About Editing and Writing

Ann Arensberg: “A novelist at home writing Gothic mysteries or airy satires about the Manhattan publishing scene”

January 21, 2022

From a New York Times obit by Clay Risen headlined “Ann Arensberg, Insightful Novelist of Mysteries and Manners, Dies at 84”:

Ann Arensberg, a novelist equally at home writing Gothic mysteries set in dark corners of New England and airy satires set in her native territory, the Manhattan publishing and cultural scene, died in Sharon, Conn. Her brother, Walter W. Arensberg, said the cause was complications of Covid-19.

Ms. Arensberg came to writing relatively late in life, after an early career in museums and more than a decade as an editor at Viking Press. After publishing a few short stories in the 1970s, she finished her first novel, “Sister Wolf,” in 1980, when she was 43.

The Case for Writing Longhand: “Two New York Times journalists who write their drafts by hand sing the praises of pen and paper”

January 21, 2022

From a Times Insider column by Sarah Bahr headlined “The Case for Writing Longhand”:

Sam Anderson’s home office in Beacon, N.Y., is a palace of longhand. There are paragraphs scrawled inside the covers of books. Words are wedged into the corners of ripped-open envelopes. His looping script snakes its way down notepads — and there are piles of filled ones.

On nearly every scrawlable surface, there’s Mr. Anderson’s handwriting. And often, those scraps are the start of a story.

POLITICO Editor John Harris: “POLITICO Marked the End of the Era of Institutional Media. Now We Need to Bring It Back.”

January 21, 2022

From an editor’s note on politico.com by founding editor John F. Harris headlined “POLITICO Marked the End of the Era of Institutional Media. Now We Need to Bring It Back.”:

As we approached the 15th anniversary of POLITICO, I plunged into old files expecting to find a lot that would make me cringe.

Cringe, I did, looking at some of the early stories, replete with typos, clunky writing, strained premises. More cringing: The first edition of our publication — January 23, 2007 — with its high school newspaper design and a red-black logo announcing the arrival of “THE POLITICO.” Just like in the early days of “TheFacebook,” we soon dropped the “THE.”

Mikaella Clements: “For some authors, inspiration arrives in high definition. Others see nothing.”

January 21, 2022

From a Washington Post story by Mikaella Clements headlined “For some authors, inspiration arrives in high definition. Others see nothing at all.”:

For Gillian Flynn, a novel often arrives in a single mental image.

“I immediately had this picture of a man coming home to his house and the door flung wide open,” she says of what would become a pivotal scene in her game-changing “Gone Girl.”Flynn, laughing, describes it as the moment when antihero “Nick gets in trouble,” and the image was so entangled with Flynn’s real life that, in that first glimpse, Nick was walking through her own front door.

Reviewing Wannsee: The Road to the Final Solution—”A single meeting can distill the essence of evil”

January 21, 2022

From a Wall Street Journal review by Diane Cole of the book by Peter Longerich titled “Wannsee: The Road to the Final Solution”:

A single meeting can distill the essence of evil. Eighty years ago, on Jan. 20, 1942, Reinhard Heydrich, the head of the SS intelligence service and security police, presided over a high-level meeting with 14 Nazi colleagues at the elegant Wannsee villa near Berlin. The agenda: to discuss “the final solution of the Jewish question in Europe.” At the gathering’s conclusion, the event’s invitation noted, breakfast would be served.

Fred Parris: “He was a love-struck 19-year-old missing his fiancée while serving in the Army when he wrote one of pop music’s most enduring songs”

January 21, 2022

From a New York Times obit by Neil Genzlinger headlined “Fred Parris, Creator of a Doo-Wop Classic, Is Dead at 85”:

Fred Parris, who was a love-struck 19-year-old missing his fiancée while serving in the Army when he wrote one of pop music’s most enduring songs, the wistful doo-wop ballad commonly known as “In the Still of the Night,” and recorded it with his group the Five Satins in 1956, died in New Haven, Conn.

His current group, Fred Parris and the Five Satins, posted news of his death on its Facebook page, saying only that he had died after a short illness.

Houston Is Getting a Nonprofit News Startup

January 20, 2022

From a story on cjr.org by Paroma Soni headlined “Houston will get a $20m startup newsroom”:

A GROUP OF PHILANTHROPIES is launching an independent nonprofit news organization in Houston with initial funding of more than $20 million, marking one of the biggest investments into local news in recent years.

The investments—$7.5 million each from the Houston Endowment and the Kinder Foundation, $4 million from Arnold Ventures, $1.5 million from the American Journalism Project, and $250,000 from the Knight Foundation––are for an initial period of three years.

Paul Farhi: Why Journalists Are Taking Burner Phones to the Beijing Olympics

January 20, 2022

From a Washington Post story by media reporter Paul Farhi headlined “Why journalists are taking burner phones to the Beijing Olympics”:

Journalists covering the Winter Olympics next month say they’ll do their work in Beijing on new cellphones and laptops. When the games are over, they’ll simply leave them behind or throw them away.

The reason: Reporters are concerned that any devices they use there could become infected with tracking software, enabling Chinese authorities to spy on their contents. Hence, the use of “burner” phones and computers.

Washington Post Reporter Robert Costa Is Joining CBS News

January 20, 2022

From a New York Times story by Michael M. Grynbaum headlined “Robert Costa, a Noted Political Reporter, Is Joining CBS News”:

Robert Costa, the high-profile political reporter, is leaving his longtime home at The Washington Post to become a full-time television journalist at CBS News, where he will serve as the network’s chief election and campaign correspondent.

The move is notable as much for Mr. Costa’s stature as a sought-after chronicler of national politics as it is for his decision to depart one of the more prominent roles in print journalism. Mr. Costa, 36, gained attention for his Congressional coverage at the right-leaning National Review magazine before joining The Post in 2014.

A Reporter Reflects As a Crisis Hits Close to Home

January 20, 2022

From a story on fortworthbusiness.com by Marice Richter headlined “A reporter reflects as a crisis hits close to home”:

I was emotionally and physically exhausted. Since Saturday morning, my life had been consumed by the tragic invasion of Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville by an armed gunman, who held four people hostage during a nearly 11-hour standoff.

As a longtime member of CBI, I was horrified when I received a text Saturday morning from a friend and former member of the congregation, asking for help tracking down a phone number for a local FBI official.

About Editing and Writing

Ann Arensberg: “A novelist at home writing Gothic mysteries or airy satires about the Manhattan publishing scene”

The Case for Writing Longhand: “Two New York Times journalists who write their drafts by hand sing the praises of pen and paper”

POLITICO Editor John Harris: “POLITICO Marked the End of the Era of Institutional Media. Now We Need to Bring It Back.”

Mikaella Clements: “For some authors, inspiration arrives in high definition. Others see nothing.”

Reviewing Wannsee: The Road to the Final Solution—”A single meeting can distill the essence of evil”

Fred Parris: “He was a love-struck 19-year-old missing his fiancée while serving in the Army when he wrote one of pop music’s most enduring songs”

Houston Is Getting a Nonprofit News Startup

Paul Farhi: Why Journalists Are Taking Burner Phones to the Beijing Olympics

Washington Post Reporter Robert Costa Is Joining CBS News

A Reporter Reflects As a Crisis Hits Close to Home

About Editing

What Editors Should Look for in Writers

About Writing

Writing That Is of Marginal Interest