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N&O Community Panel

January 29, 2009 by Hal | 1 comment

N&O Community Panel meeting, Jan 28, 2009
Yesterday was my first meeting as part of the News & Observer Community Panel for 2009.

A diverse group from around the Triangle gathered from out of the rain early in the morning. Ted Vaden (Public Editor) and Dan Barkin (Senior Editor/Online) led the discussion.

Senior Editor/Online Dan Barkin
We all weighed in a bit on stories, reporting and coverage. Sometimes Dan & Ted explained why the N&O had made a certain decision. Other times, they wrote in their notebooks and laughed. In a good way, I think.

The panel members had some interesting questions:

  • Too much focus on Wake County news?
  • What happened to MEAC coverage in the Sports Section?
  • Does slang-y language diminish the newspaper?
  • Does picture choice inherently express bias in telling some stories?

Fascinating stuff. Of course, I just wanted to talk about the online component, but I’m a goat flying with swans so I mostly kept my mouth shut.

Best line - Barkin, commenting about why the paper doesn’t cover certain stuff:

“That’s not the straw that stirs the drink.”

I gotta use that.

If any of y’all have questions for the editors of the N&O, email me or send me a tweet.

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Been in Paris

April 9, 2007 by Hal | No comments

I know, I know. I should’ve blogged every day from Paris. But I really justed wanted to chill with the family. It was all good.

Merci bien for all the comments on my linking post.

Back in the saddle again tomorrow. Gotta get some sleep.
cafe paris

head nose

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Hiding Your Email Address from Spambots

March 19, 2007 by Hal | No comments

Ted Vaden, the Public Editor of the News & Observer, blogged last week about a Do-Not-Deliver registry for (junk) phone books akin to the Do-Not-Call registry for Spam Phone Calls.

How about junk email? The Washington Post estimated in 2003 that junk email cost U.S. businesses over $10 billion in wasted time, server space and bandwidth.

For every business that has a website, this problem is particularly acute. You want to post your email address so people can contact you. But if you do, the spambots will find you, harvest the address and sell it to data miners. You can expect an ever-increasing flow of junk to the listed email address.

We’ve just released a short, downloadable QA Tip “How to Hide your Email Address from Spambots” as it relates to business and personal websites.

Hiding your email address from spambots is quick, easy and doesn’t require any advanced web skills. Viewers won’t notice any difference - they’ll be able to see your address and contact you freely. But you’ll be invisible to the data harvesters.

We’ve also included a link to Enigma’s Email Obfuscator, a free tool that can help you baffle the ‘bots.

Now if only we could figure out what to do with those phone books.

Download the whitepaper:
How to hide your Email Address from Spambots

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Woman vs. Female

March 18, 2007 by Hal | No comments

Word-maven William Safire writes today on the subject of woman vs. female in contemporary usage.

We’re longtime Lexicographic Irregulars, but this column seems particularly important for copywriters. Not sure why, just a vague alarm bell going off somwhere that usually signals an impending trip to the couch with a blanket and pillow.

Safire’s always been a troublemaker.

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