Tonight's Democratic debate in the poisoned city of Flint, Michigan, has provoked an uncharacteristic fear among the campaign press corps. "It’s rare that such a large group of political journalists, who might not otherwise be sent out to cover stories such as the water crisis in Flint, come face-to-face with a major humanitarian issue."
Gatehouse Media, the newspaper chain that sold the Las Vegas Review-Journal to casino mogul Sheldon Adelson in secret last year, was prepared not to disclose the identity of the buyer "indefinitely," according to an SEC filing unearthed by POLITICO Media on Friday. The stealthy sale raised eyebrows among media reporters and the Review-Journal's own journalists, who balked at having a shadowy figure controlling the newspaper.
Michael Kinsley, the legendary ex-editor of the New Republic — and the former boss of Fareed Zakaria — says the academic-turned-columnist-turned-television host ripped people off. Kinsley also finds fault with his pseudonymous accusers, Blippoblappo and Crushingbort.
Seminars and classes about journalism
A two-minute course from News University
In celebration of National Grammar Day, today’s training comes from NewsU’s most popular course: Cleaning Your Copy.
Can't figure out why a sentence just doesn't sound right. The problem might be a lack of parallel construction. That means each element in a sentence should be treated the same way.
Here's a sentence with parallel construction:
The budget director explained the receipts, the plans and the projected costs.
This really is a list of items, so every one should be treated the same way.
Here's one that doesn't work:
The county board wanted last year's budget and analyzing the next budget cycle.
It's still a list, but the items are treated differently. You can fix it this way: The county board wanted last year's budget and an analysis of the next budget cycle.
Try this one:
After the meeting, she went back to the office, the break room and then to dinner.
To make the items parallel, add the word to before all of the items in the list:
After the meeting, she went back to the office, to the break room and then to dinner.
Taken from Cleaning Your Copy, a self-directed course by Vicki Krueger at Poynter NewsU.
Poynter's News University is the world's most innovative journalism and media e-learning program. From mobile tools and social media strategies to writing and reporting techniques, we've got more than 400 free and low-cost courses to build your career. Whether it’s an interactive program or on-demand video teaching, our online training lets you learn on your own schedule, anytime, anywhere. Put the power of NewsU training to work in your newsroom, your classroom and your organization.
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