Military Editors

Archive for the 'Writing and Editing' Category

03 Mar

Judging in public

The Army’s Keith L. Ware communications competition once was judged by boards of distinguished eminences in the Public Affairs world. They’d pore over entries in a sealed conference room, then emerge like cardinals or members of the Fed to award, reward and mention honorably aspirants to the plaques.
In the last two competitions, however, the judges [...]

09 Jan

Good reporting: Suicide in the military

For a lesson in exactly how to make a story relevant and readable read this article by Dijon Rolle of U.S. Army Garrison Baden-Wuerttemburg.
In researching “Breaking the silence: Soldier conquers suicidal thoughts,”  Rolle did more than get her subject to talk about her feelings – Capt. Stehr was looking for a platform – she told [...]

21 Dec

Read and learn

One great reference:
Poewar.com: Solutions For Writers.
Tip of the hat to past colleague Gary St.Lawrence. Link found on his site.

15 Dec

RIPaper?

Folio: magazine reports on the passing of a milestone in the reorganization of the news industry.
Yesterday, Nielsen Business Media reported that Editor & Publisher was shutting down.Clearly, Nielsen concluded that the supplier community serving the newspaper industry can no longer sustain a media business that reports on the newspaper industry. When you get to the [...]

04 Sep

Environmental cleanup made simple enough for journalists

Environmental cleanup happens on practically every installation, but its tricky to write about, in part because the technology involved has its own language. “Media” ain’t what you think it is, and you’ll never hear the word “sparge” in polite company unless you’re talking to someone in cleanup.  I’ve spent a good part of the last [...]

31 Aug

Print takes another hit

Portability, readability and browsability: these attributes of print give hope to publishers in the face of the rapid conversion of our text and image media to electrons.
In portability – the ability to engage media anywhere – books, newspapers and magazines are giving way to electronic readers and smart phones. But in that, electronics has a way [...]

18 Aug

Photo file: Not the Point

Two days of hell, nine men of valor, originally uploaded by Army.mil.
This looked like a weak photo to include in a photo set — then I realized the photo was not the point.
Technically, it’s almost perfect – pleasing outdoor sun, well-exposed shadows*, no one caught with a goofy expression, nice telephoto compression. I would have [...]

18 Aug

Life Without the Installation Paper

Installation newspapers are essentially town newspapers, and they are suffering from the same loss of readership and advertising as their civilian counterparts. The TechCrunch blog yesterday covered a presentation proposing one model for the survival of local journalism.
Don’t worry, though. Media consultant, blogger, and CUNY professor Jeff Jarvis has a few ideas for how to [...]

14 Aug

Browsable dictionary

This seems useful: Definitions.net puts an a-to-z bar near the top of the page, and fun and useful definitions front-and-center. By comparison, my favorite online dictionary, Merriam-Webster, emphasizes its vast array of features, and dictionary.com still seems like it’s primarily a marketing site despite its redesign. Definitions.netseems the more logocentric of the three.  Its sister site, [...]

12 Aug

Media panel on DAY 2

These notes have been hovering in my drafts folder since the second day of the Worldwide Public Affairs Symposium May 5. My smartphone decided it didn’t like to play with the Opera browser I was using. They’re a little cryptic, but I hope you find them useful.
Media panel: ABC, USA Today, WTOP radio, AP Wash. [...]

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