What's wrong with this pic?

Well, it shows personal and non-public information of this lottery winner. The Morning Sentinel in Maine published a photo in print and online that clearly revealed the winner's address and Social Security number. The Lottery Post had a full discussion of the case and linked to the picture file. That's the image that's reproduced above. In print, it was more legible. One Sentinel reader wrote: "What has he won? Because of the lack of editing he has won a lifetime of grief. Within seconds of glancing at this picture, I noticed the form in the picture includes the man's name, address, telephone number, date of birth and even his Social Security number." The editor has apologized and offered to hire someone to go over the man's credit reports.

Free TimesSelect and the 2nd Kristof contest

The New York Times said today it will give free access to its premium online stuff (it's really good) to anyone with an .edu address. Use it to view some of Kristof's work; if you don't know it, you'll be impressed. It's some of the groundbreaking multimedia work being produced today and it's of particular interest to us because Kristof's background is print.

Guess it was like spontaneous birth

From an IT message: At 10:15 am, all power was restored. All effected devices have been tested to be working normally.

How'd *you* like to be a college editor?

Uh, I know we have some ringers in class. :-) This might be particularly interesting to you. I'm linking to a blog entry by Jon Friedman titled "How a campus editor faces real-world challenges / Commentary: A journalist for the Albany Student Press applies common-sense solutions." Nick Reisman wrestled with whether or not to run a column that said condoms weren't necessary during sex. Check here for his decision and his 20/20 thoughts.

March madness driving me crazy

I was looking at newseum today as I like to on Mondays to see the bigger news stories. I came across this one and it made me cringe. It is a perfect example of how my office functions and looks during March Madness. The bracket pages everywhere and people looking like there is something serious going on, only to find out it is basketball on everyone's lips. I like the graphic a lot because it is so realistic for me. The sliver of basketball is nice too. I can't wait til it's over!!
Terry O'Reilly

An eye-catching sign

OK, so I know what Stephanie feels like .... I do feel a little lame posting twice in one day.

This centerpiece, however, was simple and creative at the same time and deserved some attention. The use of this common towing sign really draws the readers attention, especially if you've had your car towed -- not fun. The abundant space on both sides of the text really brings you in, and, at the same time, makes the "sign" look more authentic. Another interesting feature is that the edges of the "sign" are dirty, which also makes it look a little more authentic... because I don't think I've ever seen a clean towing sign. This was just a really artistic way to display a story that could have been somewhat boring.

Not your typical fire photo..

I was poking around newseum today and this paper caught my eye. Since we started working on our centerpieces I've been noticing them a lot more and REALLY enjoyed this one. Well, I didn't enjoy it in the sense that it is about a 2-year-old boy dying in a fire, but I think that the image used is VERY effective. Without trying to sound insensitive, I'm sick of seeing that typical picture of friends/family members crying at a scene where a tragedy has occured... you all know what I'm talking about. This centerpiece in the Winston-Salem Journal used a photo of a burnt Bible on the family's front porch where the little boy died. It's eye-catching and really hits home. Even if you're not religious you know that there is some sort of feeling applied to a burnt Bible. I think the best thing about this image is that it isn't just art, its an actual picture from the scene. To be honest, the first thing I thought after seeing this picture was the family crying around the remains of the house. I guess that just proves my point that having the typical "tragedy photo" would be a little redundant...