This is a blog post written in June, by Jessica Redfield, a young journalist covering hockey in Colorado. It’s about her experience as she narrowly avoided a shooting in a Toronto Mall. Continue reading →

Thanks, Bukowski.

“If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don’t even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery—isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. And, you’ll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you’re going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It’s the only good fight there is.”

Note: I also shared this post on my student media blog.

When I first started dabbling in social for my college newspaper, I was mystified by a lack of clicks and engagement on things I thought were very important. Elections, scandals and other big happenings saw low response and almost no sharing.

Note: I also posted this on my student media blog.

If you’re a new editor at your college newspaper, you know the difference between your and you’re, the correct AP Style for numbers one through 10 and the right use of the word “alleged.”

That’s cool. But your first editing night, all of that’s going to fly out the window. It’s just a lot of content the first time. Here’s how to sift through it. Continue reading →

A few newspaper fronts I liked today — all courtesy of the Newseum, of course — are below the jump. Continue reading →

Don’t talk about things “real” journalists do. Don’t talk about things the “real” newspapers printed.

If you’re doing it right, you’ve woken up at 7 a.m. to take a phone call when you didn’t have class until noon.

You’ve taken a nap in a newsroom.

You’ve covered protests and city government infighting and deaths and crimes and administrative bad behavior. Continue reading →