Ever wondered what the life of a book looks like from a publisher's perspective? Or how the books you read get from the author's laptop to your bookstore (or Amazon cart)? Senior commissioning editor Linda Bree discusses the beginning of a book's life in the editorial process at Cambridge University Press.
Read MoreFair, balanced, unbiased, impartial. Journalism, in theory and by definition, hinges on an ideal of neutrality, an expectation of the direct presentation of facts and findings. Yet the process of news-making is a constant ebb and flow of editorialization. From the selection to the construction of a story, editors and journalists invariably serve as a filter – controlling everything we read, see, and hear. Today, Colleen Cotter, a former news reporter and editor and the author of the forthcoming News Talk: Investigating the Language of Journalism, dissects the inner workings of the media to define the processes and practices that go into crafting our understanding of the day’s events. -------- How to be a language savvy news consumer By Colleen Cotter All professions have them: routines of interacting and communicating that become normalized. That become part of the everyday routine of doing business. A pilot’s FAA-mandated cockpit routine revolves around safety talk. A Disneyland employee uses the specified vocabulary of the Magic Kingdom to enhance the visitor experience. A police officer’s question-asking style leads to “just the facts, ma’am” while the therapist’s are more personal. So it goes with news language. News language isn’t about “correctness” as such, although that’s part of the picture. It can also tell you a lot about what goes on behind the scenes in a newsroom, how reporters and editors think about things, and what the news conventions are. To become a language-savvy news consumer, you have to think both small (words and patterns) and big (culture and concept). Here are some suggestions:
Read MoreMarci Hamilton of the Cardozo School of Law has joined forces with the Stop Abuse Campaign to promote the passage of the Child Victims Act of New York (A02596) before the end of the state's session in June. A leading constitutional law scholar specializing in church/state issues, Hamilton sounds a clarion call for incest/family victims to organize in their push to raise awareness of the CVA. Her book, Justice Denied: What America Must Do To Protect Its Children, has proven a source of inspiration – providing a platform pushing to end arbitrary statutes of limitation for childhood sexual abuse, and allowing survivors past and present to have their day in court. Part of the problem, Hamilton argues, is the presence of formidable opponents to the bill – the insurance industry, the higher-ups of the Roman Catholic Church – as recently addressed in an editorial by the staff of the New York Times last Sunday. What does the bill actually say and where does the Times Editorial stand and how can you find out more on the Stop Abuse Campaign?
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