Archive for the ‘Shoptalk’ Category
Want to open up some political space? Read a poem
A New York Times article about a poetry salon in Syria includes one of the more charming sentences I’ve read in the media lately: “Lukman Derky, the host of a weekly poetry salon here, was in classic form, a beer perched below a microphone he used to joke, to soothe, to provoke….He also politely apologized [...]
How to help readers trust you if you tweet about rape
Update: For more on earning readers’ trust in trauma stories, see my January/February 2011 article in the Columbia Journalism Review (PDF here with permission). There was a big bruhaha not long ago on Twitter in which I got pretty well bitch slapped by the editor of one of my favorite magazines. So while I really [...]
Should we tweet rape?
Update: This post includes content from a few others on the issue. Over the last few days, readers here and elsewhere have shared some very compelling thoughts. For a roundup of ideas offered on this topic, from comments across this blog and elsewhere on the Internet, please see my newest post on the issue. For [...]
Writers wanted: Social injustice after 9/11
My erstwhile classmate and current literati Alia Malek is editing a book that needs contributions. Alia wrote A Country Called Amreeka: American Roots, Arab Stories, an alternative look at America through profiles Arab Americans over the last hundred-plus years. Her next project is part of the Voice of Witness series, founded by Dave Eggers and [...]
To Journalism, with love from Africa
In a break from a torrent of writing, I was reading a quick take on Adam Hochschild’s talk at a recent writer’s conference. He’s written Bury the Chains, about the antislavery movement, and of King Leopold’s Ghost, which I find in Africa as often as I find the Bible, and “Blood and Treasure,” the best [...]
The audacity of online ad revenues
I just read this NYT piece about how newspapers are using online data to refine their strategies, from what is presented where and for how long on the WSJ home page to whether “long-form video” works online at the Post. One thing caught my eye: At a recent meeting with the top online editors of [...]
I am a freelance journalist and multimedia producer who covers human rights, Africa and foreign affairs. [