Author Archive
Articles by Merrill Perlman | Email the Author
You Talkin’ ‘Bout Me?
Avoiding reader ‘indirection’
By Merrill Perlman May 3, 2010 at 01:05 PM
“A 28-year-old man who died early Saturday in a crash was remembered Sunday as an outgoing, optimistic fellow who had... More
Out the Wazoo
Misspellings of ‘yin and yang’ abound
By Merrill Perlman Apr 26, 2010 at 11:14 AM
Here’s how language changes: Take a term rendered in a foreign language, let’s say “yin and yang.” Have people start... More
Ex-Sited
An AP style change shakes things up
By Merrill Perlman Apr 19, 2010 at 02:59 PM
The Associated Press shook up the world last week. The World Wide Web, that is. The AP, whose stylebook is... More
Beset by Acrimony
Words that no one uses outside journalism
By Merrill Perlman Apr 12, 2010 at 01:44 PM
Time for a rant. Journalists seem to love certain words that no one actually uses in normal conversations. Have you... More
Portion Control
The many variations of ‘proportion’
By Merrill Perlman Apr 5, 2010 at 02:31 PM
How do I “proportion” thee? Let me count the ways: • “Checks dated by April 30 will receive a special,... More
Exclusive
When a list doesn’t include everything
By Merrill Perlman Mar 29, 2010 at 03:41 PM
The newspaper reported a burglary, and said that “four items were taken, including a DVD player, a laptop computer, an... More
Probably Likely
A change that likely needs making
By Merrill Perlman Mar 22, 2010 at 02:08 PM
Now that the health care bill is through Congress, President Obama “likely” will sign it soon, opponents “likely” will challenge... More
Your Deal
Confusing a ‘card shark’ with a ‘cardsharp’
By Merrill Perlman Mar 15, 2010 at 11:12 AM
You’re in Vegas, putting your poker skills to the test. As you are raking in the chips from a particularly... More
No Lectures, Please
‘Podium’ and ‘lectern’ are often interchangeable
By Merrill Perlman Mar 8, 2010 at 01:10 PM
There’s an old joke among journalists—OK, mostly among copy editors—about a passage that says that the speaker “stood behind the... More
Incomplete
Why use “completely”?
By Merrill Perlman Mar 2, 2010 at 01:46 PM
“Completely” is probably one of the most completely superfluous words in the English language. Too often, it’s used to emphasize... More
Exit Strategies
Why are there so many ways to leave?
By Merrill Perlman Feb 22, 2010 at 12:02 PM
The Eskimos may—or may not—have many words for “snow,” but we English speakers certainly have a number of words to... More
Special Issue
A problematic discussion
By Merrill Perlman Feb 16, 2010 at 02:10 PM
Gene Foreman has an issue with “issues.” “I see the misuse of ‘issues’ as a synonym for ‘problems’ as part... More
Meta Data
Self, meet yourself
By Merrill Perlman Feb 8, 2010 at 11:43 AM
Lady Gaga and Elton John, two of the music world’s most self-referential and self-aware performers, sang a duet at the... More
Natural Selection
The dilemma of choices
By Merrill Perlman Feb 1, 2010 at 04:00 PM
These are tough times, and politicians have to make hard choices about how to spend the smaller amounts of money... More
Sissy Talk
“Pantywaist” has survived for nearly 100 years
By Merrill Perlman Jan 25, 2010 at 03:15 PM
If you had children in the early part of the twentieth century, you probably clothed the babies in one-piece suits,... More
Sizing It Up
‘Downsize’ upgrades itself
By Merrill Perlman Jan 19, 2010 at 12:44 PM
In a letter to CJR, Jeffrey Kaye, a freelance journalist and author, objected to some usages in recent articles about... More
Compound Interest
When you’re not quite a suspect
By Merrill Perlman Jan 11, 2010 at 01:33 PM
In the wake of the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a commercial jet, we were introduced to a new term.... More
Word
When auld acquaintance be forgot
By Merrill Perlman Jan 4, 2010 at 11:49 AM
As the new year begins, we’re reeling from an overload of retrospective lists: top news stories; persons of the year;... More
Seizin’ Greetings
Tis the season for misplaced apostrophes
By Merrill Perlman Dec 21, 2009 at 03:20 PM
Pity the poor apostrophe. Even in this, the jolliest of seasons, its traditional role is misused, abused, and forgotten. As... More
Singulars Bar
Pronouns and nouns need to be monogamous—and non-sexist
By Merrill Perlman Dec 14, 2009 at 01:47 PM
Grammar is a strict matchmaker: singular subjects must be paired with singular verbs, and plural subjects can associate only with... More
Woman’s work - The twisted reality of an Italian freelancer in Syria
Sourcing Trayvon Martin ‘photos’ from stormfront - Not a good idea, Business Insider
Elizabeth Warren, the antidote to CNBC - The senator schools the talking heads on bank regulation
Art Laffer + PR blitz = press failure - The media types up the retail lobby’s propaganda
Reuters’s global warming about-face - A survey shows the newswire ran 50 percent fewer stories on climate change after hiring a “skeptic”
Barack Obama: ‘those old times aren’t coming back’
“It used to be there were local newspapers everywhere. If you wanted to be a journalist, you could really make a good living working for your hometown paper”
The Guardian’s editor opens up on Reddit
Alan Rusbridger, editor of The Guardian, answered questions in an Ask Me Anything
The (almost) lost speech of Justice Anthony Kennedy
How his insightful remarks about the Constitution inadvertently make the case for a Supreme Court “media pool”
Fox News sues TVEyes for copyright infringement
Says subscription service sells access to its content without permission nor compensation
CJR's Guide to Online News Startups
ACEsTooHigh.com – Reporting on the science, education, and policy surrounding childhood trauma
Who Owns What
The Business of Digital Journalism
A report from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Questions and exercises for journalism students.
