DO NOT MOCK THE DAMNED, for you yourself may be one of them someday. — Old reporter’s proverb
Tag: News
How and why it goes from event to fishwrap.
Keep It Under Your Cap
IT PAINS ME ON SEVERAL levels to do this, but I am currently wearing a fisherman’s hat over my kippah. The reason is simple — a dear friend sincerely and greatly fears for my safety in an era where Jews…
20 Observations on Newspaper Reporting
ALTHOUGH THEY RELY ON THEM, few people say they actually trust the news media. (I call it “Ross’ Paradox.”) Everybody has a story. And many want to share it. Newswriting is a form of reality-creation, wherein readers trust you to…
My Contribution to the War Effort
IT’S JUST A LITTLE BLOG called “Metaphorager.” I hope it offers respite.
Plague Haiku
THE PAIN IN MY CHEST Is growing by the hour. I hope it’s heartburn.
Hunkerin’
THE PHRASE OF THE DAY — let’s face it, of the hour (or even minute) — is “an abundance of caution.” As I write this, I am anticipating a shelter-in-place order for my county (Sonoma) to begin today. No telling…
On the “OK Boomer!” Contretemps
SERIOUSLY ASK YOURSELF THIS QUESTION: “Who (and what) profits from pitting one generation of progressives so viciously and stereotypingly against another?”
How I Missed the Moonwalk
THE LAST THING I REMEMBER is Neil Armstrong opening the LEM’s front hatch to begin his televised and epic descent. When I was seven years old, and crazy for space, I had memorized the names of all the astronauts from…
Allegiance Redux
A FEW YEARS AGO, I revised the Pledge of Allegiance — instead of stating support for a piece of cloth, it celebrates what that cloth stands for. In today’s hyper-partisan political and cultural climate, it’s important to be both precise…
“The Merchant of Sonoma”
THEY SAY THAT THERE IS never any “first Jewish settler” anywhere — because no matter who it is, some other Jew was there beforehand. Better instead to say “first known Jewish settler.” And in the case of Sonoma, that honor…
Endurance Test
IT HAS BEEN SAID BEFORE. And sadly, it will no doubt be said again. But I feel the need to say it anyway: A friend of mine told me the other day that, after Poway, she’ll be afraid when I…
Mentors — An Appreciation
BECAUSE OF DARRYL CURTIS, I still say “deh-TAILS” instead of “DEE-tails.” Darryl was my boss at Santa Rosa news-talk radio station KSRO more than 20 years ago. To say I learned from him everything I know about radio reporting would…