It was an unlikely source, and it had a click-baity headline, but The Weather Channel impressed me on one of their latest stories, done in partnership with the nonprofit InsideClimate News, about the growing risks around America’s recent oil boom. Continue reading
About 10 days ago I featured a post about how the New York Times homepage is becoming increasingly irrelevant in the age of social media and people reading content that’s shared with them or recommended to them. Poynter has followed this up with some additional graphs and insight, which adds additional interesting points. Continue reading
In the Internet’s early days, the homepage was king: Companies like Yahoo! fought to have the most relevant landing page for users. The hope was they’d make it their start page when opening their browser, and spend a long time on their sites, consuming content and features. Continue reading
Yesterday I noted how things like “pollen vortex” are driving news outlets because they get people to click. Coincidentally, I then tripped across this article at The Verge about how many news outlets are increasingly relying on modules with titles like “You May Also Like” to get people to keep reading (either on their own site, or through others, where they’ll get money for the click). Continue reading
It’s very frustrating to read the news and see these bizarre catch phrases and names spreading across the news media, whether it be naming snowstorms or the “polar vortex.” Continue reading
As if the skinny jeans and beard transplants weren’t enough, now comes word, from The New York Times no less, that monocles are making a comeback. Guys, the Times is ON IT, and it’s those crazy hipsters again that are leading the trend, according to the Grey Lady. Continue reading
I sometimes wonder where they find people for surveys; Family Feud doesn’t seem to have much trouble finding 100 people to answer questions, but when headlines like “1 in 10 Americans think HTML is an STD, study finds,” I scratch my head a bit. It starts to feel like more or less a dart throw. Continue reading
The McDonald’s spilled coffee story and lawsuit that came out in the 90s endures somehow, a prime example of a story going viral long before Twitter and Facebook existed. Yet while some are lamenting the problems that the immediacy of social media brings and the major pitfalls we’re failing to avoid, it’s not an exclusively online problem, either. Continue reading
Last year, I wrote about my efforts to have a bit of fun with the tradition of sending Christmas cards. Two years ago, thanks to Charles Apple, I became aware of Red Letter Paper Co., the creation of Stephanie Hinderer, a former visual journalist who found herself frustrated with what was in stores and took her own spin on Christmas cards. I’ve once again gravitated back to her store, as each year she refreshes the line with new choices and I never come away disappointed. Continue reading
https://twitter.com/FairfieldDV/status/312595576946561024
Having worked at newspapers for a good chunk of my life, I certainly take the business of journalism seriously, and especially the slow and steady march to online journalism (although, having done page production, it makes me a bit sad that layout may go away at some point).
As a technologist, I applaud unique efforts on websites, and as a former copy editor I cringe at bad missteps. Today, a series of steps led me to a cringe-worthy moment, and a potential ethical issue. Continue reading