Part one of a two-part series. From Cronkite to Couric: the Kingdom of Signal is swallowed by the Empire of Noise The recent death of Walter Cronkite spurred the predictable outpouring of tributes, each reverencing in its own way a man who was the face and voice of journalism in America for a generation or more. The irony of all
Read moreLet’s begin with a brief Q&A with America. Q: Let’s say you’re sick with a potentially deadly disease. Who do you want for a doctor? A: The smartest, most experienced and highly qualified expert in the field. Q: You’re looking to invest your life savings. Who do you trust to handle your money? A: The brightest, most agile financial mind
Read moreObama was in town yesterday to sign his stimulus bill. This victory, the first great moment of the Obama administration, was a hard-fought one earned in the face of fierce opposition from fiscally responsible Congressional Republicans. These staunch guardians of the American purse strings have proven, time and again, their willingness to combat wastefulness and ill-advised spending by… Wait a
Read moreI now know why Elvis shot that TV set. If you missed it, Stephen Colbert’s special guest last night was conservative pundit George Will. I almost typed “addle-headed pathological liar George Will,” but didn’t because I think a cursory look at what he actually said will make that clear enough. Show, don’t tell, as I always instruct my writing students.
Read moreThe header on the story reads this way: CU’s Campus Press Fights for Independence. The subhead is equally on-point: A contentious faculty meeting points to independence for CU-Boulder’s student newspaper — but at what cost? But at that point the journalism train jumps the tracks, because the first couple grafs eschew any consideration of the alleged story itself in favor
Read moreFinal part in a series. How appropriate that a publication whose launch was dominated by photography of the technological wonder of the day should end its run with an equally impressive tribute to mankind’s latest technological accomplishment. As noted earlier, LIFE’s final issue was released a scant three weeks after Apollo 17, NASA’s last trip to the moon, and in
Read more[UPDATE] Hunter’s widow, Anita, has a nice post on Hunter’s birthday at Owl Farm Blog. ———– You may have noticed that Hunter Thompson is back on the masthead. Today would have been The Doctor’s 70th birthday (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005), and we thought it appropriate to honor the memory of a journalist who was an incredible influence
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lullaby pit 