The Columbia Journalism Review's Campaign Desk has a fantastic article about polls, and margins of error in particular.
Read it. It's quite important for these election-obsessed times.
This is the archived edition of a blog (first titled Copy Massage)
kept from Sept. 4, 2003, to June 4, 2007, by Clay Wirestone.
The original description: "Twentysomething editor / designer /
reviewer / blogger / cartoonist Clay McCuistion muses on copy,
editing and the changing media landscape."
Wednesday, August 4, 2004
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Let's Get This Straight
John Kerry in a protective suit is not news.
His wife telling a reporter from a right-wing pub to "shove it" touches the outward periphery of news, but just barely.
The Democratic convention is news.
That's the lesson for today.
His wife telling a reporter from a right-wing pub to "shove it" touches the outward periphery of news, but just barely.
The Democratic convention is news.
That's the lesson for today.
Monday, July 26, 2004
Daily Roundup
Yes, I know the Democratic convention begins today. No, I'm not going to write anything about it yet. I'm taking time to gather my thoughts.
Also, the folks at Romenesko are going nuts about the phrase: "It was as if an occult hand had ... " No, I don't understand it either, but it's supposed to be funny. I'm not linking to the Chicago Tribune story because it requires registration, and I only register for the New York Times and Washington Post (for now). Sorry.
Also, the folks at Romenesko are going nuts about the phrase: "It was as if an occult hand had ... " No, I don't understand it either, but it's supposed to be funny. I'm not linking to the Chicago Tribune story because it requires registration, and I only register for the New York Times and Washington Post (for now). Sorry.
Sunday, July 25, 2004
Dirty Headline Alert
Parents, you might want to shoo your kids out of the room. This is why every copy editor should have the mind of a sex-obsessed middle-schooler. No, I don't want to explain it. If you don't understand why it's horrible, you're lucky.
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
Newspaper Spellings
In my post about headlines a few days ago, I called them "heads." This isn't the preferred newspaper spelling. The green-eyeshade folk use "heds."
Likewise, the beginning of a story isn't the "lead." It's a "lede." I've heard this was to avoid confusion between lead type and reporters' work, back in the days when dinosaurs roamed the planet.
"Paragraph"? Nope. Try "graf."
Now that I've gone to the trouble of mentioning these all, I'll also tell you that I don't like them. They're fine in a newsroom context. But in this blog I stick to readable, comprehensible names. (When I don't forget myself.)
Likewise, the beginning of a story isn't the "lead." It's a "lede." I've heard this was to avoid confusion between lead type and reporters' work, back in the days when dinosaurs roamed the planet.
"Paragraph"? Nope. Try "graf."
Now that I've gone to the trouble of mentioning these all, I'll also tell you that I don't like them. They're fine in a newsroom context. But in this blog I stick to readable, comprehensible names. (When I don't forget myself.)
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why proofreading is important
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Jeopardy "Ken Jennings" Salina Journal
ken jennings flew back to utah
"justin timberlake" + "rolling stone review"
Sunday, July 18, 2004
An Unfortunate Name
Slate takes on the case of Dairy Queen's new beverage. Let's all remember to keep an eye out for stuff like this.
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