Why I got my PhD As early as the eighth grade I knew that I wanted to get a higher degree. There was no question, really, just something instilled in me. Having two parents with graduate degrees was likely a huge reason. Also, growing up in an area that didn’t seem, culturally, to value and [...]
May 3, 2011
The Columbia Journalism Review posted yesterday an intriguing piece about the rise of public relations and shrinking of news reporting. Arguably, much of what is mentioned in the story as “PR” is not what many of us in the profession would endorse as normal public relations practice or as being ethical. The free flow of [...]
January 15, 2011
And, what Judas Priest and Sharron Angle have in common Sooner or later a case like this will win. It’s just a matter of time. It’s always tough when you do a new thing, but this case will not be new five years from now. Everyone will know then that music like Judas Priest’s causes [...]
January 6, 2011
It’s 8 a.m. Monday. I get a Facebook message from a friend: “Bob, I heard the Shoe Tree was felled and didn’t want to react until I could confirm. I checked This Is Reno and RGJ.com over the weekend and didn’t see a report. Do you know if this is urban legend?” I couldn’t remember [...]
October 22, 2010
NPR was well within its rights to fire political analyst Juan Williams for his comments about Muslims. Doing so, contrary to criticism, was not censorship, nor was it an overt, reactionary PC stance. (Williams’ comments about political correctness were spot-on.) What it was, was an enforced policy by NPR to adhere to a journalistic standard. [...]
June 22, 2011