About Editing and Writing

From a Washington Post story by Paul Farhi headlined “How three major news organizations all got a story about Rudy Giuliani wrong”:

Incorrect information from government sources apparently led three separate news organizations to publish the same erroneous claim about Rudolph W. Giuliani last week that all three later corrected.

The Washington Post, the New York Times and NBC News all reported Thursday that the FBI had briefed the lawyer to President Donald Trump that he was a target of a Russian disinformation campaign during his efforts to dig up unflattering information about then-candidate Joe Biden in 2019.

From a npr.org post by David Folkenflik headlined “In Denver, Civic-Minded ‘Colorado Sun’ Acquires Suburban Newspaper Chain”:

A group of disheartened former Denver Post editors and reporters launched an upstart news site 2 1/2 years ago, called it The Colorado Sun, and hoped it could rescue local news coverage from the dictates of hedge fund owners and Wall Street investors.

On Monday morning, The Sun announced had acquired and would operate a family-owned chain of 24 suburban newspapers around Denver in partnership with a new foundation focused on local journalism.

From a New York Times obit by Sam Roberts headlined “Fred Jordan, Publisher of Taboo-Breaking Books, Dies at 95”:

Fred Jordan, the publishing partner of Barney Rosset, whose groundbreaking Grove Press and Evergreen Review fended off government censors to introduce avant-garde authors who inspired the counterculture of the 1960s, died on April 19 in Brooklyn….

Grove’s lawyers were instrumental in overturning anti-pornography court rulings against D.H. Lawrence’s “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” and Henry Miller’s “Tropic of Cancer” in 1959, William S. Burroughs’ “Naked Lunch” in the early 1960s and the Swedish erotic film “I Am Curious (Yellow)” in the late ’60s.

From a Washington Post story by Paul Farhi and Sarah Ellison headlined “Kevin Merida is named executive editor of Los Angeles Times”:

The Los Angeles Times has named ESPN executive Kevin Merida, an acclaimed journalist who spent more than two decades at The Washington Post, as its next executive editor.

Merida, 64, is a veteran reporter and editor; he worked at the Milwaukee Journal and Dallas Morning News before rising through the ranks at The Post as a political reporter, feature writer, national editor and finally, from 2013 to 2015, the managing editor for news and features, the second-ranking newsroom position.

From a New York Times story by Katie Robertson headlined “Los Angeles Times Hires Its Next Top Editor: Kevin Merida”:

After a six-month search, The Los Angeles Times announced on Monday that it had selected a seasoned journalist to take the publication deeper into its digital future and strengthen its news coverage: Kevin Merida, who spent more than two decades at The Washington Post before becoming an editor and senior vice president at ESPN.

The appointment of a new executive editor ends a much-talked-about search for the top newsroom job at the West Coast’s leading news organization, a competition that attracted some of the biggest names in journalism and was likened to “The Hunger Games.” Mr. Merida will start next month.

From a Los Angeles Times story by Meg James headlined “Kevin Merida named L.A. Times executive editor”:

The Los Angeles Times has named veteran journalist Kevin Merida as its top editor and tasked him with transforming the storied 139-year-old newspaper into a digital powerhouse that thrives for decades to come.

Monday’s announcement by the paper’s owners, Dr. Patrick and Michele Soon-Shiong, caps a five-month search for an executive editor to lead the roughly 500-person newsroom and accelerate its digital shift as readers increasingly get news on their phones and social media feeds instead of a newspaper tossed in the driveway.

From a Washington Post story by Robert McCartney headlined “One name stands out as the new moniker for the Washington Football Team”:

More than 40,000 fans of the Washington Football Team have suggested new names to replace the old one that shall go unmentioned. This writer, a longtime season ticket holder, has a preference. It would link the team’s future with its once-glorious past without offending Native Americans or anyone else.

The Washington Red Wolves.

From The Writer’s Almanac:

It’s the birthday of William Inge, born in 1913 in Independence, Kansas. He came to be known as the “Playwright of the Midwest” and credits his understanding of human nature to growing up in a small town, “I’ve often wondered how people raised in our great cities ever develop any knowledge of humankind. People who grow up in small towns get to know each other so much more closely than they do in cities.”

From an americanpressinstitute.org post by Stephanie Castellano headlined “Keeping opinion local: The benefits of cutting national politics from opinion sections”:

When news organizations face cuts, opinion editors and writers are some of the first on the chopping block: Their work can be replaced by that of national syndicated columnists.

But new research suggests that the long-term effects of that decision may be detrimental to local news organizations. Local news audiences, treated to too much national opinion content, can become further polarized. Some may end up turning away from their local news source out of frustration.

From a Washington Post review by Mark Whitaker of Niall Ferguson’s book titled “Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe”:

Before the coronavirus pandemic struck, Scottish historian Niall Ferguson was busily trotting the globe delivering handsomely paid speeches. Ferguson begins this sweeping survey of the dynamics and impact of various types of global crises through the ages — from plagues and natural disasters to wars and financial panics — by listing all the cities he visited as the latest one was gathering force. In January 2020 alone, he flew to London, Dallas, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Zurich and Fort Lauderdale, Fla….