Language Corner
Been There
Learning to dodge clichés
By Merrill Perlman Sep 7, 2010 at 11:12 AM
Hurricane Earl was a monster, a Category 4 storm. Along the East Coast from North Carolina to New England, news... More
You Said What?
Words that have changed meaning
By Merrill Perlman Aug 30, 2010 at 12:55 PM
Kenn Fong wonders about words whose meanings have been co-opted by popular culture. “The other day a friend spoke of... More
Look It Up!
A dictionary by any other name…
By Merrill Perlman Aug 23, 2010 at 03:43 PM
Twitter was all, ah, atwitter last week because a new edition of a dictionary came out, adding about 2,000 words... More
Double Word Score
The same word, only different
By Merrill Perlman Aug 16, 2010 at 02:37 PM
The truck on the highway carrying dangerous chemicals usually carries a notice that its contents are “inflammable.” If the truck... More
Capital Losses
When a noun is proper, or not
By Merrill Perlman Aug 9, 2010 at 12:23 PM
The coming fall elections promise a lot of intrigue. We will read in The New York Times all about the... More
Sworn Out
How vulgar can you be?
By Merrill Perlman Aug 2, 2010 at 01:21 PM
Caution: Adult content ahead! Only a dork or scumbag wouldn’t acknowledge screwing up, though admitting error really sucks. And only... More
For Giving
How to know when ‘for’ needs an ‘e’
By Merrill Perlman Jul 26, 2010 at 04:00 PM
A golfer who hits a ball into the vicinity of others is beholden to yell “Fore!” to warn them to... More
Two Shall Be as One
The gospel of merging words
By Merrill Perlman Jul 19, 2010 at 03:52 PM
In the beginning, there were two words. And people went forth and used the words separately or together as needed.... More
Presto, Chango!
The magic of a deceptive word
By Merrill Perlman Jul 13, 2010 at 10:21 AM
Many legislators are resorting to interesting budget tricks to try to pay for everything they want without necessarily having the... More
The ‘-ize’ Have It
A popular suffix gets even more so
By Merrill Perlman Jul 6, 2010 at 11:38 AM
News organizations are in a quandary. They’re trying to “incentivize” readers, “monetize” the publication’s content, and “prioritize” their resources. It’s... More
Style-ish
Yahoo shows why the Web really is different
By Merrill Perlman Jun 29, 2010 at 01:38 PM
Yahoo! There’s a new style guide! By Yahoo! Available now on the Web and to be available in print very... More
Dangling by a Thread
Misplaced modifiers can confuse and amuse
By Merrill Perlman Jun 21, 2010 at 02:46 PM
“After beating Jankovic in 60 minutes in the semifinals, Stosur’s parents and two brothers flew in from Australia to watch... More
On Your Mark
Trademarks that no one treats as such
By Merrill Perlman Jun 14, 2010 at 12:50 PM
When you have a cold, you use a lot of kleenex. When you cut yourself, you put on a band-aid.... More
Proof
Is ‘proved’ the same as ‘proven’?
By Merrill Perlman Jun 7, 2010 at 11:30 AM
A basic tenet of the court system, going back to British common law, is that a suspect is “innocent until... More
How Big Is Big?
When numbers are meaningless
By Merrill Perlman Jun 1, 2010 at 04:52 PM
It’s that time of year again. Wildfires are starting to spread, well, like wildfires. And meaningless measurements of the size... 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?
Fearless British mother who talked down Woolwich terrorists
“It is only you versus many people, you are going to lose”
7 questions for President Obama
Stop with the Jew-ranking already!
“There are some lists that have helped Jews in the past, including, most notably, Schindler’s, but…”
Please continue pronouncing ‘gif’ any way you please
We are all correct
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.
