Tag Archives: journalism

The man who wasn’t there

The statesman can only wait and listen until he hears the footsteps of God resounding through events, then he must jump up and grasp the hem of His coat, that is all. — Otto von Bismarck, quoted in Newsweek By … Continue reading

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Gov learns hard way, Freep’s at lunch

By Joel Thurtell Let’s see now. Rick Snyder was sworn in as governor how long ago? From today’s (February 13, 2011) Detroit Free Press, you’d think he was approaching the end of his first term. Hoo boy, time for a … Continue reading

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Right-wing nutcase

To: JOTR staff From: Jimmy Sellbydate, JOTR Marketing Director We recently passed the three-year anniversary of JOTR, and time has come to take note of opportunities now being missed by a blog that tends all too often to lean all too … Continue reading

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Blowin’ smoke in the ‘burbs

By Luke Warm Professor of Mendacity University of Munchausen In my lecture today, I’m going to outline how an adroit dissembler can plant a new way of thinking in the public mind with the expert use of deceit injected into … Continue reading

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Five-percenters

WARNING: The following commentary has been REPURPOSED. It contains no original SOURCING. It was sparked by a magazine report of an absurd program aimed at re-training (i.e., CONTROLLING) writers like me. This column is NOT news, but an essay REPURPOSED on the … Continue reading

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Journalism: theory and practice

. Wannabe reporter meets jaded journalist.

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Containing those ‘containables’

By Luke Warm Professor of Mendacity University of Munchausen My lecture today was inspired by a brilliant memo circulated within the Detroit Free Press, a publication with a well-honed sense of what a newspaper’s duty is, and is not. Now, … Continue reading

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Five stars for SHOESTRING REPORTER

Joel Thurtell’s new book, Shoestring Reporter, is a ‘top pick,’ according to Midwest Book Review:  5.0 out of 5 stars  A top pick for anyone who has big dreams of journalism, December 2, 2010 By  Midwest Book Review This review … Continue reading

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Age of the robo-writers

By Joel Thurtell Back in the day when I was paid for writing, we used to joke about our jobs being threatened by offshore journalists. I had this perverse fantasy: What if the newspaper canned me and assigned my coverage … Continue reading

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MSNBC’s invisible hand

By Joel Thurtell Did you wonder, maybe, why I’ve been beating on New York Times writers for letting the invisible hand of Times company policy guide their printed musings about Keith Olbermann’s suspension by MSNBC? So what? For the Times … Continue reading

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