Here are some links to keep readers amused over the weekend.
First, there’s an interesting thread going on at Peoria.com titled ‘What is the REAL purpose of a blog?‘ The poster in question claims to be a classmate of mine from Woodruff High School, but it remaining anonymous for now. There’s been some thoughtful give and [...]

My work schedule doesn’t give me a lot of time to do the citizen journalism thing. So I look forward to me day off to do things like make phone calls, visit people, go through documents.
My days off are currently scheduled for Mondays and Tuesdays. I spent Monday with relatives and helping out Jonathan Ahl [...]

At the request of intrepid newsie/journalism teacher Jonathan Ahl, I pretended to hold a press conference for his weekly news writing class. Some thoughts and comments for the students:

I enjoyed my brief visit. The format didn’t allow for much discussion before or after, but I enjoyed the class nevertheless. It took me back to the [...]

I’ve often advised college journalism teachers to make sure their students graduate with the abilities they will need in the future world of online-only media.
Here are five things they will need to know: Oddly enough, there are a couple that escape me as well.
How about it, Illinois and Peoria-area journalism educators? How far along along [...]

Wow. Just this morning, I left a comment at Rich Miller’s site about how I was worried that by not replacing workers who leave, GateHouse Media was making it harder to practice newspaper journalism at the Peoria Journal Star.
Now comes this news at one of the Journal Star’s sister papers:
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Springfield’s daily [...]

Jonathan Ahl reports that his station, WCBU, is going to participate in the Primary Place program being offered though New Hampshire Public Radio. Essentially, it lets ordinary folks post questions and comments about the upcoming presidential race, which the good people of Exeter, NH, can then bring to the attention of the candidates that pay [...]

I’m still thinking about my post about Scott Adams belief that it’s an economic fact that online will eventually replace print media. There have a been many predictions about the demise of the newspaper. Some of the dates in those predictions have come and passed. But ad sales DO continue to decline. Newspapers DO continue [...]

From a speech at the bi-annual Newspaper Quality Improvement Technical Meeting, via Newspapers and Technology:
“Newspapers are under great stress,” said Norm Harbin, vice president of business and technical development at Flint Group as he addressed the group. “What are things we can do to transform newspapers and get back to [...]

Jeff Javis puts into words what I have been saying for a long time. It’s time newspapers abandon the unsigned editorial:
The irony is that the editorialists have long been guilty of the sins most often attributed to bloggers: They rarely report and mostly just leach off the work of other journalists. And they work anonymously. [...]

Believe it or not, there’s two guys who are arguing over whether or not the young proto-journalist portrayed by Scarlett Johansson in that new movie “Scoop” is an ethical journalist or not. Since she sleeps with a source, I’m gonna have to say “nope.”
But then, I’ve rarely seen journalists portrayed on screen in a way [...]

Those who defend the Daily Illini’s decision to fire editor Acton Gorton say it isn’t really about his decision to publish the controversial and (mildly anti-Islamic cartoons. They instead he failed to consult his other editors and his bosses.
While I grant that it is a good idea to tip off the publisher that a particular [...]

Here’s the headline: “Woman allegedly stabbed by live-in boyfriend.”
Here’s the lede: “A Peoria woman was hospitalized Friday after her live-in boyfriend allegedly cut her, then left and returned two hours later to repeatedly stab her.”
GAH! This woman was not allegedly stabbed! She was stabbed. The cops think the boyfriend did it. There is nothing “alleged” [...]