38.945-05:00Bannon and the NSC - as a journalist, make sure you read the lawAmid all the hand wringing about Steve Bannon and the National Security Council, there has emerged a shorthand (that Bannon is "part of the National Security Council") and a meme (that Bannon somehow will have to undergo Senate confirmation).<br />
<br />
Both are ill-advised and remind us again why it is important to <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/50/3021" target="_blank">read the law</a><br />
<br />
<br />
As I understand it, he twas not appointed to the NSC but invited to attend meetings of the principals committee, an interagency working group. The distinction is important. <br />
<br />
If you look at the U.S. Code, his position does not actually qualify for appointment to the council, since his is not a secretary or undersecretary (and I don't know of any appointment provision subject to Senate confirmation beyond this). To fit him into those specified categories would be a stretch:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"The Secretaries and Under Secretaries of other executive departments and of the military departments, when appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to serve at his pleasure."</blockquote>
<br />
The other members of the NSC specified by law are the president, vice president and secretaries of state, defense and energy. Other people may be invited to attend, but they are not members of NSC just by attendance. <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/28/presidential-memorandum-organization-national-security-council-and" target="_blank">Trump's executive order</a> is fairly careful in parsing this out.<br />
<br />
The principals committee, on the other hand, as an interagency group, contains a wider array, such as the attorney general, treasury secretary and homeland security adviser. No Senate confirmation to serve on it is required. It is at the president's discretion.<br />
<br />
There are also several other committees (see the executive order) that can have fluid membership and do not require confirmation.<br />
<br />
The joint chiefs were never, by statute, part of the NSC (though the president may invite them to sit in). And while Bannon will have great influence over national security policy as part of the principals committee -- and that is properly the subject of much agitated debate -- we need to be precise in what we are talking about.<br />
<br />
<br />Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-67915511041218243582017-01-08T19:53:00.000-05:002017-01-08T19:53:03.832-05:00AT&T's massive outage shows how not to do customer service in social media ageAT&T's U-verse service (disclosure, I'm a customer) has had massive outages across the country -- apparently -- for a day or more. The company's response shows how not to do customer service in today's social media world (or one that, just in general, relies on that internet pipe).<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8KSE0-3c_I8mgXr_TaVl7O6hK78pBxVCq0BaCPNfrzyFWkBaHj8LDpO6TYCotSwIbhNWoND1XY8MAiDWbufS6fuqpK0IDdgKlhhlyA-FJIA4VChu1GdYZrmPW_xo4ppf-g6Sf/s1600/ATToutage-downdetectormap.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8KSE0-3c_I8mgXr_TaVl7O6hK78pBxVCq0BaCPNfrzyFWkBaHj8LDpO6TYCotSwIbhNWoND1XY8MAiDWbufS6fuqpK0IDdgKlhhlyA-FJIA4VChu1GdYZrmPW_xo4ppf-g6Sf/s320/ATToutage-downdetectormap.png" width="303" /></a></div>
I say "apparently" because AT&T has been less than forthcoming in what it's telling people. You won't find anything on the company's much-touted @ATTCares account on Twitter.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Y1H9eds8iYEhtaLeOPtW9PNSSOwk2LLg7YYWlvPBvsmBc0aO7MGrU6ghrCJF1Ildm54FCVHMoLmlwkXVj0SO8_wRj678qKzCpUqnK7sllr3cbrU-K2i0ZeZDLclY2BKRcE9i/s1600/ATToutage-ATTcares.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Y1H9eds8iYEhtaLeOPtW9PNSSOwk2LLg7YYWlvPBvsmBc0aO7MGrU6ghrCJF1Ildm54FCVHMoLmlwkXVj0SO8_wRj678qKzCpUqnK7sllr3cbrU-K2i0ZeZDLclY2BKRcE9i/s320/ATToutage-ATTcares.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Its @Uverse account is nothing but marketing<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OHolo7Z1-rviWjgxdxEZh2dLLK3D8Hy0eniIXiYA_RlNraCy7Elu8p2OiiYzS_dG409yGXAvCWyz9CzES1c0V1w0zybs0yEMK8osw0MqIO6hBmlCuEGzu48_MCzbjsxSprnI/s1600/ATToutage-Uverse.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4OHolo7Z1-rviWjgxdxEZh2dLLK3D8Hy0eniIXiYA_RlNraCy7Elu8p2OiiYzS_dG409yGXAvCWyz9CzES1c0V1w0zybs0yEMK8osw0MqIO6hBmlCuEGzu48_MCzbjsxSprnI/s320/ATToutage-Uverse.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
What few statements have come from AT&T PR folks have been opaque<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_OO9zpmcA0ckgUFKMpyiToNZPCFuvXenZE7bfW-DyOp5yj4i2NcNDcoE-4kLzpa3KOIA-dBwRcxzN7Haz_3q8cf1SGk1yZDihh4hZf9FtKxNJjaIgtsJ9HcQLP3Pos-3FFpz/s1600/ATToutage-WKBN.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_OO9zpmcA0ckgUFKMpyiToNZPCFuvXenZE7bfW-DyOp5yj4i2NcNDcoE-4kLzpa3KOIA-dBwRcxzN7Haz_3q8cf1SGk1yZDihh4hZf9FtKxNJjaIgtsJ9HcQLP3Pos-3FFpz/s320/ATToutage-WKBN.png" width="285" /></a></div>
<br />
The tech support site has a canned statement<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGDQGtsZSw5bbcMNEYCHzoCHR6x6a_KSRrQjJVygi6Grvdixh_09fIPM8MhBwSXjOTeva-oRp4yFS_z0Q-NSYer9BHh3Wv0JgM_l57xmhkv8A_JC1rmkwfUbkbzO8hUhhsB4wY/s1600/ATToutage-techsite.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGDQGtsZSw5bbcMNEYCHzoCHR6x6a_KSRrQjJVygi6Grvdixh_09fIPM8MhBwSXjOTeva-oRp4yFS_z0Q-NSYer9BHh3Wv0JgM_l57xmhkv8A_JC1rmkwfUbkbzO8hUhhsB4wY/s320/ATToutage-techsite.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
And canned chat<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih94BV1ky9a_iKpgAGY_RxE4U6nNGYXPoeWSTHQaxFcZLFTXO0UjQ1Ps9ZYrvUyq5FNB9knfU0w9oIpziKLmFczTY69rZCsyclgVhvYPH7LmxQLxNvdo73NApcz9HLW0zZpLX7/s1600/ATToutage-chat.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih94BV1ky9a_iKpgAGY_RxE4U6nNGYXPoeWSTHQaxFcZLFTXO0UjQ1Ps9ZYrvUyq5FNB9knfU0w9oIpziKLmFczTY69rZCsyclgVhvYPH7LmxQLxNvdo73NApcz9HLW0zZpLX7/s320/ATToutage-chat.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The best info is coming from third-party sites like <a href="http://downdetector.com/status/att/map" target="_blank">downdetector.com</a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEWWxTO3Q1cj73oH-8aPlXBqz6pVnEraTGjC1qkkHyPwub54RyjpwxdzwK4KrmHtyasvJM1QyjcSQhr860Li8JG-MQBWTDZNLIRrCWZhY04SII4MLaq4_4qITuBTQJZF_2uNg6/s1600/ATToutage-downdetector-messages.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEWWxTO3Q1cj73oH-8aPlXBqz6pVnEraTGjC1qkkHyPwub54RyjpwxdzwK4KrmHtyasvJM1QyjcSQhr860Li8JG-MQBWTDZNLIRrCWZhY04SII4MLaq4_4qITuBTQJZF_2uNg6/s320/ATToutage-downdetector-messages.png" width="262" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
This probably should be taught as a textbook case study in business and communications schools about how not to handle things in 2016. (I'm also fascinated that it seems few news organizations seem to have picked up on how widespread these problems seem to be.)Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-72034407254313378372016-11-01T11:42:00.002-04:002017-01-04T20:40:08.563-05:00When we call something "public," let's be preciseSo this arrived in my inbox this morning<br />
"Ga. journalists arrested for filming during open meeting; may face jail time"<br />
<br />
Damn.<br />
<br />
And it links to this, with the headline:<br />
<br />
<h4>
<a href="http://blogs.spjnetwork.org/foi/2016/10/30/guest-post-jailing-of-the-press/" target="_blank"><b>Georgia Citizen Journalist Facing Criminal Charges for Recording Public Meeting</b></a></h4>
And, yes, there should be lots of outrage over this. Watch the video (I've included it directly here as well).<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="225" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CAUNDwa551o" width="400"></iframe><br />
<br />
And I very much hope Tisdale wins her lawsuit and bleeds them dry.<br />
<br />
But we need to be accurate when we call something a "public" meeting. This was the note I wrote to the SPJ official, Sharon Dunten, who sent this out:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Sharon:<br />
<br />
With all due respect, and very much acknowledging that the officer's
behavior here seems beyond the pale.<br />
<br />
A political rally on private property is not a "public" meeting.
Whether it was advertised as such and so she was there by
invitation, and thus the trespass is bogus, is, unfortunately, a
matter to be adjudicated (or, one might hope, dropped by a sane
prosecutor, which does not seem to be the case). Whether it was
advertised as "public" is a point of evidence and perhaps law in
that adjudication -- once one invites the public, may one then
decide to kick part of the public out? But inviting the public does
not mean that one relinquishes the right to control numerous
aspects. (e.g.: "No shoes, no shirt, no service").<br />
<br />
Yes, there should be outrage directed at the deputy. Yes, it's BS to
invite the public to a rally like this and then expect a reporter
with a camera not to be there (if she had just had a notebook, would
she have just blended in and been ignored? - serious duplicity for
which the organizers should be called to heel).<br />
<br />
But let's not weaken the case and diffuse what should be focused
outrage by calling it a public meeting. Let's save that for when
this kind of stuff happens at real public meetings where the law is
crystal clear so that so we have an even clearer case. It is
entirely appropriate for us to be outraged at this. It is not good
for us to bandy about the term "public," thus weakening, not
strengthening, its meaning. Bad cases make bad law -- and bad
statement of the facts makes bad practice.<br />
<br />
Doug Fisher </blockquote>
Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-36430353445355077492016-08-11T12:24:00.000-04:002016-08-11T16:56:40.579-04:00The nuance of headlinesThe headline this morning on the story of our dean, Charles Bierbauer, who announced yesterday he's leaving that job at the end of the academic year in June, got me thinking about the nuance of headlines.<br />
<br />
Headline writing is tough. Don't believe me? Just try summarizing that nuclear disarmament story in a nine-count, three-line, one-column hed in print. (That would be a total of roughly 27 characters for those of the Twitter age, and probably one or two fewer because with print fonts, capital letters are wider and count as 1 1/2 or two, m's and w's are wider, some lowercase letters only count as one-half, etc.)<br />
<br />
It's not a lot better online. Sure, you don't have to worry about those pesky line breaks, but even online heds have their limits -- abut 65 characters if you want to make sure it displays properly in those search engine results or on a mobile screen. Again, still less than your normal tweet.<br />
<br />
There are a lot of ways things can go wrong.<br />
<br />
This discussion isn't about the laughingly off tone, like "<a href="https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-123146604.html" target="_blank">DOJ launching Fannie probe</a>" (referring to an investigation of the Federal National Mortgage Association, more commonly known as Fannie Mae).<br />
<br />
Nor is it about "Their ship has come in" -- a glaringly tone-deaf headline atop a story about a memorial for the hundreds of sailors who died when the USS Indianapolis sank. (Their ship is never coming in.) Or the awful "xx Mississippians gone with the wind" (I forget the exact number) on a story about hurricane deaths.<br />
<br />
This is about those tiny but important nuances that journalists must face every day. They are ever present in reporting and writing. They become more glaringly so when translated to a headline.<br />
<br />
So today there is this headline on <a href="http://www.thestate.com/news/local/education/article95001652.html" target="_blank">a story on The State</a> newspaper's website:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifE1qjq11RUSqCGJWjGqNlKq93uupEQOVF5K-0KpeeukROZEW9Rdoy1DEPfQz_0u_Tjh13qlqWHsR1wy4Oazw1OrB68OWCx_SS2Aukk18jVYfa5EK9tewMjjDSRdZlwr4BSg1E/s1600/poorhed-nuance-bierbauer-steps-down.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="47" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifE1qjq11RUSqCGJWjGqNlKq93uupEQOVF5K-0KpeeukROZEW9Rdoy1DEPfQz_0u_Tjh13qlqWHsR1wy4Oazw1OrB68OWCx_SS2Aukk18jVYfa5EK9tewMjjDSRdZlwr4BSg1E/s320/poorhed-nuance-bierbauer-steps-down.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
OK. It's serviceable. Nothing really wrong. But as we've learned time and time again this political season, there is right -- and then there is more right. With headlines, it often comes down to verb tense and word connotation and order.<br />
<br />
<b>Tense </b><br />
In headline writing, there are some rules, or at least guides, when it comes to verb tense. The present participle (stepping) indicates current ongoing action or sometimes action to be completed in the near future. The present tense is used as "historical present" to represent action recently completed. The future speaks for itself. The past tense is rarely used; it is supposed to signify new information about something in the past not previously known (say, for instance, you just got a 5-year-old report showing that the Justice Department investigated Fannie Mae but no one knew till now. Then you might write <i>DOJ probed Fannie</i> ... OK, maybe not. But you get the idea.)<br />
<br />
So using "steps" in this headline really means the dean has done the deed already. Yes, he's announced it, so one could argue he sort of kind of stepped down. But he's not really leaving till June, and this is August, so the nuance is wrong. "To step" (or will) is the better choice. That is the tense used in the <a href="http://www.thestate.com/news/local/education/article95001652.html" target="_blank">university news release </a>(though it is interesting to see the URL uses "stepping").<br />
<br />
<b>Usage</b><br />
All words have denotation and connotation. So the denotation of "step down" is fine -- it is what he is doing in the broad sense. But the connotation gets us to nuance again. When we hear an official has stepped down, the mind wonders a bit why? Did something wrong? Retiring? Health?<br />
<br />
In other words, while the phrase is technically correct (denotation), it is broader than needed and leaves itself open to questions and multiple interpretations, not all of them flattering (connotation). In headline writing, whenever the count allows you to be more specific, it's almost always better because it gets connotation out of the equation. And our job, after all is to try to perfect communication -- make sure the message sent is most likely the message received.<br />
<br />
So what is Bierbauer really doing? Well, after almost 15 years and at age 74, he's actually retiring. So that would be the better word.<br />
<br />
<b>Longtime USC communications dean to retire</b><br />
<br />
<b>Word order</b><br />
Some have noted that Bierbauer said in his letter that "this is not retirement." Granted, but we are journalists, not stenographers, and so we have to apply some reasoning. But this also highlights the nuances.<br />
<br />
Most journalists I know never really admit to retiring. They can always scribble, after all. And "emeritus" status at a university is like being a retired federal judge or commissioned military officer -- you can always be called out of retirement. (Style warning: Never call someone a "former" general, etc., unless he or she has renounced the commission or somehow been dishonorably discharged.)<br />
<br />
This is what Bierbauer wrote:
<i>For now, this is not retirement, but transition. I plan to work on the Watson-Brown journalism history project, hope to do some writing on media and politics and determine ways I might continue to be useful to the college and university.
</i><br />
<br />
So he <i>is</i> retiring as dean. Which gets us to word order. Since we're dealing with an online hed, we can more easily switch things around:<br />
<br />
<b>Bierbauer to retire as longtime USC communications dean</b><br />
<br />
That maintains the sense that he's retiring as dean. (If space is an issue, take out "longtime.")<br />
<br />
While this may seem nit picking -- after all, the original hed was serviceable -- this gets to journalistic craft. There used to be time -- admittedly not much, but still a little -- to reflect on these things in the course of putting out the "daily miracle." We need to figure out how to preserve that in this hamster-wheel world journalists now exist in.<br />
<br />
On an end note, it's been a pleasure working with Dean Bierbauer, who came on board at USC a year after I did. He's been a steady hand at the tiller and always a proponent of good journalism and good journalism teaching. He understood that delicate balance we walk between the academic and professional missions of the school. I wish him the best.Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-62617537416596551882016-07-26T17:02:00.000-04:002016-08-04T01:41:51.683-04:00SC Newspaper Circulation - the bleeding continues<br />
I've written before about how South Carolina's capital city newspaper, The State, has been <a href="http://commonsensej.blogspot.com/2015/09/thestate-columbia-saggingcirculation.html" target="_blank">bleeding circulation</a>. The new numbers in the S.C. Press Association handbook paint an even more troubling picture statewide.<br />
<br />
Not that this isn't happening almost everywhere, of course, but it's useful to know the numbers, especially since most have dropped under 50,000, which used to be the cutoff for a metro daily.<br />
<br />
<b>Updated:</b> I found 2008-09 SCPA figures, which paint an even starker picture. <br />
<br />
<br />
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td></td><td>2016</td><td></td><td>2010</td><td></td><td>2009</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>The State</td><td>43,675</td><td></td><td>96,759</td><td></td><td>112,051</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Greenville News</td><td>45,601</td><td></td><td>70,046</td><td></td><td>87,609</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>(Spartanburg) Herald Journal</td><td>28,380</td><td></td><td>39,227</td><td></td><td>46,738</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>(Charleston) Post and Courier</td><td>62,081</td><td></td><td>96,005</td><td></td><td>99,829</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>(Myrtle Beach) Sun News</td><td>35,760</td><td></td><td>47,282</td><td></td><td>51,731</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>(Florence) Morning News</td><td>18,842</td><td></td><td>28,631</td><td></td><td>31,163</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Another dramatic drop is the Times & Democrat in Orangeburg, which has slipped under 10,000 to 8,468 from 20,345 just seven years ago.<br />
<br />
As with much of the industry, so far, from what I can tell, the online numbers aren't filling the gap.Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-69314590656832191772016-07-15T00:48:00.001-04:002016-07-15T00:48:14.436-04:00This AP story on Pokemon got a little ahead of itselfIt's kind of an axiom of news writing that the first example you use in a story should back up the lede.<br />
<br />
This AP story on Pokemon Go trips over that test ... unless the woman quoted owns the museum.<br />
<br />
It's easily addressed. Just extend the lede with a second graf, something perhaps like: <i> And some people, like xxxx, are so miffed by some of the players' conduct that they're trying to harness the power of online crowds to back up those requests.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIaNaZs6T3FmLhepDX_62YFhI1LaKg0tvoptYixLS8ZDQvjjCx-wG9x-obIXy3H51hwukYXWokMr2j6rrG90BUkxn6lvhY2P5mP6mZI6rpAurEJG9XRFPnQBA8CkrTYMiPIj8U/s1600/Raw-copyorg-pokemon-1stexamplevslede.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIaNaZs6T3FmLhepDX_62YFhI1LaKg0tvoptYixLS8ZDQvjjCx-wG9x-obIXy3H51hwukYXWokMr2j6rrG90BUkxn6lvhY2P5mP6mZI6rpAurEJG9XRFPnQBA8CkrTYMiPIj8U/s320/Raw-copyorg-pokemon-1stexamplevslede.png" width="180" /></a></div>
<i><br /></i>Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-87922342457564787412016-05-26T16:33:00.001-04:002016-05-26T16:33:31.870-04:00You ignore the work on structured stories at your own risk<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="ml3t" data-offset-key="8s9n1-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="8s9n1-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="8s9n1-0-0"><span data-text="true">If you are a journalist (or PR writer), you should read <a href="https://www.rjionline.org/stories/does-structured-journalism-work-evaluating-the-feasibility-of-structure-for" target="_blank">David Caswell's latest about his research into structured stories </a>and follow the links, especially to the <a href="http://www.structuredstories.com/#/ui/directory/en" target="_blank">structured stories database</a>.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="ml3t" data-offset-key="2f8sh-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="2f8sh-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="2f8sh-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="f013f-0-0"><span data-text="true">Here's a definition from one of Caswell's <a href="https://www.rjionline.org/stories/author/615" target="_blank">earlier atricles</a>: </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="f013f-0-0"><span data-text="true"></span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="f013f-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="f013f-0-0"><span data-text="true">Structured Stories is a form of structured journalism, an approach in which reporting is entered directly into a database and then extracted as needed to create digital news products. Early examples of structured journalism, such as PolitiFact and Homicide Watch D.C., are limited to fixed news items in narrowly defined subject areas. Structured Stories, however, attempts to encode any journalistic news — from any subject area — into structured events and narratives.</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<blockquote>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="ml3t" data-offset-key="a462s-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a462s-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="a462s-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="ml3t" data-offset-key="coheh-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="coheh-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="coheh-0-0"><span data-text="true">Articles are not obsolete in a structured journalism approach but instead are organized within much larger journalistic structures that provide context, coherence and flexibility. These narrative structures are then used to make news stories intelligible to computers and, therefore, available for a variety of digital applications.</span></span></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
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<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="a5pm5-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="a5pm5-0-0"></span></div>
</div>
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<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true">This is a not-so-nascent-anymore corner of journalism thought that says, essentially, that the beautifully crafted narrative you just wrote is nothing but data. That fire story you wrote? The address is data, so is the amount of damage, the cause, the type of house, etc. And it's data insurers and others might be willing to pay for.</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true"><a href="http://www.holovaty.com/writing/fundamental-change/" target="_blank">Adrian Holovaty famously proposed</a> this disaggregation of journalistic stories in 2006. <a href="https://source.opennews.org/en-US/learning/finding-stories-structure-data/" target="_blank">Matt Waite extended it</a> seven years later.</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true">Caswell has now been testing the idea on an operational scale in New York, Los Angeles and Missouri (Where he's a Reynolds Fellow).</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true">You risk not paying attention to this at your own peril. </span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true">Let me put it this way, how many of you scoffed not that long ago at the concept of computers "writing" journalism stories? <a href="http://www.poynter.org/2015/with-new-product-automated-insights-hopes-to-make-robot-journalism-cheaper-and-more-plentiful/379809/" target="_blank">How's that worked out</a>? (A <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=automated+insights" target="_blank">search on "Automated Insights"</a> will fill you in a bit more, such as the <a href="http://mediashift.org/2015/12/the-ap-considers-ethics-of-robot-journalism-with-automated-insights/" target="_blank">AP's wide use of the software</a>, if you haven't been paying attention. Here's <a href="http://www.poynter.org/2015/how-the-associated-press-is-using-automation-to-rethink-the-way-it-does-news/375931/" target="_blank">some more on AP</a>.)</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true">Now, if you go to Caswell's <a href="http://www.structuredstories.com/#/" target="_blank">Structured Stories site</a> and <a href="http://www.structuredstories.com/#/ui/directory/en" target="_blank">look at some of the work</a>, to those steeped in "storytelling," the examples don't look like much. Bullet points, cards, etc. Certainly not an eye-pleasing "story" (and, let's be honest, we misuse that term a lot anyhow; much of what we do is factual exposition, not story).</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true">But what you are seeing is Holovaty's vision beginning to be turned into reality. And here's why it's important:</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0">
<ul>
<li><span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true">When you break stories into data, you can repackage that data in many ways and resell it, meaning more streams of income in an era when that's guaranteed to get executives' attention (after all, what other business do you know that leaves more than half of its raw material on the shop floor?).</span></span></li>
<li><span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true">This inevitably means changes in workflows, training and, perhaps, the romantic notion of the storytelling journalist. From <a href="https://www.rjionline.org/stories/reporting-into-structure-how-journalists-crowds-and-robots-can-work-togethe" target="_blank">another of Caswell's articles</a>: </span></span><span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true"><i>Working with structured information enables the journalist to become
like an air traffic controller for news: coordinating, routing,
verifying and organizing news as well as identifying gaps in knowledge
and filling them by assigning journalistic resources to conduct original
reporting. This level of coordination is an impossible, even
meaningless, task in a media environment based on text articles, but in a
structured media environment it becomes easy and valuable.</i></span></span></li>
<li><span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true">Caswell says he's shown in real operational situations that structured journalism can be done.<i> </i> </span></span></li>
<li><span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true">Finally, if you scoff that "people will never read this stuff," I want you to think about two things. First, much of this is not designed to be read by people; it is designed to be read and repurposed by machines. Second, go to the top of any one of those story databases on the Structured Stories site and click on the "told as" drop down menu. Go down to "natural language." I have not found a natural language version yet, though </span></span><span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true"><span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true">I haven't gone through all the items,</span></span>. But take a close look, and what does it say? "Natural language generation by Automated Insights." Uh huh. </span></span></li>
</ul>
<span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true">Oh, and there's one other. In an era where consumers more and more are accustomed to blending their information and media inputs as they wish, this is the ultimate way for them to do that with journalism.</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true"> </span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true">In many ways, this is another aspect of the <a href="https://www.w3.org/standards/semanticweb/" target="_blank">"semantic web,"</a> essentially, the idea of turning much, if not all, of the web into data. Projects such as <a href="http://www.opencalais.com/" target="_blank">Open Calais</a> have been grniding along for several years, trying to figure out how to turn all this unstructured information (in our business = story) into structured data.</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true">So whether the prospect makes you recoil or not, it's time to start paying attention. Your future in journalism (and PR) probably depends on it.</span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="3fve7-0-0"><span data-text="true"><br /></span></span></div>
</div>
Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-2132559174161589312016-05-26T12:59:00.000-04:002016-05-26T13:45:20.108-04:00SC legslators suggest Wikipedia will do over those expensive databases<div data-contents="true">
<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="2cn11" data-offset-key="bqeho-0-0">
<div class="_1mf _1mj" data-offset-key="bqeho-0-0">
<span data-offset-key="bqeho-0-0"><span data-text="true">(Update: 1:40 p.m. 3/26: Ron Aiken of The Nerve says the language was stricken in conference committee last night but that the sponsor, Rep. Leon Stavrinakis, D-Charleston, says he'll bring it up again next session.)</span></span><br />
<br />
<span data-offset-key="bqeho-0-0"><span data-text="true">S.C.'s State Library apparently is up in arms about some legislative budget engineering that would put some requirements and restrictions on the statewide <a href="http://scdiscus.org/" target="_blank">DISCUS system</a>, the free digital library available to everyone in the state and probably one of the state's best (if somewhat hidden) resources.</span></span></div>
</div>
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<span data-offset-key="a7ogk-0-0"><br data-text="true" /></span></div>
</div>
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<span data-offset-key="1lbiu-0-0"><span data-text="true">First there was a House budget proviso that would have prohibited the library from licensing electronic sources "where the same information is easily found in free online products such as Wikipedia." (Oh, there's a reliable source, eh?) It also would have prohibited licensing databases of articles "from mainstream newspapers and magazines, as these can almost always be accessed free online and are easily discovered through Internet search engines."</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="d1qqm-0-0"><span data-text="true">That same proviso also would have prohibited the inclusion of scholarly articles as not "intellectually accessible to the general population," but that was stricken -- as was the whole proviso.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="94v6e-0-0"><span data-text="true">But now the House has amended the Senate version to insert a new proviso that says no database DISCUS buys can have more than 20% of material freely available online.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="53kda-0-0"><span data-text="true">There also are a bunch of technical requirements, such as that all databases must have responsive design that allows them to be viewable "down to the smallest smartphone size" and that there be an extensive geolocation service for all users. Video would also have to be delivered as H.264, MPEG-4 AVC format.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="fr45m-0-0"><span data-text="true">So in theory the responsive design requirement is a good one -- but will that put valuable databases/info off limits?</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="bnoj4-0-0"><span data-text="true">If you are out of state (or even on the border and your cell signal is being picked up by a tower in Georgia or NC) does that mean no access?</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="eb3e7-0-0"><span data-text="true">Sure, H.264 AVC is the advanced standard now, but things don't change much in tech, do they? So how quickly, if this is specified in state law, will it become outdated?</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="fg46q-0-0"><span data-text="true">Generally, the success of legislating specific technology requirements has not gone well through the years.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="51a01-0-0"><span data-text="true">To see the State Library's take on all this and the source docs:</span></span></div>
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<a href="http://scdiscus.org/provisio-amendment"><span data-offset-key="2mvtj-0-0"><span data-text="true">http://scdiscus.org/provisio-amendment</span></span></a></div>
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Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-64016003498261709092016-05-02T12:13:00.000-04:002016-05-02T12:13:25.196-04:00Wishful thinking, newspaper editionFrom the <a href="http://www.editorandpublisher.com/feature/as-digital-fatigue-sets-in-readers-are-waking-up-to-newspapers/" target="_blank">wishful thinking dept. at Editor and Publisher</a>.:<br />
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Returning to print shouldn’t be seen as taking a step back. Many readers still rely heavily on the print edition. A Pew Research Center study found that around half of newspaper readers in three U.S. metropolitan cities (Denver, Colo., Macon, Ga., and Sioux City, Iowa) only read in print.<br /><br />With the saturation of news, the toxicity of online harassment, and the amount of poor Web experiences, readers will soon want to come back to print. This resurgence must take place if we want to keep print around for many more years, and publishers can accomplish that by immersing readers—not with virtual reality headsets—but with ink on their hands.</blockquote>
That's at the bottom of a mishmash, way-too-long piece that tries to make the case that poor woeful newspapers are being victimized again by technology, this time ad blockers (BTW, there's an easy way to get around Forbes' ad-blocking message and many other publishers').<br /><br />That Pew statistic? It's a nice way of deception. Remember, it says half of all newspaper readers. It doesn't say what's happening to the overall number of newspaper readers (in other words, if there are still two newspaper readers and one reads only in print, you've met that stat -- but it's hardly a viable business model).<br /><br />I'm a big fan of "newspapers" if you mean the term to refer to robust news orgs. If you mean it to refer to ink on paper, however, I'd like to introduce you to the dozens of students I interact with every semester. You know, the future higher income, higher educated readers your advertisers want. "Newspaper" is not in their daily universe.<br /><br />This, of course, from the same people who have been telling themselves for years that as people age and buy houses, have kids, etc., they'll start reading newspapers -- despite every bit of solid social science research that's debunked that.<br />
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So how's that working out?Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-9294298831131940092016-03-30T13:59:00.002-04:002016-03-30T13:59:49.549-04:00Let it be stated -- stop using that wordIn the flurry of coverage over the blowup in the investigation of corruption at South Carolina's Statehouse, an ugly little verb of attribution -- stated -- seems to be cropping up like spring flowers. (Just <a href="http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20160330/PC1603/160339968" target="_blank">one example</a>.)<br />
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Why ugly? I'll let <a href="http://archive.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2007/12/12/rene_jack_cappon_author_of_influential_book_on_writing/" target="_blank">Jack Cappon</a>, one of the finest AP features editors ever (and a pretty damn good writer too), explain from his book on writing (which, BTW, should be on your desk). The bold emphasis is mine:<br />
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<i>Asserted, stated, declared</i> are often indiscriminately used for <i>said</i>. All are stronger and much more formal. ...<i> Stated </i>shouldn't be used at all; <b>it is the instant mark of a wooden writer.</b> (It fits if you're quoting from a deposition, but still looks dusty.)</blockquote>
It also has connotations of increased veracity.<br />
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So let's put stated in its proper place -- on the top shelf, out of reach, to be looked at occasionally as we grab the easy-to-reach <i>said.</i> That way, we don't have to risk injuring our writing by reaching too high for it.Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6408033.post-71177084093322916872016-02-16T16:26:00.004-05:002016-02-16T16:26:58.104-05:00Your neighborhood dollar store wants to sell you boozeOK, technically beer and wine aren't booze, but many a moment of havoc has been carried out in their name.<br />
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So it's always interesting when I ask classes what they think make up the biggest share of alcohol purveyors (I'm careful not to say liquor) just by sheet numbers: Bars, restaurants, clubs, liquor stores, supermarkets ...?<br />
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Invariably, it's bars or liquor stores that come to the front.<br />
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But take a year's worth of permit applications, as I did, from the paper's legal ads and you'll find it's convenience stores (<a href="https://www.google.com/fusiontables/DataSource?docid=11xZB9uIeK4i-sO_Y6bdkVLlXlH7irNsrRV-tRa4#map:id=3" target="_blank">in blue on this map</a>)* that overwhelmingly hold the permits, most for beer and wine for off-premises consumption.<br />
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That's brought <a href="http://columbiavoice.org/hyatt-park-keenan-terrace-residents-clash-with-groceries-over-beer-wine-permits/" target="_blank">concerns from some neighborhoods</a> who see their areas being overrun.<br />
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Now, a new entry is crowding the field -- your local dollar store.<br />
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As I was wrapping up that track-the-permits project, I noticed a steady stream of permit applications from Dolgencorp, the <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=4227713" target="_blank">operating arm of Dollar General</a>. <br />
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Now, in recent editions of my local paper, I see Family Dollar seeking beer and wine applications for 15 of its Columbia-area stores.<br />
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This is a good little story worth noting. And doing depth/enterprise reporting projects like this -- especially on a beat -- isn't hard with modern tools like Google Fusion Tables (and maps) if you just take them a day or week at a time and methodically compile the data. The resulting maps or other graphical presentations yo can produce may give you a whole new take on the data.<br />
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And much of that raw material already is in your paper or in the documents you routinely pick up on a beat.<br />
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*Green is grocery and other stores, like dollar stores. Red is bars and clubs, yellow is liquor stores and orange is restaurants. White is for things like stadiums, banquet halls, etc. Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16156896794811327893noreply@blogger.com0