Typo averted: Indian food, not Indiana food.
Journalism professor at UNC-Chapel Hill. Copy editor. NOLA native, Durham denizen. Member of AAUP and ACES: the Society for Editing. https://editdesk.wordpress.com/
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Typo averted: Indian food, not Indiana food.
How about a Mike Hogewood hologram?
My most Gen X complaint is that this question ignores our existence.
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Only way this could be better is as a Mascot Mashup
Thought I'd leave this here.
LINK ROT: 38% webpages that existed in 2013 were no longer available 10 years later. Even among pages that existed in 2021, 22% no longer accessible just two years later. This is often because individual page was deleted or removed on otherwise functional website. Many implications for knowledge 🧪
Editing tip: If you, by any means whatsoever, kill (end the life of) someone who has not asked to be killed, the word for that is not "euthanasia"; it is "murder" (you can have debates about the case where the person has asked to be killed, but when they haven't asked, there's no ambiguity)
This is the first NPR/PBS station I've seen that's going out of business as a result of the federal rescission: radio.wpsu.org/2025-09-11/p...
Maybe play this video on the phone. youtu.be/Gi01xi3FfxY?...
Every news organization needs to check on the status of vaccines in their area and publish the results.
Does this fall under "personal liberties" or "free markets"? Once again embarrassed by the editorial side of my former newspaper.
Listening to sports talk radio on the way to and from work today, I heard more about the over/under and parlays than I did about X's and O's and individual matchups. It's too bad how gambling has become so much of the media conversation about sports.
We cannot.
FYI: For you YouTubeTV folks like me, this hidden gift for $33/mo off for two months was available for me. It's in your settings/base plan. 9to5google.com/2025/09/04/y...
It's noticeable downtown
This kind of framing is wildly irresponsible and makes me livid. Trump has no authority to revoke citizenship from a person born in NY. Posing a question like this normalizes the unconstitutional. Our job is to provide legal and historical context for readers, not just parrot dictatorial threats.
"It must have been done by Yankees." Article in the Asheville Citizen Times from 1964 about vandalism of the confederate monument in Sylva, NC is a good reminder that the new fight over confederate monuments isn't actually that new.
@fritinancy.bsky.social discusses "Enervate", the name of the parent company in the new series The Paper. Discusses some other shitmanteaus (which is a great word in its own right). fritinancy.substack.com/p/fictitious...
Yes, though my local paper manages to regularly cover what farmers almanacs predict. 🤷♂️
Siembra NC www.siembranc.org/la-migra-hot...
Wikipedia editors trying to fend off the onslaught of AI crap have crowdsourced some telltale signs of LLM-generated writing; it might be handy for editors and proofreaders generally. Thanks to @ellenrykers.com for pointing me to it. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikiped...
I think "brandishing" is too cool of a word to only use on weapons, I suggest we also apply it to sweets. "Hey, I see you're brandishing a cake, you must be going to a party." "Let's go to the break room, the boss was brandishing a box of donuts this morning."
I would read an academic murder book in which the murder was solved by reading the syllabus
One problem that is coming vividly to light in this era: a lot of our laws are terribly written, full of vagaries and loopholes that are just big enough for a despot to drive through. Remember this the next time someone tells you ChatGPT can replace writers and do all our writing for us.
“Academic freedom is at the heart of what makes a strong university. It’s a key to attracting top teachers & researchers & essential to our state’s economy – the freedom to teach, research & speak out on issues of concern.” — Belle Boggs, North Carolina AAUP President
With the AJC dropping its print edition, I feel compelled to share one of the greatest moments in print design history
Aug 27th 1980 - Identical twins, Kermit and Fozzie, are fired from The Daily Chronicle after failing to report on the theft of Lady Holiday's jewels. 📽️📅 The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
In a letter to Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Associated Press’ Julie Pace and Reuters’ Alessandra Galloni “demand a clear explanation for the airstrikes that hit Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Aug. 25, 2025.”
Google's AI unaware that Venus Williams is indeed playing in the US Open tonight.
A heartwarming family film. What a great dad!
High Anxiety (1977)
Six years ago @nhannahjones.bsky.social released "The 1619 Project," and the world hasn't been the same since. It marked the 400th anniversary of the arrival of enslaved Africans to American shores. 6 years later, it's become a war over history. With the latest battle taken to the museums
A hugely important point is that international students pay full tuition, so they actually make it CHEAPER for US students to attend college, by allowing for more money for scholarships. Across the board, the reality is we need MORE international students.
When this Discourse comes up, I think of the 16-yr-old girl who made an X-wing pilot costume from scratch for Halloween 1977, watching Star Wars in the cinema several times & taking notes by torchlight. cosplayinamerica.com/t-j-burnside...
Typo averted: Loch Ness monster, not Loch News monster
A new law enacted by NC's GOP-controlled legislature would shroud some political donations -- like those behind the effort to overturn a state supreme court election -- in secrecy, @kyleingram.bsky.social reports. www.newsobserver.com/news/politic... (gift link)
New word watch: Doomprompting, "the act of mindlessly or addictively conversing with a chatbot." Via @grammargirl.bsky.social's terrific "AI Sidequest" newsletter. ai-sidequest.beehiiv.com/p/watch-out-...
Trump's press conference with Putin was supposed to be an hour long. It was 12 minutes. www.npr.org/2025/08/16/n...
Editing students! Editing teachers! The window to apply for an ACES scholarship is now open through Nov. 15. applicants must have completed as least one year of college and be enrolled in an undergrad or grad program. Don't miss out: aceseditors.org/awards/schol... #editing #scholarships #education
1936
Highly recommend this heartfelt profile by @justinlaidlaw.bsky.social of the NCCU student newspaper's longtime advisor, who retired this summer.
“Mary saw the boy with the telescope” ambiguity in the wild! 🐦🐦
27 years ago, two years after the introduction of effective HIV treatment, the Bay Area Reporter, San Francisco’s lesbian and gay community newspaper, ran ‘No Obits’ as its headline. It was the first edition not to report an AIDS death in almost 15 years.
Sometimes the keyboard is the best way to get real answers to big questions. youtu.be/-6mvwOCYJjc?...
So how will Sen. Tillis vote on the nomination?
RDU is pretty good. Terminal 2 is spacious and clean, and there are locally based options for food and drink. I miss the used bookstore, though.
How about NC State? howlingcow.ncsu.edu
Moist Leg
News media: For stories about this admin. deploying federal troops in D.C., don't continuously feature photos of Trump, giving him more free publicity & power. Instead, feature photos of people & everyday life in D.C. Otherwise, you make the people this will impact invisible. Images tell a story.
“Wikipedia editors have had to deal with an onslaught of AI-generated content filled with false information and phony citations. Already, the community of Wikipedia volunteers has mobilized to fight back against AI slop” www.theverge.com/report/75681...
A request of news organizations: Please do not use stock images of people looking pained when getting vaccinated. It adds to fear and misinformation.
My review of this news: it’s awful. dankennedy.net/2025/08/08/t...
Yes, although hotels charge extra for that.
We're hiring! We're now accepting applications for the W. Hodding Carter III Senior/Executive Editor, an endowed position focused on acquiring trade and scholarly books in US history & related fields. Interested in helping us shape this new imprint? Learn more & apply here ⬇️ bit.ly/3US7Ihq
I'd go with "senator" because I bet most people outside Texas do not know who Cornyn is. How about: "Senator asks FBI to arrest Texas lawmakers who left state"
another AI fail; checking the CNN schedule for tonight i’m pretty sure it’s not correct unless Larry King is being raised from the dead
Posted without hot take. But y'all should know this is happening. Seen on an individual UNC professor's LinkedIn.
My friend @madelynrosenberg.bsky.social had an idea for a museum of mission statements.
We have the Durham Bulls. Great game experience, great venue, great tradition. No need for MLB here.
"Paradise lost"
I'm at 32. I have been to Dallas but not Fort Worth and Minneapolis but not Saint Paul. I have been to Tampa and St. Pete and lived in Raleigh and Durham, but no chances for easy credit there.
Is Trump a libel-proof president?
There's a Fashionphile store in an office park in Carlsbad, between L.A. and San Diego. I was there last month with my wife. Gated building with fancy purses and tight security.
Interested to watch how this story gets covered. Is it going to be like most sports gambling scandals, where it's framed as individual bad actors? Or do we start seeing more coverage that interrogates the larger system?
July 27, 1925: Italy expels Chicago Tribune correspondent George Seldes, accusing him of using his dispatches to paint the Fascist regime "in the worst possible light." He is targeted for reporting that connects Mussolini to hit squads. Seldes had also been banned from the USSR.
Perfect bookend: "Sharkey's Day" and "Sharkey's Night"
1939
"Bluesky is dying." This week, I learned of the deaths of Ozzy and Hulk Hogan, and the return of Air Bud. All on this platform.
Early favorite for next year's Pulitzer Prize for Photography. A Chuck E. Cheese employee in full mouse costume being arrested by Tallahassee police for credit card fraud. Story from the Tallahassee Democrat: www.tallahassee.com/story/news/l...
An interview with Norman Gomlak, local editor at The Baltimore Banner: "My goals are to make smart choices about what we cover, coach staffers through the reporting and writing process, and elevate stories." editdesk.wordpress.com/2025/07/23/q...
The problem with political media, conveniently distilled into 3 paragraphs. Government as a social game, where the mere exercising of power is met with adulation while the actual substance is of no material interest. They don’t actually care what politicians do, just whether a politician can do it.
this is why layout matters
Kale salad is delicious when prepared well. I recommend this recipe from a pizza place in my city. www.pepperplate.com/sharedrecipe...
A tool lets you pick which public radio stations most need donations: adoptastation.org
Rufus D. Lynx
The suggestions for the New York Post headlines is what makes this art
My view from inside higher ed is that most DEI efforts were a lot more modest than they are now made out to be. Like the sinister sounding "diversity statement" which in practice was just a couple of paragraphs explaining your approach to ensuring that all students could learn.
What about those of us who are fine with the Bulls and have no interest in MLB here?
Remember: it’s not “don’t worry, it’s just a few bad apples,” it’s “a few bad apples spoil the bunch.”
A quiet evening for the sports copy desk, as I recall.
Houston Chronicle managing editor Fernando Alfonso writes: "In what appears to be the first time in Hearst Texas history, all the major newspapers owned by the company ran the same front page today absent ads...
Everything old is new again.
Jenny dies of COVID.
▶️ University email: "Share your experiences with Concur by completing a survey. Your feedback will help us identify the most common pain points, inform future improvements, and ensure that travel and expense processes are timely, user-friendly and compliant." ▶️ Me: "Yes ... ha ha ha ... YES!"
In straight sets!
Double rainbow this evening in Durham, NC.
Alaska Airlines safety brochure features a dude in a Sub Pop shirt
On one hand, my Superman will always be Christopher Reeve. On the other hand, I am interested in any story about a young immigrant who becomes a journalist.
Not sure I love the subplot in Superman where the Daily Planet settles a libel lawsuit with Lex Luthor
Dear copyeditor: DON'T LEAVE COMMENTS INLINE. THE COMMENT FEATURE IS THERE FOR A REASON. Leaving comments inline is how you get stuff like this making it all the way to press. x.com/davidjayharr...
"Chapel Hill officials tried in 2005 and 2013 to buy and demolish the most floodprone buildings at Camelot Village, but both deals failed. ... The town was forced to send a $2.3 million grant back to the federal government." Read more at: www.newsobserver.com/news/local/c...
Thanks for sharing. Please remember to include alt text for photos.
This is an important reminder about misinformation spread during disasters. And legit news organizations citing unconfirmed reports from social media are too often guilty.
Every once in a while a letter to the editor achieves the sublime. This is one of those onces.
Happy July 4th to my fellow Americans and my friends abroad.
Flight tracker on Delta prefers “Gulf of America” for the body of water shared by the U.S., Mexico, and other countries.
Safe travels!
