Journalist at Large
September 2009
The Reader's Guide to Journalists (#12)
September 29, 2009
Rule No. 12: We used to write in a dry, uptight style because we hoped The New York Times would hire us. Now we right in a dry, uptight style because we hope the Huffington Post will think it's important and link to us.
Reporting: Desperate for cash, lawmakers hit the bottle
September 28, 2009
Local governments across the country are taking a hard look at whether to accept the social policy challenges of increased alcohol consumption to generate new tax revenue. Dry areas are going wet, and others are liberalizing their laws by approving Sunday sales and sales in grocery and convenience stores. ...
The Reader's Guide to Journalists (#11)
September 25, 2009
Rule No. 11: One occurrence is interesting; two are an oddity; three are a front-page trend.
Reporting: U.S. delayed telling schools about food recalls
September 23, 2009
The federal government failed to inform schools of recalls of suspected tainted food products, potentially putting millions of schoolchildren at risk of food poisoning over the last two years, a government investigation has concluded.
The recalled foods included salmonella-tainted peanut products linked to the deaths of at least nine people, said the report, which was completed last month by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress. ...
Why I love local news: Vt. Crematorium Fire Guts Newlyweds' Upstairs Home
September 22, 2009
"Bucossi says he has heard complaints from neighbors for 10 years about black smoke and odors emanating from the crematorium." ...
The Reader's Guide to Journalists (#10)
September 22, 2009
Rule No. 10: Just because you couldn't find the story on the specific pages you looked at on the specific day you decided to check the news doesn't mean we didn't cover it.
The Reader's Guide to Journalists (#9)
Rule No. 9: We correct all mistakes, unless they're important.
Why I love local news: Peek-A-Boo Bandit Robs Store
September 19, 2009
Instead of putting on a mask to conceal his already-camera caught identity, the bandit puts his hands over his face and peeks through his fingers at the frightened cashier. ...
Journalists' Quick Reference Guide
September 16, 2009
For the first time, I'm publishing the quick reference guide I've maintained in-house for many years. It includes many searches for government, statistical and news-related information directly from the page, along with miscellaneous conversions. ...
The Reader's Guide to Journalists (#8)
September 16, 2009
Rule No. 8: The headline is always someone else's fault.
Why I love local news (Slow News Day Dept.): Arizona Cardinals' Handwriting Analysis
September 16, 2009
Hopper found several similarities in their writing, which he says says is not surprising, because they're all in the same profession. ...
Training and pizza (not necessarily in that order of importance)
September 16, 2009
The Society of Professional Journalists is renewing its annual continuing education skills classes this month and next. I'll be teaching one of the classes, on Web-based reporting, on Oct. 19 at the Seattle Times auditorium. ...
Why I love local news: Man Shot, Refuses to Say How
September 15, 2009
"Police say he refused to give information about the shooting other than to say he was shot while trying to buy marijuana." Which might have been the one detail he should have withheld. ...
The Reader's Guide to Journalists (#7)
September 15, 2009
Rule No. 7: We believe that if both sides criticize us, we've prepared an impartial, well-balanced report, even if both sides are criticizing us because we got it all wrong.
The Reader's Guide to Journalists (#6)
September 15, 2009
Rule No. 6: All editors are mindless creativity-killing drones until we join the desk ourselves. Then all writers become sloppy prima donnas who won't answer their damn phones on deadline.
The Reader's Guide to Journalists (#5)
September 14, 2009
Rule No. 5: In fact, no, we didn't study statistics in college.
Why I love local news: Ala. Boy Fakes Kidnapping to Hide Bad Grades
September 14, 2009
Sgt. Mark Roberts said police were suspicious that the boy was able to "escape" with his band instrument, but not his bookbag. ...
The Reader's Guide to Journalists (#4)
September 14, 2009
Rule No. 4: We hate to use the word "that," even when it is needed to make a sentence clear. This is because we were told that it was bad by a journalism school professor who last wrote a story back when "that" counted as four extra characters in the telegraph bill.
Launching the Reader's Guide to Journalists
September 14, 2009
From time to time, I'm rolling out the Reader's Guide to Journalists, so that one day, when we've all been replaced by social media and cable gossip, readers can rise up and begin cloning real, honest-to-God journalists. From my journalist and ex-journalist friends, I solicit further rules, for which — observing one of the Rules — you'll get proper credit. ...
The Reader's Guide to Journalists (#3)
September 14, 2009
Rule No. 3: People we like decline to comment; people we dislike refuse to comment.
Why I love local news: 6-Year-Old Driver Says Mom Was ‘Smoking the Smelly Stuff’
September 11, 2009
The 6-year-old girl told police her mother was just tired, but while calling her aunt from the scene, admitted mom had been “smoking smelly stuff” again. ...
The Reader's Guide to Journalists (#2)
September 11, 2009
Rule No. 2: We like to use unnecessarily long, seemingly formal versions of common words so our stories sound more important. People always "attempt" to do something; they never "try" to do it. And they always "receive" something; they never "get" it. In this, we are much like police officers ("The subject proceeded on foot ...").
The Reader's Guide to Journalists (#1)
September 10, 2009
Rule No. 1: People we dislike give "rambling" statements and answers; people we like give "wide-ranging" or "comprehensive" statements and answers.
Why I love local news: Bellycasting Gains Popularity
September 10, 2009
"I had the one woman that wanted a frog, so we turned the whole thing into a frog, and then I had another woman who loved the Packers, so I decorated it in Packers colors," says Wicklund. ...
Reporting: Obama projects $900 billion to fix health care
September 10, 2009
Declaring that he is determined to be the last president confronted with reshaping health care in America, President Barack Obama proposed a 10-year, $900 billion plan Wednesday night to overhaul a system that he said had left the country at “a breaking point.” ...
Reporting: For presidents, talking to kids can be tricky
September 8, 2009
After the president’s speech to students, the White House press secretary came under questions from reporters asking about the propriety of spending taxpayers’ money to disseminate a political message to children. Political opponents in Congress even called for an investigation.
That was in 1991, and the president was George H.W. Bush. ...
Why I love local news: Illinois Boy Has a Passion for Vacuum Cleaners
September 4, 2009
"The 10-year-old is such an expert on vacuums that he can tell which model is running by its sound." ...
Reporting: Retail health clinics as good as doctor's office
September 4, 2009
The new research, the first large-scale study of the care provided in U.S. retail clinics, found "no difference in the quality offered to patients visiting retail clinics, physician offices and urgent care centers." For some services, retail clinics even did slightly better than hospital emergency rooms, said the researchers, who published their findings in two papers this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine. ...
Why I love local news: Police: Dad Gave Son Sex for 15th Birthday
September 3, 2009
"Authorities said the 41-year-old man wanted the sex to be a birthday present for his 15-year-old son. The teen said that when he refused the sex, his dad taunted him." ...
Reporting: Cops, lawmakers send message: Dnt txt & drive
September 3, 2009
Nicholas Sparks didn’t plan to go swimming on a recent Wednesday morning. But sheriff’s deputies in Niagara County, N.Y., say Sparks found himself — and his tow truck — in a backyard pool July 29 after he rear-ended a car and screeched off the road at high speed. ... As it happens, deputies say, Sparks was using two cell phones at the same time — talking on one and sending text messages on the other. But he faces charges only for talking, because while it’s illegal to talk on a cell phone while driving in New York, it won’t explicitly be illegal to send text messages on one until Nov. 1 ...
Dept.-of-And That's the Tooth: In-Chair Texting's a Problem, Say Dentists
September 2, 2009
"Many times the patient sits up during treatment to answer a call or text," said one mouth doc. ...
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