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Samford

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20
Oct 14

Monday’s deep diving

Here are a few video clips from the day at the races. I didn’t shoot much of anything worthwhile and certainly not enough to tell an actual story, he said, again. But I have the video and it doesn’t have to live on my phone forever. So I threw a few of them together and called it “Things with engines moving very fast.”

And so another week begins, with the strings that drew the last week to a close pulling loose and then taut against the tendrils that start this week. In a conversation with a student on Friday evening barbecue kept coming up as a story example, which I interpreted as a clue that I needed barbecue. So I had some kind or another on Friday night, Saturday and last night. After dinner last night there was laundry and the blur of one week turns into the whirr of the next. Here we are.

Today we discussed feature stories. It was great, we sat out under an oak tree and batted around ideas that students are working on. It was a beautiful afternoon under a shade tree.

And then back to the newsroom, where I fixed something I’d broken Friday night. That took about an hour, wrapping up the ends of something I’d begun at the end of last week. And then office work, trying to wrap up the ends of a department project that goes on and on.

Also, there is a ceiling tile to replace. We had a saggy slab of high density mineral fiber pulp that finally gave way. And now all of the cold or warmth from outside is falling in through the attic. So a call to the nice people in the facilities department, who gave me a promise that they would come, sometime soon, to fix the problem.

There are, of course, also the tedious and silly routines and errands that really fill our day. Most of this particular day’s chores won’t even mean anything in the long run. It is a Monday, after all.

Things to read … because it is a Monday.

And now we’ve localized the American Ebola story, Alabama teacher on leave after traveling aboard same plane, but on a different day, as Ebola patient:

The Phenix City Board of Education placed a high school teacher on paid leave after learning the employee traveled on the same airplane that carried a person with the Ebola virus the previous day.

The school board placed the Central High School teacher on 21 days of paid leave despite the Centers for Disease Control and the Alabama Department of Public Health insisting there is no risk of the teacher being exposed to Ebola.

Superintendent William Wilkes wrote in a letter to parents dated Oct. 19 that the teacher was being placed on leave for the incubation period of the Ebola virus “out of an abundance of caution.”

The comments are almost all with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

I usually don’t enjoy Q&As, but this one is entertaining on a variety of subjects, In Conversation Marc Andreeseen:

You could probably bring in the whole online-education movement. But for me, the question is, who does the best with online schooling? And it’s mostly autodidacts, people who are self-starters. They’ve found that people from low-income communities actually get the least out of it.

It’s way too early to judge, because we’re at the very beginning of the development of the technology. It’s like critiquing dos 1.0 and saying that this will never turn into the Windows PC. We’re still in the prototype experimental phase. We can’t use the old approach to teach the world. We can’t build that many campuses. We don’t have the space. We don’t have money. We don’t have the professors. If you can go to Harvard, go to Harvard. But that’s not the question. The question is for the 14-year-old in Indonesia staring at a life of either, like, subsistence farming or being able to get a Stanford-quality education and being able to go into a profession.

The one other thing that people are really underestimating is the impact of entertainment-industry economics applied to education. Right now, with MOOCS,11 the production values are pretty low: You’ll film the professor in the classroom. But let’s just project forward. In ten years, what if we had Math 101 online, and what if it was well regarded and you got fully accredited and certified? What if we knew that we were going to have a million students per semester? And what if we knew that they were going to be paying $100 per student, right? What if we knew that we’d have $100 million of revenue from that course per semester? What production budget would we be willing to field in order to have that course?

You could hire James Cameron to do it.

You could literally hire James Cameron to make Math 101. Or how about, let’s study the wars of the Roman Empire by actually having a VR [virtual reality] experience walking around the battlefield, and then like flying above the battlefield. And actually the whole course is looking and saying, “Here’s all the maneuvering that took place.” Or how about re-creating original Shakespeare plays in the Globe Theatre?

Sorta makes you want to invest in VR, doesn’t it?

And, finally, speaking of James Cameron, here’s some deep diving that should be filmed. It would be a 12-minute long film. New World Record for Deepest Scuba Dive:

Due to the requirements of decompression and the need to expel nitrogen, the ascent to the surface required a staggering 14 hours.

Sorta makes breaking the surface anticlimactic, no?

Friday / journalism / links / photo / Samford / things to read / Twitter — Comments Off
17
Oct 14

The ball joint and groove

I don’t read a lot of FAQ pages, but maybe I should start. The random question can be the best. You’ll see why below.

I left campus at 7:30 tonight. I had a meeting until about 7 p.m. with students. Students gathered until 7 p.m. on a Friday night. They did this after working late into the evening last night o put their paper to bed. And then they sat around in the earliest part of their weekend and talked with me about their work. Their dedication to their craft is so very admirable.

And then, at home tonight, I learned that our postal crew understands humor. Specifically, irony, a bend across the link of the envelope, right on the stamp that says “Do Not Bend.”

Fortunately, they also understand unwanted mail. I must get this same envelope every other month. I open it, remove the return envelope, skim the contents and practice my best wrist-rotating exercises 16 times. Sometimes I get another rip and tear in there. Sometimes the tension of the paper is too much and I think back to that year we managed to get a huge stack of unnecessary phone books. YouTube was just becoming a fixture. I found videos teaching me how to rip phone books. I managed to perfect the technique, at least one svelte editions of the phone books. Now, I’m destroying junk mail. It has much greater tensile strength.

If they’re going to bend it — it is more malleable than a phone book — the mail carrier may as well just keep the thing themselves, right?

Things to read … because when you see good things, you shouldn’t keep it to yourself.

Syracuse basketball’s Orange Madness: Details on selfies, student dunks, legends:

Why selfies and not autographs?

“We just felt like it would be more of a keepsake for our fans to take pictures and pass them around on social media,” Donabella said.

It has never occurred to me to get the autograph of a college athlete. I’ve covered a lot of them, and I’ve watched and cheered for many, many more, but autographs, no. I once sat on a sofa and talked dry cleaning with the fastest man in NCAA track and field. But it never occurred to me to take a photograph with him. (“Back in my day … “)

I have a few autographs of a few others — my first one, I think, is a now faded slip of paper with Kenny Stabler’s name scrawled on it. Later I managed to get a few photographs with famous people. I prefer the photos. Though the Stabler story is pretty good.

The explanation is easy, Twitter Is Finally Explaining Its Suggested Tweets Strategy:

When Twitter first started testing these suggested tweets a few months ago, it didn’t explain the change very well to users, most of whom were confused and even angry when they started seeing content in their stream from people they didn’t follow. Twitter often experiments with new features without adding much of an explanation early on.

Thursday’s blog post is Twitter’s attempt to quell those concerns and offer some insight into the company’s strategy.

They are doing it to frustrate me. If I wanted those extra tweets they’d be in my feed. So you’re offering me discovery by way of people I follow. They have a way to share information with me already, using the retweet button. When you add the favorite button to all of that, well you’re just making buttons redundant, you’re messing up the temporal flow of things and just being tedious, all based on an algorithm.

I have a lot of thoughts on this subject. It all boils down to humanism.

If this story is even close to true … 19-year-old dies naked on cell floor of gangrene; lawsuits target deaths in Madison County jail”>

Your daily Ebola update:

Advisory on Ebola coverage

Amid Assurances on Ebola, Obama Is Said to Seethe

You don’t see the word “seethe” in headlines very often.

Finally, we’re going to the race at Talladega this weekend. We’re trying to figure out how much time to allow for traffic. I’m reading Yelp reviews and random things people have written on various sites (“Leave home: August | Leave the race: After the national anthem.”)

I found myself reading the Superspeedway’s FAQ:

18. Can I get married at Talladega Superspeedway?

Couples wishing to exchange vows on speedway property may do so within the confines of their spot in one of the parks. Weddings are not allowed on speedway property that is used for competition during race weekends.

We got married in lovely and historic downtown Savannah, Georgia. I am now kicking myself I didn’t think of the race track.

I’m sure someone wants to marry during a yellow. Someone else wants to marry and cause a yellow. I wonder if the minister says something like “If anyone has any reason why these two should not be wed or why Jeff Gordon shouldn’t be put into the wall in turn four, speak now or forever hold your peace.”

And, of course, the F in FAQ stands for “Frequently.” If it means anything, it wasn’t the last one on the list, either.

I do not know what is happening. / iPhone / journalism / links / photo / Samford / things to read / Thursday / video — Comments Off
16
Oct 14

There is a video at the end of this post

I’m writing this at the end of a long day, in the middle of a short week, which feels like a long week. But I have a reasonable lecture prepared for tomorrow. The news crew has finished their paper for tomorrow’s edition. I’ve worked on running projects and I ran from working projects.

Wait. That’s not right. I worked on ongoing projects. Later, I went for a run. It was not a fun run. I’ve had one or two of those (I do not know what is happening) but this one wasn’t one of them.

I enjoyed the end of a lovely sunset, however:

And because I was looking that direction I saw this sign … I wonder how many people honked.

Someone approved that sign:

Things to read … because they were approved too.

This was 160 years ago, Samford Recalls “The Midnight Fire”:

On the night of Oct. 15, 1854, the young college’s only building – which housed students, classrooms, laboratories, equipment, books – was destroyed by fire. All the young college’s property was lost, and one student died as a result of injuries sustained in the fire. Located at the time in Marion, Alabama, the college was not quite 13 years old and could have been devastated by the fire.

But, it was a story of heroism during the fire that has carried forward in the university’s history and folklore. Harry, the college janitor and a slave belonging to President Henry Talbird, was among the first to awaken after the fire was discovered. According to accounts of the tragic night, when told to escape while he could, Harry replied, “Not till I wake up the boys.”

He went door to door through the building on his “errand of mercy,” according to reports of the time. When he reached the last room on the upper floor, he was faced with flames where he could not reach the stairs. He jumped from the hall window and was fatally injured.

Put these two together:

HBO to launch standalone streaming service in 2015

CBS follows on HBO’s heels with launch of web-only streaming service

You notice there’s first a premium cable station and a broadcast going the same way. The dominos are at the very least moving. I can’t decide if this puts ABC’s ESPN properties in the sweet spot or puts them behind the eight ball. I’m leaning toward the side that suggests that gives ESPN all the power in the remaining deals.

I suppose I should find this interesting, but mostly I’m not sure why an advertiser and creative think I should give feedback to an ad: If You’d Like To Interact With The Future Of Audio Ads, Please Say “Proceed”.

White House pool reporters test own news distribution system:

White House journalists are creating an alternative system for distributing their media “pool” reports in response to the Obama administration’s involvement in approving and disapproving certain content in official reports.

[…]

Reporters have complained that the Obama White House exploits its role as distributor to demand changes in pool reports and that the press office has delayed or refused to distribute some reports until they are amended to officials’ satisfaction.

But now, some journalists are sharing their White House reporting using Google Groups — the digital service that allows registered users to receive and send information within a closed circle. In an early test of the supplemental system, journalists shared pool information about President Obama’s trip to Chicago this month. The system has been used for “advisories,” such as where the pool is assembling, when another pool report will be issued or whether a correction is in the works.

Because training demonstrates it is more of an evolution than a revolution? The smartphone revolution and why training matters

From the Department of Who Knew? Publishers want out of Apple’s Newsstand jail:

Apple was supposed to save publishers, but these days, it seems like publishers need to be saved from Apple.

Three years ago, Apple introduced Newsstand, a feature that gave iOS users a dedicated home for their digital magazines and newspapers. The app, designed to look like an actual physical newsstand, was good news, too, for publishers, which finally had a way to better stand out from other non-magazine apps.

But three years later, publishers say that Newsstand is holding them back and, in some cases, actively hurting them.

Three years ago, keen observers saw that coming.

This defies excerpting, but it is well said if you haven’t compiled this general sentiment in the last 10 years ago, The bad news about the bad news

And, finally, today’s This Kid Is Cooler Than We Are story, Montevallo first-grader raising money to help Children’s of Alabama cancer patients:

After one of her peers at Montevallo Elementary died of cancer over the summer, first-grader Kayla SanRoman remembers the sight of the many yellow ribbons hanging in the school’s hallways.

At just 6 years old, Kayla knew she wanted to help somehow.

On a piece of white paper, she created a flyer that included a picture she drew of a stick figure with a frown and the words, “Donate muneye for cancer. We hope you can donate to childes hoseital.”

[…]

Kayla has raised $105 as of Wednesday in an effort to get as much as she can by the end of the month to help children with cancer at Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham.

“I’m trying to get a lot of money so I can donate there so they can probably maybe help them,” Kayla said.

The kids are better than alright, no?

Finally, I shot this today. Just put my photo in the windowsill and waited for something to happen. Nothing happened:

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13
Oct 14

Home light

The early evening light as it falls into our living room:

I do think that’s my favorite hour of the day in the house. It is full of hope and wonder, but it also has some melancholy, too. It is fleeting. And, soon, the light points out, it will be dark. So I’m always torn about it, but I do love that hour of golden light.

In the bedroom in comes in through a large laurel oak and if there is even a gentle breeze you get beautiful shadows dancing on the walls and the floor and the bed. As far as anyone can tell, that is one of the few redeemable qualities of a laurel oak.

Fall break at school, so I’m working from home. Two class preps. Emails to read and deliver. Work to dream up for student projects.

I also had to write a document on student achievements. We have impressive students. We have a lot of impressive students. And then we have some who just earn and win everything. I don’t know how they do it.

The most difficult thing, though, was trying to provide context. What’s the best way to distinguish this honor society from that one? And how do I explain this scholarship compared to another? Context is important, and it isn’t enough to say “Trust us on this, she’s an awesome person.”

Also, there was copy editing. There is always copy editing. Make your peace with it early, try to get useful at it. There is always something to read and mark up.

Things to read … because there is always something to read.

Let me guess! Because Alabama doesn’t have a rule on the books? Because Alabama doesn’t have a rule on the books, Why you may not know if your data has been hacked

What Buzzfeed, Medium and Adafruit Know About Engagement:

“When we have something that’s a hit, usually our response is not, let’s do more of those. Our response is, let’s figure why this is a hit and make variations of this. This was successful because it was tied to someone’s identity, it was successful because it had cats in it, or it was successful because it had humor, or it was successful because it tapped into nostalgia. If you’re making entertainment content, which is a big part of what we do, you look at that hit and you say, ‘Why was that successful? Can I do it again? Can I make something else that people really love and want to share?’ And you try to vary it, even though you know doing something derivative would work. Long term, you want to have a deeper understanding of how to make great things. That’s really the focus. That comes from people in a room talking and saying, ‘Oh, let’s try this, let’s try that.’ And valuing people doing new things, not just valuing people doing big things.”

Uh huh, NBC News’ Nancy Snyderman Apologizes for Violating Ebola Quarantine Guidelines

This is a great read on how the previous story came to pass, How local news site nailed NBC News top doc

Louisiana Attorney General halts Ebola waste disposal:

It was reported that six truckloads of potential Ebola contaminated material collected from the apartment where the Dallas Ebola victim became ill were brought to Port Arthur, Texas late last week to be processed at the Veolia Environmental Services incinerator.

From there the incinerated material was slated to be transported to the Chemical Waste Management hazardous material landfill in Calcasieu Parish for final disposal.

The temporary restraining order, signed by Judge Bob Downing Monday in Louisiana’s 19th Judicial District Court, requires Veolia to cease and desist any transport of the incinerator ash from the treated Ebola contaminated waste in Texas to the State of Louisiana.

This could be a big deal. Or it could be another Mobro 4000. Do you remember the 1987 garbage barge story? Last year’s 25th anniversary meant the New York Times revisited the Mobro 4000 story and concluded “little of what we thought we knew was true.”

One last game:

Yeah, that’s just the promo — the full package doesn’t seem to be on YouTube — but it is a great story.

journalism / links / Samford / things to read / Wednesday — Comments Off
8
Oct 14

Oh, this is awkward, but deliberately so

In class today we talked about different story forms. I got to discuss the circle lead, one of the best tricks in a writer’s quiver. I’d use them all the time if I could, but if you don’t get it just right that arrow in your quiver becomes a whacky splinter, spinning out of control.

They have to be done well. There is an art to them. You see these often — the ending in some way refers back to the beginning, with a phrase or a callback so that your news story comes full circle — and some are definitely better than others.

(Watch, I’ll do a bad one below.)

There was a story in the Crimson about another awareness month — October is just full of them for some reason. Only in this particular one, nothing seems to be happening. But you are aware! There is a feature on Yik Yak. Our features editor interviewed the CEO. Turns out they know some of the same people. There was also a column comparing cats and engagement rings.

You can find them all, and more, on the site, which is due a relaunch here in the next few weeks. Looking forward to that.

Things to read … because I always look forward to reading.

We saw this in recruitment two years ago, but now it is “official.” Not sure if that’s because an investment firm did some research or that the research got written about in a paper, Teens are officially over Facebook

Somehow, I doubt this particular gentleman’s unfortunate story is far from over, Ebola patient in Dallas hospital dies

Meanwhile, Conn. Health Commissioner Granted Quarantine Power

And locally, CDC Sets Up Mock Ebola Ward Set Up In Alabama:

Time to put on the protective suits. The students use a buddy system to check each other as they pull on each piece of gear – boots, a jumpsuit, surgical gloves, head covering, facemask, apron. Heather Bedlion is a registered nurse and has worked in a disaster zone, but she’s never put on this amount of protection.

It sounds like protocol will mean everything.

Predictable, perhaps unavoidable, and sad, Turkey Refusing to Fight ISIS Right on Its Border

Don’t forget about these folks, South, North Korea ships fire shots at disputed sea border

And, here at home, Jimmy Carter unhappy with Obama’s policies in Middle East:

Carter said it was hard to figure out exactly what President Obama’s policy is in the Middle East.

“It changes from time to time,” Carter said. “I noticed that two of his secretaries of defense, after they got out of office, were very critical of the lack of positive action on the part of the president.”

Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta was the most recent to criticize Obama, in remarks he made to USA Today while promoting his new book, “Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace.”

Carter acknowledged that the ISIS situation is complicated and he thinks the United States waited too long to respond.

“First of all, we waited too long. We let the Islamic state build up its money, capability and strength and weapons while it was still in Syria,” he said. “Then when [ISIS] moved into Iraq, the Sunni Muslims didn’t object to their being there and about a third of the territory in Iraq was abandoned.”

Carter is just stating facts, and the facts as he sees them. He’s always just a moment or two away from returning to that most annoying of political institutions, the critical ex-president.

Long has there been a tradition of great men — and even the lesser men that have held the office — of retiring and holding their tongues. Some people just can’t help themselves, though. Jimmy Carter can be one of those guys. Harry Truman was the same. And that’s, perhaps, the most Trumanesque thing he can muster. We’d perhaps all be better off if he simply returned to the great post-presidency work he’s done. That’s the strongest arrow in his quiver.

(See?)