Author Archive
Articles by Merrill Perlman | Email the Author
That’s that, part one
A word used too often, or not enough
By Merrill Perlman May 22, 2012 at 06:50 AM
“President Obama said Wednesday he would go to Europe.” Is Wednesday the day he is going to Europe? Or the... More
Logue jam
A catalog of dialogues
By Merrill Perlman May 16, 2012 at 06:50 AM
“Catalogue” can also be spelled “catalog.” “Dialogue” can also be spelled “dialog.” But “monologue” is rarely spelled “monolog.” The Americans... More
No fun
Noun? Verb? Yes. Adjective? Well …
By Merrill Perlman May 9, 2012 at 12:00 PM
The journalism professor was not having much “fun” explaining things to her feature-writing students: “I know so fun is wrong... More
Organically Grown
The DNA of new words
By Merrill Perlman May 1, 2012 at 10:49 AM
Language evolves. New words and concepts show up and catch on—“app,” “smartphone,” “podcast”—or die from disuse or dysfunction—“Y2K,” “newsreel,” “rad.”... More
Climate Change
Weathering a climax
By Merrill Perlman Apr 23, 2012 at 12:57 PM
An extension of a federal highway program passed the House recently, over the objections of some Democrats. “Even as they... More
Viva La Difference
Comparatively speaking
By Merrill Perlman Apr 17, 2012 at 04:27 PM
Am I “different than” you? Or “different from ” you? And does it matter? “Different than is often considered inferior... More
Locution, Locution, Locution
Fewer words take up less real estate
By Merrill Perlman Apr 9, 2012 at 03:54 PM
The Internet offers writers unlimited space and so, for many, their writing expands expansively. Readers, however, have limited attention spans.... More
Flat Out
Writers are “prone” to use the more familiar word
By Merrill Perlman Apr 4, 2012 at 06:00 AM
The gunman was “lying prone on his stomach.” He could have just been “prone,” and the writer could have saved... More
Not Just Desserts
How “junket” became a bad word
By Merrill Perlman Apr 2, 2012 at 01:29 PM
The good times were back on Wall Street, the news report said. Executives of a banking firm were staying at... More
Madison Square Gardening
Time to plant some “seeds”
By Merrill Perlman Mar 26, 2012 at 01:13 PM
It’s spring, and a young man’s fancy turns to … seeds. “Seeding” is a way of creating a tournament “draw”... More
Beggars Can Be Choosers
Questioning the questions
By Merrill Perlman Mar 19, 2012 at 03:03 PM
Every so often it’s important to revisit an issue, to clarify or modify it, depending on the circumstances. It “begs... More
Jibe Talking
Confusion over jibe, jive, gibe, and gybe
By Merrill Perlman Mar 12, 2012 at 11:59 AM
“Alas, poore Yorick,” Shakespeare wrote. “Where be your gibes now?” Or, depending on your edition of Hamlet, perhaps he wrote... More
@#?
How to quote e-mail, tweets, and such
By Merrill Perlman Mar 5, 2012 at 01:04 PM
BREAKING: Palm Beach Sheriffs Office tells @SusanCandiotti that the bomb squad is investigating a suspicious pkg near #Rush #Limbaugh home... More
Media Rare
Revisiting singular versus plural
By Merrill Perlman Feb 27, 2012 at 12:07 PM
Last week, a post at the Poynter Institute took a strong stand: “It’s time for copy editors to loosen the... More
Cardinal Sins
First or middle name?
By Merrill Perlman Feb 21, 2012 at 02:50 PM
In ceremonies filled with pomp, twenty-two men were named cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church, including two from the United... More
Silent Knight
What a difference a letter makes
By Merrill Perlman Feb 13, 2012 at 03:14 PM
For The Electric Company, Tom Lehrer wrote a song to which all writers should listen: Who can turn a can... More
Addressee Unknown
Another comma goes AWOL
By Merrill Perlman Feb 6, 2012 at 05:52 PM
The Super Bowl is over, thank heavens, so all those incorrectly punctuated signs rooting for one team or another can... More
Houses of Straw
Flimsy votes and arguments
By Merrill Perlman Jan 30, 2012 at 12:20 PM
Though we’re thick in the primary and caucus season, the testing of the political winds actually began months ago, with... More
The Jury is in
On “jury-rigged” and “jerry-built” confusion
By Merrill Perlman Jan 27, 2012 at 06:00 AM
An article about a rundown neighborhood said that “most of the buildings are jerry-rigged structures of corrugated aluminum.” Another article... More
Confidence Trick
Scams ‘R’ Us
By Merrill Perlman Jan 24, 2012 at 11:51 AM
In an episode of Dragnet from the late nineteen-sixties, Joe Friday is assigned to the “bunco squad,” where he and... More
#Realtalk: This isn’t another ‘golden age’ for print - But it is one for media
Social media in smaller markets - How three social media managers deal with smaller markets and more local coverage.
A rally for laid-off Sun-Times photogs - A protest Thursday morning drew about 150 picketers to the newspaper’s headquarters
Reporting, or illegal hacking - Scripps reporters are accused of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Exchange Watch: California Dreaming - Low healthcare premiums on the West Coast were trumpeted as a big, good-news Obamacare story. But: “Compared to what?”
Rolling Stone remembers Michael Hastings, dead at 33
The bold journalist died in a car accident in Los Angeles
On the journalistic value of being “a dick”
Buzzfeed’s statement on the death of its reporter
The disappearance of ‘Sports of the Times’
CJR’s panel discussion on coverage of gay marriage
On the eve of two related SCOTUS decisions, how should journalists be covering the issue?
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.
