In 1976, I was a general-assignment reporter of limited experience and minimal accomplishment. So my editor kindly fired me, then said: “Now get your ass up on the copy desk where you belong.” I knew little about copy editing. So I asked my newsroom godfather: “Neil, what do copy editors do?” He looked over the […]
Tag Archives: newspapers
Mike Keefe, S&R contributor, scores a Pulitzer
Congratulations to Denver’s own Mike Keefe for winning the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning. It’s a well-deserved accolade; Mike is one of the best in the business and has been for a long time. S&R readers may recall that Mike submitted a wonderful, amusing piece to the Harvey Pekar artists’ tribute we hosted late […]
Trouble in Murdochland
Rupert Murdoch probably thought that, at 80, he could ride off into the sunset and leave News Corporation in good hands—those of his trusty assistant, Robert Thompson, and his son James, who is being moved to the US from the UK to become the firm’s number three. Murdoch has built one of the most remarkable […]
Hedge funds, sensing profit opportunities, buying distressed newspapers
And now, newspapers’ newest problem: The vultures have descended. Newspapers continue to lose money and advertising – the New York Times Co. reported print ads would decline 5 percent in the third quarter across all its media. But investors are actually buying newspaper properties, often through bankruptcy sales. What gives? Are they vultures just picking […]
Why science journalism is suffering
There are a number of problems with science journalism today, and they tend to feed on each other. Decades ago, when the newspaper industry had advertising-driven profit margins in the 10-25% range, newspaper companies were bought by conglomerates that wanted those sky-high profits. Advertising revenues have since plummeted largely as a result of web advertising, […]
Tony Blair tries to explain himself, and gets some help
Tony Blair’s political autobiography, A Journey, went on sale in the UK and the US today, and has prompted, if not a firestorm, a huge amount of media and political shouting over a number of points raised in the book—particularly Blair’s ongoing feud with Gordon Brown, and Blair’s continuing justification for the invasion of Iraq. […]
Media deprivation in the US
We’re in our third week of visiting the grandkids (along with their outstanding parents) in Massachusetts and I’m starting to feel media deprived. I’m a news/information junkie, I cheerfully admit, and every time I’m in the US I start going into withdrawal. If it weren’t for the Internet, lord knows what sort of shape I’d […]
S&R Honors
Click here to learn more about past honorees...- IRS/Tea Party controversy: progressive groups “targeted,” too, and corporate media once again refuses to tell Americans the whole truth
- “Useful Enemies”: U.S. admitted not just Nazis after WWII, but their sadistic collaborators
- The time a source has to respond to request for comment? Virtually none.
- Profiling the Tea Party: In defense of the IRS. Sorta. Or not.
- Saturday Video Roundup: “Imagine the Band,” by John Lennon and Wings
- Mystery Unraveled: How a white, moderate, married, churchgoing, middle-class, middle-aged woman could vote for Obama
- An open letter to Burt Rutan, regarding his WSJ commentary on human-caused climate disruption
- Meet the men of Match.com: Really, guys, are you serious?
- Climate scientists still besieged
- Pelosi on Bush: “He’s not worth impeaching”
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Otherwise: interesting and yet another example of faux news m…
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Autumn: You said several organizations have purposed alter…
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Samuel Smith: It's not JUST three groups. These are the three th…
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Bret Higgins: Slightly confused - You say one third of the 471 g…
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SeattleAuthor: Actually, I had heard that reported on about Day T…
