journalism blog

There are three significant birthdays in everyone’s life. I won’t count our first one, which is a big deal to our parents. But none of us can remember it, so we can’t have any reaction. The first life changing one, of course, is our eighteenth. We are legally considered adults. We can vote. Most of us have

We’ve all seen the surveys of high school and college students who don’t know anything about current events or history. There was a survey done of students at Texas Tech University in 2014 called Politically Challenged. Most of the students didn’t know who the vice president was, or who won the Civil War, or what country we fought

“First in war-first in peace-and first in the hearts of his countrymen, he was second to none in the humble and enduring scenes of private life; pious, just, humane, temperate, and sincere; uniform, dignified, and commanding, his example was as edifying to all around him as were the effects of that example lasting.” The words

“Wow, what a great idea. Nobody has ever suggested that to me. Wow, I love that.” That was Hillary Clinton’s response when a young woman at a campaign rally in Iowa asked if she would consider nominating President Obama to the Supreme Court if she’s elected president. Only one other former president served on the

It’s coming. It started building earlier this week. Tracking the monster. It starts thousands of miles away, and slowly creeps toward us. It gets bigger and bigger. The guessing and speculation begins about exactly when it will hit and how much will bury us. This is what local television news can feast on during these

The great writers do it alone. It’s exhilarating. It’s frustrating. It’s fun. It’s maddening. Writing demands the best of our creativity. It makes us push ourselves to express ideas and emotions. Sometimes it’s things we can’t say out loud, but can pour onto the page. We can re-write it until we get it just right. Find the

Guns. We love them. We hate them. We can’t live without them. We can’t live with them. They dominate our lives. Stories about their use and misuse dominate the news on many days. They are at the core of our political discourse about crime, terrorism, race, constitutional rights, national security, personal security, immigration. It seems the

Words are a journalist’s most important tool. For broadcast journalists, I would argue they are more important than the video we use to tell our stories. It’s how and what we say about the pictures and the people we interview that has the greatest impact on the viewer. It’s because that’s how we normally interact

My wife noticed some weeks ago that there didn’t seem to be anyone living in our neighbor’s house. The only lights that came on appeared to be on a timer. There was no sign of anyone leaving for work in the morning, and no cars in the driveway. We wondered if everything was alright. Another

The difference between men and woman is never more dramatic than the weeks leading up to Christmas. Once Thanksgiving is over, women start the process of planning and preparing for the biggest day of the year. It’s their Super Bowl. This requires a strategic and multi-pronged approach. It can take on the characteristics of a complex