E-Security and Laptops

Bruce Schneier writes about electronic security issues and sends out a monthly newsletter by e-mail. Most of the time, the stuff is too obscure for me to pay attention. But this is something everyone should know, especially investigative reporter and editor types.

Last month a US court ruled that border agents can search your laptop, or any other electronic device, when you're entering the country. They can take your computer and download its entire contents, or keep it for several days. Customs and Border Patrol has not published any rules regarding this practice, and I and others have written a letter to Congress urging it to investigate and regulate this practice.

But the US is not alone. British customs agents search laptops for pornography. And there are reports on the internet of this sort of thing happening at other borders, too. You might not like it, but it's a fact. So how do you protect yourself?

Quake Magnitudes

The Numbers Guy examines matters of quake magnitude and population in relation to the earthquake in China, saying this:
A U.S. seismologist tasked with estimating the magnitude of Monday’s earthquake in southwestern China says that number is not nearly as important as population figures. In this case, the quake’s location in the heavily populated Sichuan province, not far from the capital Chengdu, is likely to have a great influence on the death toll.

One of the cable stations was trying to emphasize the wide spread of the earthquake and tried to merge a map of the U.S. with names of Chinese cities superimposed on the map, ending up showing Shanghai as roughly in Kentucky. (I don't think that's right, actually--I'd put Shanghai on a US map at about Maryland, but I'll have to look it up. This caught my attention primarily because Teenager is from Anhui province, a bit west of Shanghai.) The problem is that the geographical spread of the earthquake is far less important, except as a conversation piece, than the violence on the cities most affected by the quake.

Fans of the Numbers Guy added comments about the value of the Richter scale vs. other kinds of measurements.

I see many of today's stories have shifted to fears about damage to dams. I ran across a story Tuesday, though don't recall where, that noted that the humongous Three Gorges dam, holding back water that could flood 15 million people, is built to withstand a quake of 7.0 magnitude, while this week's quake hit 7.9. That's pretty scary.

Promotion for a Copy Desker

From the LA Times reader rep:


Promotion for Senior Copy Chief Mark McGonigle

Here's a memo from Meredith Artley, Executive Editor, Interactive, and Melissa McCoy, Deputy Managing Editor, announcing an expansion in duties for Senior Copy Chief Mark McGonigle.

May 8, 2008

From: Meredith Artley, Executive Editor, Interactive

Melissa McCoy, Deputy Managing Editor

Senior Copy Chief Mark McGonigle is taking on expanded duties in an important new job, and will now also handle Web deputy work for all news departments at night, when the print edition is put together and closed. In his new role as senior copy and web chief, Mark will ensure that the work done by the Web deputies, producers and editors during the day appears on the website as they intended, and he will shepherd breaking news and story lineup changes as needed. He will work with editors throughout the newsroom, and call upon them for assistance, to ensure that the report on latimes.com is complete, accurate and inviting for users. As part of this, Mark will work to improve headlines on stories at latimes.com, look for opportunities link content and work with others to clean up the section pages.

Mark has been senior copy chief on the metro copy desk since 2001, and he added responsibility for the business copy desk in 2007. He worked as a trainer during the transition to CCI in 2000-01. He moved downtown in 1998 as an executive news editor on the A1 desk, and before that he was Valley/Ventura executive news editor. He joined The Times in 1990 as a copy editor for the Valley and Ventura editions. Mark has also worked at the Oakland Tribune, the Hayward Daily Review and the Bethlehem (Pa.) Globe-Times.

Mark will continue to oversee the metro and business copy desks and report to Deputy Managing Editor Melissa McCoy.

New Language Blog

Found a new language blog--Conjugate Visits that's worth a look.

iPod 'Grammar Girl'

Grammar Girl and her commenters have a particularly fun item on Yoda and his style of speech. Check out commenter Maria, on May 7.

Cranked Up!

Someone who describes himself as a cranky jerk and a "professional philosopher" complains mightily about copy editors.
John McIntyre has a related item.

I, on the other hand, have just found my long-lost copy of "Solid Gold Copy Editor" and will be writing a review of it.

Despite the corporate ownership/job location issues that are swirling about, I've not written about them because they are still unresolved. But I shall someday, I shall. But first I need a nap--it was a long and testy weekend. There is some joy today--it's 12 years since the Little One arrived home from China.

Ten Hut

Glenn Greenwald has a thorough piece on the use of military analysts by the Pentagon and TV operations.

Particularly noteworthy for editors is this first paragraph about what's lacking in contemporary newsrooms. A few years ago, I ran across a story that referred to a corporal in the Navy, which set my ears to twitching. I don't know that service in the armed forces is the only way to gain knowledge about military affairs--serving as a private first class in the attack on Panama doesn't make someone a strategic expert, for example--but it certainly wouldn't hurt to have more veterans in newsrooms.

Here's the money quote from a memo supporting the Pentagon propaganda effort: ...with an all voluntary military, no one in the media has current military background. Additionally we have been doing a good job of keeping these guys informed so they have ready answers when the networks come calling. ...

CURRENT ISSUES

The key issue here is that more and more, media analysts are having a greater impact on the television media network coverage of military issues. They have now become the go to guys not only for breaking stories, but they influence the views on issues. They also have a huge amount of influence on what stories the network decides to cover proactively with regard to the military. . . .

RECOMMENDATION

1.) I recommend we develop a core group from within our media analyst list of those that we can count on to carry our water.

Lining Up

I take no public position on U.S. immigration and English-only issues but offer these two items, for whatever they're worth. The video has a surprise.

Nod to Mighty Red Pen for the sign pic.

Drawing on Words

Who knew we needed drawings to explain or accompany crossword puzzles? But even if we don't need them, these are just terrific. Here.

I've been busy doing gardening stories, starting up a worm farm, writing book reviews and wondering, just wondering, what is going on. I, for one, welcome our new overlords. If only we knew who they were...

Eugene Ehrlich, RIP

Eugene Ehrlich, 85, Word Connoisseur, Dies
By DOUGLAS MARTIN
The New York Times
Eugene Ehrlich, a self-educated lexicographer who wrote 40 dictionaries, thesauruses and phrase books for the “extraordinarily literate,” not to mention people just hoping to sound that way, died on April 5 at his home in Mamaroneck, N.Y. He was 85.

His son Henry confirmed the death, saying he had been ill for some time.

Mr. Ehrlich’s works included “The Highly Selective Thesaurus for the Extraordinarily Literate” (1994). Another book in 1997 substituted “Dictionary” for “Thesaurus” and kept all the other words in the title in the same order. Another substituted “Dictionary of Golden Adjectives” (2002).

Mr. Ehrlich — who wrote from three million to five million words about words — made it clear that he thought defining everyday words with familiar meanings was a waste of time. In his preface to the “extraordinarily literate” dictionary, he said his higher mission was being the antidote to the “effects wrought by the forces of linguistic darkness.”

Yay, Hank!!!!!

I am so sorry to have missed this. Next year in Philadelphia Minneapolis!! THEN Philadelphia.

First Glamann Award to Dow Jones Fund
Keynote speaker Ed Trayes accepts award named after ACES co-founder

By Neil Holdway, ACES treasurer | Posted: 10:47 PM 4/11
A new award honoring ACES co-founder Hank Glamann was given to the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund for its 50 years of supporting journalism and editing.

The ACES board decided months ago to create a new award recognizing people or organizations who have contributed so much to ACES and copy editing, and it decided to name it after Hank Glamann, an ACES co-founder and former longtime board member. And the board kept it secret from Hank until Friday night, when the first Glamann Award was given to the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund in its 50th-anniversary year.

The presentation of the award followed the Friday-night keynote speech by Edward Trayes, co-founder and director of the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund Editing and Minority Intern Program (hmmm, didn’t we arrange that *conveniently*). Trayes had just spoken on the power of copy editors and their enduring presence, and future, no matter how the industry changes. He later accepted the award on behalf of the fund.

And congrats, too, to Adam Smith for this award.

Skipping the Last Step

Since one of the strongest reasons for a copy desk is that it is the last defense against libel, it seems particularly ironic that a legal journal would do this.

Friday Night Entertainment

Got nothing on words but enjoy yourself with this.

Oh, How Far We've Come

Just watching a tape of "The Front Page," and heard this line which seems especially appropriate these days:

"You'll all wind up on the copy desk,gray haired, humpbacked slobs dodging debt collectors when you're 90."
--Hildy Johnson (Pat O'Brien)

Register That Grammar Book

Matters more urgent kept me from noticing that John McIntyre dared to wade into the Second Amendment debate a few days ago, focusing on the structure of language rather than the gun issue itself. And lived to write about it another day. Take a look.