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Showing posts with the label Journalism

Does the Internet Spell the End of Journalism as We Once Knew It?

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By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, journalism keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community. – Oscar Wilde ________________________ (Note: This article, in a slightly different form, was originally posted on JI , July 11, 2009.)   On a typical day, as I check my Facebook timeline, I am served up a menu of human interest stories, hard news; selfies; memes (political, comic, inspirational); videos of dancing cats; links to sites, most of them biased toward my point of view; family news; mild cheesecake photos shared by one friend; inspirational shares by friends and acquaintances; and comments by friends. I have noticed that the outrageous, the extreme scenarios, seem to rule as breathless memes shout out the latest stupid and outrageous politician remark (on my timeline, Sarah Palin seems to be the most popular former-politician celebrity to deride). Then there are the blogs I visit, some offering industry news and others pushing their own product

“Dealer’s Hand”: The.Best.Lead. – EVER...

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F Hadley, 1971 Paris Street After a Rain (The Webmaster's title) Apologies for the awful photograph ___________________ Well, okay. Maybe I’m overstating my opinion, but let’s just say that I have stumbled upon one of the best lead-ins I have ever encountered in a magazine article, a form not typically viewed as great literature. “Dealer’s Hand,” a profile of David Zwirner, a noted gallery owner who caters to the insanely rich and famous – not just mere millionaires – takes the reader into the world of high-end art sales and buying (Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker , December 2, 2013). The first paragraph – hell, the first sentence – sucks in the reader totally and sets the tone for the rest of the profile: Very important people line up differently from you and me. They don’t want to stand behind anyone else, or to acknowledge wanting something that can’t immediately be had. If there’s a door they’re eager to pass through, and hundreds of equally or even more impo

Memoir Madness: Driven to Involuntary Commitment