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Merrill Perlman
Duty Double
When nouns and verbs collide
By Merrill Perlman Jan 10, 2011 at 02:58 PM
Headlines are supposed to grab a reader’s attention and provide a fast synopsis of an article for a busy reader.... 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
False Tidals
Not-quite words for natural disasters
By Merrill Perlman Mar 14, 2011 at 04:53 PM
Disasters bring out the best in journalism and journalists, and the cataclysmic events in Japan are no different. But in... More
In Style
AP makes more changes
By Merrill Perlman Mar 21, 2011 at 01:28 PM
Last Monday, you could have written an “e-mail” to your friend in “Calcutta,” checked for a response on your “smart... More
Indescribable
‘Nondescript’ says more than ‘plain’
By Merrill Perlman Feb 14, 2011 at 11:58 AM
Bob Kamman of Arizona writes: “Am I the only one who has noticed the increasing use of the adjective ‘nondescript,’... More
Leading Questions
How some journalism terms were born
By Merrill Perlman Nov 1, 2010 at 01:52 PM
The Associated Press recently said it would stop using some wire-service jargon as instructions on its stories. Among them were... More
Overnight Sensation
A wordier term for dusk to dawn
By Merrill Perlman Jan 31, 2011 at 04:03 PM
The weather outside was frightful, and so was the advisory from the National Weather Service. Not known for their literary... More
Rotary Club
Old phone terms hang on
By Merrill Perlman Feb 22, 2011 at 12:43 PM
Some words outlast the things they were coined to accompany, simply because there’s no good alternative. When you write an... More
Snow Job
Just what constitutes a “record”?
By Merrill Perlman Feb 8, 2011 at 12:36 PM
The snowstorm that hit much of the United States last week was one for the books. In Chicago, the 20.2... More
Talking Back
‘Revert’ gains a new meaning
By Merrill Perlman Sep 6, 2011 at 03:56 PM
The recruiter was pleased that the law firm was interested in one of his clients. “I will revert with candidate... More
The Fast Lain
Figuring out ‘lay’ and ‘lie’
By Merrill Perlman Jan 24, 2011 at 02:49 PM
It’s no “lie”: Many people get “lay” and “lie” wrong a lot. So let’s “lay” down the rules. The best... More
The Frugal Writer
Why use several words when one will do?
By Merrill Perlman Jan 19, 2011 at 01:31 PM
At some points in time, people engaged in the profession of journalism tend to learn to acquire the negatively associative... More
The Personals
When to use ‘who’ and ‘that’
By Merrill Perlman Aug 1, 2011 at 12:11 PM
“We’re the people that are going to say, ‘No,’ to Washington, D.C., taxing and spending,” U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX),... More
Women’s Suffixes
Making some nouns more feminine
By Merrill Perlman Mar 7, 2011 at 01:11 PM
If you die in some states and your son is appointed to handle your estate, he is the “executor.” If... 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?
Obama’s war on leaks undermines investigative journalism
“[T]he most militant I have seen since the Nixon administration”
‘It was approved at the highest levels— and I mean the highest’
Holder OK’d search warrant for Fox News reporter’s private emails, official says
If cable is dying, why is it still making so much money?
The story behind one of the best business models in the country
What TVGuide.com watchlist data reveals about the season’s new dramas
“What was once genre is now the Zeitgeist”
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.
