The basics of storytelling don’t change much, no matter what you’re writing. Granted, celebrities may be more fun to write about than, say, the history of concrete — but there’s always a way to make a topic unique, engaging and helpful. And like any ability, writing well comes by practice and persistence. So what are the differences between a so-so article and a great article? Let’s see…
Don't we all know better now? The best trained journalists in newspaper and television are in the midst of examining whether their coverage of Hillary Clinton was sexist. Fox News apologized for a headline about Michelle Obama that they probably thought was clever, but was, in fact, a slur. Entire websites are devoted to pointing out examples of stories or quotes in the mainstream press that show prejudice, intolerance or reinforce stereotypes. This happens at large media companies, so it can certainly happen at small, non-media companies. Nobody deliberately injects bias in a company publication or website, but it can slip in unintentionally and hurt or anger readers.
We are all living and doing business in a world of heightened environmental awareness. In recent months, Parthenon has had multiple clients ask about more environmentally friendly options for their print publications. Many are surprised to learn that there are a variety of factors to consider when exploring greener options for producing their publications.
In June, a little-known blog got an unsettling letter from the Associated Press, the country's foremost news wire service. The AP, whose stories are printed in newspapers nationwide, ordered the blog to remove all posts that quoted its stories — and indicated that more sites might receive such notices. The story set the blogosphere buzzing, and within hours, the AP had softened its attack, but the surrounding issues linger. As a recent article in Business Week notes, media organizations are increasingly employing content recognition software to crawl the Web round-the-clock looking for improper use of their copyrighted content. And as the AP incident illustrates, these days you don't have to be one of the most heavily trafficked sites to get caught using something without permission.