Author Archive
Articles by Merrill Perlman | Email the Author
Lone Modifications
Adjectives may agitate
By Merrill Perlman Jul 25, 2011 at 02:09 PM
Adjectives play many roles. They can tell us which box on the gift table is being discussed—the “blue” box—so we... More
Irony Patch
It’s not a coincidence
By Merrill Perlman Jul 18, 2011 at 01:47 PM
It’s “ironic” that many journalists don’t understand when to correctly use “irony.” Here’s an example of how “irony” frequently appears... More
Quotus Interruptus
‘What … did (he) say?’
By Merrill Perlman Jul 12, 2011 at 12:51 PM
For weeks before Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees reached 3,000 career hits, he had been saying he didn’t... More
Almost Famous
Confusion over “infamy” and “notoriety” abounds
By Merrill Perlman Jul 5, 2011 at 05:05 PM
You probably don’t want to become “infamous.” but you may want to be “notorious.” The adjective “infamous” has traditionally meant... More
Gonna Wanna
When dialects collide
By Merrill Perlman Jul 5, 2011 at 03:40 PM
Writing the way people speak is one way to make sure your copy doesn’t become bloviated or stodgy. But journalists... More
Fraught Fest
Can something be ‘fraught’ without ‘with’?
By Merrill Perlman Jun 27, 2011 at 01:12 PM
Kirk Arnott, a retired assistant managing editor of the Columbus Dispatch who keeps his hand sharp with part-time copyediting there,... More
Title Search
Descriptions that deserve respect, or not
By Merrill Perlman Jun 20, 2011 at 02:10 PM
We love to modify things, to make them as descriptive or as recognizable as possible. It’s not just a house,... More
Call Me ‘Al’
Another confusing suffix
By Merrill Perlman Jun 13, 2011 at 02:28 PM
Is an appliance “electric” or “electrical”? Is Sarah Palin visiting “historic” sites or “historical” sites? Is being “politic” the same... More
Appositive Negatives
Some things are not unique
By Merrill Perlman Jun 6, 2011 at 02:38 PM
Last week, we talked about setting a parenthetical description off with commas in the grammatical phenomenon known as an “appositive.”... More
Negative Appositives
Phrases set off by commas
By Merrill Perlman May 31, 2011 at 01:40 PM
Commas are wonderful tools. They tell a reader to pause, as this one did. They can also tell a reader... More
Name-Calling
Why descriptions are better than labels
By Merrill Perlman May 23, 2011 at 03:27 PM
Arnold Schwarzenegger had sex with a woman who was not his wife, and that woman gave birth to their child.... More
Out of the Museum
“Curate” gets a new life
By Merrill Perlman May 16, 2011 at 03:30 PM
Thirty years ago, the only people who were “curators” worked in galleries or museums, deciding what pieces from the presumably... More
Failure to Launch
Adding “ing” makes a noun, or not
By Merrill Perlman May 9, 2011 at 02:55 PM
When the “launch” of the space shuttle Endeavor finally occurs, many “posts” will appear on blogs and news sites around... More
Hyphen-ation
A little mark can make a big difference
By Merrill Perlman May 2, 2011 at 03:52 PM
During the recent gathering of the American Copy Editors Society, a lot of “hyphen” jokes made the rounds. One was... More
Important News
Some “most important” notes on adverbs
By Merrill Perlman May 1, 2011 at 08:00 AM
Writers, rejoice! it’s perfectly acceptable to tell people what’s most important by saying “most importantly….” Many people were taught that... More
Balance Due
A change because of usage
By Merrill Perlman Apr 25, 2011 at 12:53 PM
Some grammar battles have been fought for years, and many have been lost. (See “hopefully.”) Here’s another one over the... More
Just Among Us…
Betwixt “between”
By Merrill Perlman Apr 18, 2011 at 04:42 PM
Rules tell us what to do, and require no thought. Stop at a red light, or risk getting a ticket.... More
Boing!
Springing to the past
By Merrill Perlman Apr 12, 2011 at 09:31 AM
Spring has sprung The grass is riz; I wonder where the birdies is. That little ditty, or variations of it,... More
Less is Fewer
Counting on grammar rules
By Merrill Perlman Apr 4, 2011 at 02:04 PM
More and more, fewer people use “less” and “fewer” the way the language gods intended. “There are less people here... More
Taking Dictator-tion
Not-so-subtle clues
By Merrill Perlman Mar 28, 2011 at 01:10 PM
Kevin Adams wondered whether journalists are buying in to U.S. foreign policy terminology, subliminally or not. “I’ve noticed that NPR... More
‘See you on the other side’ - Meet Jessica Lum, a terminally ill 25-year-old who chose to spend what little time she had practicing journalism
#Realtalk: This is the best moment to be in journalism - The old stuff isn’t coming back, but that’s okay
Streams of consciousness - Millennials expect a steady diet of quick-hit, social-media-mediated bits and bytes. What does that mean for journalism?
Sticking with the truth - How ‘balanced’ coverage helped sustain the bogus claim that childhood vaccines can cause autism
An ink-stained stretch - Can Aaron Kushner save the Orange County Register—and the newspaper industry?
This is the best moment to be in journalism (25)
The WSJ editorial page hits rock bottom (19)
Ben Mathis-Lilley’s defense of new media
Take off the nostalgia-tinted lenses
21 questions with David Remnick
What grammar mistake do you find most annoying?
Are you sure that question is grammatical?
After 20 years, the world has finally caught up with Daft Punk, so the helmet-clad retro-futurists are embarking on a new mission: to make music breathe again
What is the single most illuminating interview question to ask someone?
The NYT’s Jodi Kantor answers
CJR's Guide to Online News Startups
Uptown Messenger – Hyperlocal news for a neighborhood in New Orleans
Who Owns What
The Business of Digital Journalism
A report from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Questions and exercises for journalism students.
