Monthly Archives: October 2012

Still fighting.

31 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by in Life

≈ Leave a comment

The list of symptoms is cold, spare and clinical.

Difficulty concentrating, remembering details, making decisions. Fatigue and decreased energy. Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, and/or helplessness. Insomnia, early-morning wakefulness or excessive sleeping. Irritability and restlessness. Loss of interest in activities or hobbies you once enjoyed. Overeating or appetite loss. Aches and pains. Sadness. Anxiety. “Empty” feelings.

But the list of symptoms for clinical depression leaves out one thing: the anger. Continue reading →

On Hurricane Sandy and the criticism of joy.

31 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by in Life

≈ Leave a comment

On my Instagram feed, someone’s waiting out Sandy in a New York bar. And below the photo?

“Cool instagram in a bar when 1000s are now homeless.”

On Facebook and Twitter, people are taken to task for posting photos of snow, for mentioning that their classes are canceled, for being on Facebook at all.

These people aren’t making light of the devastation on the East Coast. They’re not manipulating it for their gain. They’re not even complaining. Continue reading →

On college journalism & public screw-ups

24 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by in Work

≈ 2 Comments

I thought I wanted to be on Romenesko, until I was.

It’s not that great of a story. I was a college editor and I hadn’t slept in days. I was  tired and, by then, overwhelmed. We did something stupid, then we wrote something stupid, and I pushed it right onto the page. We had a rough couple of weeks dealing with the fallout and I still regret it today. But it’s over, and I learned.

We weren’t the only 20-something journalists who saw their mistakes ripple through the media-on-media blogosphere this year. These days, you do something dumb at your college publication and you’ll probably see yourself on Romenesko, College Media Matters, and a few others besides. (Unfortunately, we also made PR Daily and one HuffPost vertical.) Continue reading →