AI Shows Linguistic Experience essential for Language Skills—Not Grammar Knowledge

“Children should be seen, not heard” goes the old saying, but the latest AI language models suggest that nothing could be further from the truth. Instead, children need to be engaged in the back-and-forth of conversation as much as possible to help them develop their language skills. Linguistic experience—not grammar—is key to becoming a competent language user.

Morten Christiansen & Pablo Contreras Kallens writing in Fast Company

Words that have the Power to Change Minds

Researchers have discovered that certain words or phrases have the power to change the course of a conversation. Here are some dos and don’ts they discovered:

• List options rather than recommending “best-interest” solutions.

• Use “willing” —as in “Would you be willing to…” (and “I know it’s not your first choice but would you…”

• Don’t use “just” (as in “Could I just” or “I just wanted to”) because it is a ‘permission’ word, an apology implying interrupting and people do not respond as well when a warm-up to a request is offered first.

• Use “speak” instead of “talk” (such as “I’m here to talk.). “Talk” is a reminder of the negative cultural idioms associated with the term (such as “talk is cheap”).

• Use “sort” (as in “Let’s sort it out”) instead of “help.” “Sort” seems more direct and active.  

• Ask “Can I speak to you about this?” rather than “Can we talk?”

• Avoid “How are you?” when it’s not your intention to discuss the topic. Better to get to the point.

• Avoid “any” (as in “Anything else I can do for you?” because the question is too broad) and instead use “some” (as in “Is there something else I can do for you today?”).

• Avoid “yes, but” and once you do hear the phrase repeated three or more times, pack it in. The conversation is going nowhere. Try “What’s needed here?” or “What do you need?”

• Offer a bright “hello.”

Based on research from: 

Talk: The science of conversation, Elizabeth Stokoe  

Some vs Any, John Heritage and Jeffrey Robinson

Workstorming, Rob Kendall

Never Split the Difference, Chris Voss

Articles of interest about the virus, journalism, writing, fakes & more - July 5

***THE VIRUS 

Treating COVID-19: What We Know Now

How California Went From Coronavirus Success to Hotspot

What autopsies reveal about coronavirus ($)

***THE VIRUS & WEARING MASKS

Does wearing a mask pose any health risks?

Coronavirus question: Is a mask effective when you wear it just below your nose?

Can face masks lower oxygen levels or weaken the immune system? Here's what health experts say

The Science of Mask-Wearing Hasn’t Changed. So Why Have Our Expectations?

***WRITING & READING 

U.S. Copyright Office Creates New Registration Process for Online Authors

Confederate monument enthusiasts targeted my store—and it comically backfired  

Recognizing Race in Language: Why We Capitalize “Black” and “White” (Center for Study of Social Policy)

‘Irregardless’ is too a word; you just don’t understand dictionaries

Are the police trying to stop you from taking that cell phone video? 

***JOURNALISM & RACE

AP changes writing style to capitalize ‘b’ in Black when referring to race

Black Journalists Weigh In On A Newsroom Reckoning 

Black, Hispanic, white Americans feel misunderstood by media for different reasons

***JOURNALISM

Science by press release: When the story gets ahead of the science

BuzzFeed News Fires Senior Reporter for Plagiarism

US Judge Slaps Virginia Clerks With $2 Million Fee Award in First Amendment Case

Journalists believe news and opinion are separate, but readers can't tell the difference

One America News Has Support of Trump, But Not Cable Companies  

Las Vegas police plan $280 an hour fee for body cam footage. Critics say that violates law

***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM 

IRE Executive Committee resigns, paving way for new election of board officers

Bowing to pressure, Google says it will pay publishers for news

Warner Media to Sell Atlanta’s CNN Center, Sidesteps Threat of Impending Layoffs

A quarter of all U.S. newspapers have died in 15 years, a new UNC news deserts study found

***FAKES & FRAUDS

How conspiracy theories emerge – and how their storylines fall apart  

‘Covid Parties’ Are Not a Thing

‘PizzaGate’ Conspiracy Theory Thrives Anew in the TikTok Era 

Bringing fact check information to Google Images

“The degree to which people level accusations of fake news against news outlets is at least partially associated with a personal need for an orderly and structured environment" 

Man Says He Was Falsely Arrested After Facial Recognition Mistake

***THE Q-Anon CONSPIRACIES 

Down the rabbit hole: how QAnon conspiracies thrive on Facebook

Born on the dark fringes of the internet, QAnon is now infiltrating mainstream American life and politics

***SOCIAL MEDIA  

'Facebook Groups Are Destroying America': Researcher On Misinformation Spread Online  

The rise of social media (Video) 

Facebook vowed to investigate horrific abuse by anti-vaxxers. Nine months later, no one was penalized

Facebook improperly gave users' data to third-party developers, again 

TikTok and Other Apps Are Secretly Reading Your Clipboard  

***LANGUAGE

The world’s weirdest languages

The Most Mispronounced Word in the World 

***LITERATURE

Lose yourself in the places that inspired J.R.R. Tolkien 

Men who stole rare books from Carnegie Library sentenced to home confinement  

***PRIVACY & SECURITY 

How to make sure Google automatically deletes your data on a regular basis

Apple Is Outing Apps That Snoop on Your Personal Information

***PRODUCING MEDIA 

Adobe wants users to uninstall Flash Player by the end of the year  

Here are the tools and technology journalists are using to tell the coronavirus story

NYU’s First Amendment Watch Releases “A Citizen’s Guide to Recording Police”

Are the police trying to stop you from taking that cellphone video? Check your First Amendment rights.

Articles of Interest about Literature, Journalism, Writing & Languages – Jan 29

***WRITING & READING

The Enemies of Writing: A writer who’s afraid to tell people what they don’t want to hear has chosen the wrong trade  https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/01/packer-hitchens/605365/

 JRR Tolkien's son Christopher dies aged 95 https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/16/jrr-tolkiens-son-christopher-dies-aged-95

 Exploring various scholars' rationales for self-plagiarism https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2020/01/10/essay-rationales-self-plagiarism

***GRAMMAR 

Who do they think they are? The battle over the singular use of “they” has been waged for centuries https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2020/01/18/who-do-they-think-they-are   

English's pronoun problem is centuries old https://www.business-standard.com/article/beyond-business/english-s-pronoun-problem-is-centuries-old-120012301829_1.html

***JOURNALISM

7 things to consider before adopting AI in your news organisation: A training module for newsrooms https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/polis/2019/12/12/7-things-to-consider/

Journalism still has power: But not the way you’d hope  https://www.cjr.org/cjr_outbox/hegseth-trump-gallagher.php

The latest newspaper chain to face Alden Global Capital cost-cutting  https://www.axios.com/media-local-newspapers-private-equity-0add6bce-f44a-4938-82bb-6d4bb01068c8.html

Jim Lehrer's 16 Rules for Practicing Journalism with Integrity www.openculture.com/2020/01/jim-lehrers-16-rules-for-being-a-journalist-with-integrity.html

***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM

Flipboard expands into local news https://techcrunch.com/2020/01/28/flipboard-expands-into-local-news/

Facebook awards $700,000 in local news grants  https://www.axios.com/facebook-local-news-grants-advertising-f9f7048b-2bd2-4eb6-9bfc-6fe72fb5c359.html

The New York Times used to be afraid of BuzzFeed. Now it’s hired its biggest star. https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/1/28/21112608/ben-smith-new-york-times-buzzfeed-media-revenue-jonah-peretti

***FAKES & FRAUDS

Big Tech platforms struggle to police deepfakes ahead of the 2020 elections    https://www.axios.com/deepfakes-big-tech-policy-facebook-reddit-tiktok-ca7a99b8-e571-4b0b-933a-27e4b2c0b0f7.html   

2020 rules of the road for the Age of Misinformation https://www.axios.com/2020-rules-of-the-road-for-the-age-of-misinformation-87bc3f7e-b064-4b47-bc71-7639b9a82b8a.html

How Swedes Were Fooled By One Of The Biggest Scientific Bluffs Of Our Time https://medium.com/@Soccermatics/how-swedes-were-fooled-by-one-of-the-biggest-scientific-bluffs-of-our-time-de47c82601ad

A new text message scam is disguising itself as a FedEx notification https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/23/business/fedex-text-scam-trnd/ 

How To Spot 2020 Election Disinformation https://www.npr.org/2020/01/23/798809217/how-to-spot-2020-election-disinformation

Clearview AI Says Its Facial Recognition Software Identified A Terrorism Suspect: The Cops Say That's Not True https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/clearview-ai-nypd-facial-recognition

Half of Americans don’t know 6m Jews were killed in Holocaust, survey says    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/22/holocaust-survey-americans-pew-research-center

American Distrust Of The Voting Process Is Widespread, Poll Finds https://www.npr.org/2020/01/21/798088827/american-distrust-of-the-voting-process-is-widespread-npr-poll-finds

Is this video “missing context,” “transformed,” or “edited”? This effort wants to standardize how we categorize visual misinformation https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/01/is-this-video-missing-context-transformed-or-edited-this-effort-wants-to-standardize-how-we-categorize-visual-misinformation/

Misinformation about coronavirus tests Facebook, Google and China  https://www.axios.com/coronavirus-misinformation-facebook-twitter-google-china-246a0325-b4ea-4465-92ae-5f364a7e965c.html

The New York Times tested blockchain to help you identify faked photos on your timeline https://www.niemanlab.org/2020/01/heres-how-the-new-york-times-tested-blockchain-to-help-you-identify-faked-photos-on-your-timeline/

***SOCIAL MEDIA 

Twitter’s Jack Dorsey on edit button: ‘We’ll probably never do it’ https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/15/21066815/twitter-edit-button-jack-dorsey-says-no

Twitter apologises for letting ads target neo-Nazis and bigots https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51112238

Targeting TikTok’s privacy alone misses a larger issue: Chinese state control https://qz.com/1788836/targeting-tiktoks-privacy-alone-misses-a-much-larger-point/

***LANGUAGE 

 How we use language, with a look under the hood https://www.baltimoresun.com/opinion/columnists/mcintyre/bs-ed-mcintyre-20200111-tmf465vuubdebmtpu3p6ngsz2q-story.html

Things You Didn't Know Had Names  https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/63034/48-things-you-didnt-know-had-names 

Using a child’s identified pronouns might feel complicated, but it’s crucial. Here’s why (opinion) https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2020/01/16/using-childs-identified-pronouns-might-feel-complicated-its-crucial-heres-why/ 

The alphabets at risk of extinction https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200121-the-alphabets-at-risk-of-extinction

Author Interview: Dennis Baron On 'What's Your Pronoun?' https://www.npr.org/2020/01/26/799629318/author-interview-dennis-baron-on-what-s-your-pronoun

'Baby Shark,' Now In 19 Languages And Counting — Including A Navajo Tongue https://www.npr.org/2020/01/28/800557518/baby-shark-now-in-19-languages-and-counting-including-a-navajo-tongue

Discover the Disappearing Turkish Language That is Whistled, Not Spoken www.openculture.com/2020/01/discover-the-turkish-language-that-is-whistled-not-spoken.html

***LITERATURE

The Obscure Editions of Jane Austen Novels That Made Her Internationally Known  https://lithub.com/the-obscure-editions-of-jane-austen-novels-that-made-her-internationally-known/

UCLA receives $25 million from Uniqlo founder for Japanese literature and culture studies http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/25-million-uniqlo-founder-japanese-literature-and-culture

Edgar Allan Poe's Baltimore home was named a literary landmark https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/edgar-allan-poe-baltimore-literary-landmark-trnd/index.html

Virginia Woolf Books To Read If You Want To Explore 20th Century Literature https://www.republicworld.com/lifestyle/books/virginia-woolf-books-to-read-to-explore-20th-century-literature.html

Is Jane Austen the Antidote to Social Media Overload? https://daily.jstor.org/is-jane-austen-the-antidote-to-social-media-overload/

Jeanine Cummins' migrant book 'American Dirt' is problematic; author’s note makes it worse https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/books/2020/01/21/american-dirt-jeanine-cummins-book-review-mexican-migrant/4497859002/

***POETRY

What happens when machines learn to write poetry: should artificial intelligence alter our appreciation of art? http://bit.ly/30CkvI3

Have You Abandoned Your New Year's Resolutions? Tell Us In A Poem https://www.npr.org/2020/01/16/795953834/have-you-abandoned-your-new-years-resolutions-tell-us-in-a-poem

'Ghost poetry': fight over Samuel Beckett's Nobel win revealed in archives https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/17/ghost-poetry-fight-over-samuel-beckett-nobel-win-revealed-in-archives

***THE BUSINESS OF MEDIA  

Augmented reality contacts are real, and could be here sooner than you think https://mashable.com/article/augmented-reality-contact-lenses-mojo-vision/

The Culling Has Begun’: Inside the iHeartMedia Layoffs  https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/iheartmedia-mass-layoffs-937513

Could iHeart layoffs be the beginning of local radio’s endgame? https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2020/01/could-iheart-layoffs-be-the-beginning-of-local-radios-endgame.htm

2020 won't be the year digital election ads surpass TV  https://www.axios.com/2020-digital-election-ads-tv-75cd82b1-b9a1-4637-b885-8aa654e63291.html

***PRIVACY & SECURITY

Clearview app lets strangers find your name, info with snap of a photo, report says  https://www.cnet.com/news/clearview-app-lets-strangers-find-your-name-info-with-snap-of-a-photo-report-says

Facial Recognition could replace the fingerprint https://story.californiasunday.com/facial-recognition

The Secret History of Facial Recognition https://www.wired.com/story/secret-history-facial-recognition/

Most Americans support right to have some personal info removed from online searches  https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/01/27/most-americans-support-right-to-have-some-personal-info-removed-from-online-searches/

Articles of Interest about Literature, Journalism, Writing & Languages – Dec 11

***JOURNALISM

Race to fill local newsrooms https://www.axios.com/race-to-fill-local-newsrooms-28d95883-1378-4301-9263-ff4f3590c395.html

How a San Diego newspaper reporter helped expose Rep. Duncan Hunter's corruption https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/03/media/duncan-hunter-san-diego-reliable-sources/index.html

Justices debate allowing state law to be “hidden behind a pay wall” https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/12/justices-debate-allowing-state-law-to-be-hidden-behind-a-pay-wall

Scripted KUSI Interview with Duncan Hunter Debated by Journalism, PR Pros https://timesofsandiego.com/business/2019/12/04/scripted-kusi-interview-with-duncan-hunter-debated-by-journalism-pr-pros/

Journalist group condemns governor's method of demanding retraction from Indianapolis Star https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/journalist-group-condemns-governor-s-method-of-demanding-retraction-from/article_30241622-4805-5421-acc1-f812371e21c5.html

How phones are reshaping how we interact with the news https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2019/12/08/how-phones-are-reshaping-how-we-interact-with-the-news.cnn/video/playlists/video-day-top-5/

Georgia man identified as runner who slapped TV reporter on backside: He’s a youth pastor at a Methodist Church https://nypost.com/2019/12/10/runner-who-slapped-reporters-butt-on-live-tv-identified-as-youth-minister/

China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt are world's worst jailers of journalists https://cpj.org/reports/2019/12/journalists-jailed-china-turkey-saudi-arabia-egypt.php

Atlanta newspaper sues Clint Eastwood over film's portrayal of reporter https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/dec/10/atlanta-newspaper-ajc-sues-clint-eastwood-olivia-wilde-reporter-richard-jewell-film

Greta Thunberg is TIME's Person of the Year https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2019-greta-thunberg/

News podcasts go mainstream https://www.axios.com/news-podcasts-pulitzer-prize-audio-journalism-65b0e234-2606-47bd-8c7e-0adffb0f7f1a.html

***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM

Google's next local news investment is in Oakland https://www.axios.com/google-berkeleyside-oakland-local-news-media-f72053ef-88f9-49ce-b21f-48aa99e95768.html

Traffic tools help publishers go viral https://www.axios.com/big-tech-publishers-data-viral-stories-google-2945cde6-3de0-488d-b7e4-f4159870b066.html

***STUDENT MEDIA

CU Student Newspaper Gets Cut https://www.denverpost.com/2019/12/09/cu-independent-university-colorado-student-mediaommunication-and-information/

Central Washington University Board of Trustees student representative proposed defunding student media https://cwuobserver.com/14158/news/board-of-trustees-student-representative-proposed-defunding-student-media/

At least 30 people said they never spoke to ex-Daily Texan reporter accused of making up quotes https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/at-least-30-people-said-they-never-spoke-to-ex-daily-texan-reporter-accused-of-making-up-quotes/

***FAKES

China makes it a criminal offense to publish deepfakes or fake news without disclosure https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/29/20988363/china-deepfakes-ban-internet-rules-fake-news-disclosure-virtual-reality

Politicians Are Getting in Trouble Over Fake Qualifications https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-21/politicians-are-getting-into-trouble-over-fake-qualifications

Singapore’s fake news law should be a warning to American lawmakers https://www.theverge.com/interface/2019/12/3/20991422/singapore-fake-news-law-censorship-politics-usa

I Worked for Alex Jones https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/05/magazine/alex-jones-infowars.html

Samoa arrests anti-vaxxer amid measles epidemic https://www.dw.com/en/samoa-arrests-anti-vaxxer-amid-measles-epidemic/a-51553140

Why Are Cops Around the World Using This Outlandish Mind-Reading Tool? https://www.propublica.org/article/why-are-cops-around-the-world-using-this-outlandish-mindreading-tool

Overlooked No More: Rose Mackenberg, Houdini’s Secret ‘Ghost-Buster’ https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/06/obituaries/rose-mackenberg-overlooked.html

Everyone Involved In The Viral GoFundMe Scam Involving A Homeless Man Giving A Woman His Last $20 Has Now Pleaded Guilty https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/salvadorhernandez/man-pleads-guilty-viral-gofundme-scam-homeless

***SOCIAL MEDIA

TikTok accused in California lawsuit of sending user data to China https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-tiktok-lawsuit/tiktok-accused-in-california-lawsuit-of-sending-user-data-to-china-idUSKBN1Y708Q

The newest strategy for marketing to young people is stealing their jokes. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/12/why-brands-steal-viral-jokes-and-memes/603169/

***GRAMMAR

Apostrophe campaign ends due to 'ignorance and laziness' https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-50602665

Merriam-Webster declares ‘they’ its 2019 word of the year https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2019-12-09/merriam-webster-2019-word-of-year-they

***LANGUAGE

Argentine teenagers rewrite the rules of language to eliminate gender https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2019/12/05/teens-argentina-are-leading-charge-gender-neutral-language/

The Hawaiian language nearly went extinct. Now it’s being taught in dozens of immersion schools https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/12/how-hawaiian-language-was-saved-extinction/603097/

The Language You Speak Influences Where Your Attention Goes https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/the-language-you-speak-influences-where-your-attention-goes/

***LITERATURE

Machine learning has revealed exactly how much of a Shakespeare play was written by someone else https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614742/machine-learning-has-revealed-exactly-how-much-of-a-shakespeare-play-was-written-by-someone/

Without women the novel would die https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/dec/07/why-women-love-literature-read-fiction-helen-taylor

Nobel literature winner dreams of a new narrative style https://www.beloitdailynews.com/article/20191207/AP/312079950

***POETRY

Developing a Strong Poetic Voice Can Be Uncomfortable for the Poet https://www.coloradocollege.edu/newsevents/newsroom/developing-a-strong-poetic-voice-can-be-uncomfortable-for-the-poet#.XeXwST-Ibn4

Poems on how to write poems: Why you should read this award-winning poet's latest book https://www.edexlive.com/people/2019/dec/03/poems-on-how-to-write-poems-why-you-should-read-this-award-winning-poets-latest-book-9377.html

How standardized education tortures all meaning out of studying poetry (opinion) https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2019/12/03/how-standardized-education-tortures-all-meaning-out-of-studying-poetry/

Best poetry of 2019 https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/nov/30/best-poetry-of-2019

Three new poetry collections grapple with injustice, grief — and the nature of truth https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/three-new-poetry-collections-grapple-with-injustice-grief--and-the-nature-of-truth/2019/12/09/2a005c50-f68d-11e9-a285-882a8e386a96_story.html

A decade of instapoets and what they mean for poetry https://www.michigandaily.com/section/arts/decade-instapoets-and-what-they-mean-poetry

***FILM

Filmmakers Sue Over Visa Social Media Disclosure Requirement https://www.courthousenews.com/filmmakers-sue-over-visa-social-media-disclosure-requirement/

***PRIVACY & SECURITY

Government may require U.S. citizens on international flights to be photographed at airports https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2019-12-03/us-proposal-photograph-citizens-airports

Articles of Interest about Literature, Journalism, Writing & Languages – Nov 29

***WRITING & READING 

The Weirdest Book Titles On Amazon https://www.sadanduseless.com/weird-amazon-books-list/

How do you cope with knowing that the project you poured years of your life into is not quite setting the world on fire? https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/nov/25/writing-is-tough-my-book-went-so-unnoticed-i-won-an-award-for-it

The Last Decade Has Been Tumultuous For The Publishing Industry https://www.npr.org/2019/11/26/782867252/the-last-decade-has-been-tumultuous-for-the-publishing-industry

Prisons Around the U.S. Are Banning and Restricting Access to Books www.openculture.com/2019/11/prisons-around-the-u-s-are-banning-and-restricting-access-to-books.html

Messy handwriting reveals mystery translator: Queen Elizabeth I https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/nov/29/handwriting-identifies-elizabeth-i-tacitus-translation

***JOURNALISM

New York Times dropping most social media trackers https://www.axios.com/new-york-times-social-media-trackers-47f547d5-a241-424a-a398-12344c78ac32.html  

Reporting That Hits People Where They Live — by Reporters Who Live There Too https://cronkitenewslab.com/broadcast/2019/11/14/new-generation-storytellers-changing-rules-abc

How one woman captured 30 years’ worth of broadcast news https://lwlies.com/articles/recorder-the-marion-stokes-project-director-interview/?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email

5 Photojournalists Sue Homeland Security for First Amendment Violations https://pdnpulse.pdnonline.com/2019/11/5-photojournalists-sue-homeland-security-for-first-amendment-violations.html

Americans favor mobile devices over desktops and laptops for getting news https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/11/19/americans-favor-mobile-devices-over-desktops-and-laptops-for-getting-news/ 

An Exhaustive Ranking of Movie Journalists  https://www.theringer.com/movies/2019/11/25/20974644/movie-journalists-ranked  

***JOURNALISM & AI

The relationship of journalism to AI http://bit.ly/35z5F6s    

Relevance of AI in Accelerating Journalism and Newsroom Workflow https://www.analyticsinsight.net/relevance-ai-accelerating-journalism-newsroom-workflow/

Actually, it’s about Ethics, AI, and Journalism: Reporting on and with Computation and Data https://www.cjr.org/tow_center_reports/ai-ethics-journalism-and-computation-ibm-new-york-times.php

***THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM

9 charts about America’s newsrooms https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/11/26/9-charts-about-americas-newsrooms/

Putting a price tag on local news https://knightfoundation.org/reports/putting-a-price-tag-on-local-news/

AP to add 14 statehouse reporters in collaboration with Report for America https://www.ap.org/press-releases/2019/ap-to-add-14-statehouse-reporters-in-collaboration-with-report-for-america

Portland Has Been Overcharging People for Public Records, Court Finds https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2019/11/19/27502241/portland-has-been-overcharging-people-for-public-records-court-finds

***STUDENT MEDIA

Student reporters at BYU-Idaho allegedly pressured not to publish negative stories https://www.eastidahonews.com/2019/11/student-reporters-at-byu-idaho-allegedly-pressured-not-to-publish-negative-stories/

High school journalists who fought censorship win award https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/2019/11/25/burlington-high-schoolers-censorship-granted-journalism-award/4295236002  

Lawsuit pits father against daughter after article alleging sex abuse appears in UNC student newspaper  https://www.greensboro.com/news/local_news/no-turning-back-in-lawsuit-pitting-father-against-daughter-after/article_f093b659-134f-5fd8-a7ad-6b98c9f9be2f.html

***FAKE NEWS

The neuroscience of how fake news grabs our attention, produces false memories, and appeals to our emotions https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/11/galaxy-brain-the-neuroscience-of-how-fake-news-grabs-our-attention-produces-false-memories-and-appeals-to-our-emotions/

Fake News Is Costing the World $78 Billion a Year https://cheddar.com/media/exclusive-fake-news-is-costing-the-world-billion-a-year

The Incredibly True Story of Fake Headlines https://daily.jstor.org/the-incredibly-true-story-of-fake-headlines/

Before Trump: the real history of fake news https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/nov/22/factitious-taradiddle-dictionary-real-history-fake-news

***SOCIAL MEDIA 

Here’s What Cancel Culture Looked Like in 1283 (video) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/18/opinion/cancel-culture-victims.html 

Facebook still isn’t clear about why it won’t take down false political ads https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/11/18/20970942/facebook-political-ads-policy-carolyn-everson-code-media   

‘This app is free and therapy is not’: Gen Z will keep using TikTok even if they don’t trust it https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/11/15/this-app-is-free-therapy-is-not-gen-z-will-keep-using-tiktok-even-if-they-dont-trust-it/

TikTok Denies Censoring A Teen Who Criticized China's Concentration Camps — They Said They Banned Her After A Joke About Osama Bin Laden Thirst https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/juliareinstein/teen-tik-tok-china-osama-bin-laden

Twitter Said It Will Not Delete The Accounts Of Dead People https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katienotopoulos/twitter-wont-delete-the-accounts-of-dead-people-for-now

***LANGUAGE

The Loudness Of Vowels Helps The Brain Break Down Speech Into Syl-La-Bles https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/11/20/780988618/the-loudness-of-vowels-helps-the-brain-break-down-speech-into-syl-la-bles

‘Climate Emergency’ Is the Oxford Dictionaries’ Word of the Year https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2019-11-20/climate-emergency-is-the-oxford-dictionaries-word-of-the-year 

What happens when college students discuss lab work in Spanish, philosophy in Chinese or opera in Italian?   https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/education/what-happens-when-college-students-discuss-lab-work-in-spanish-philosophy-in-chinese-or-opera-in-italian/2019/11/18/0eef3f7a-0985-11ea-bd9d-c628fd48b3a0_story.html

***LITERATURE 

The 50 best nonfiction books of past 25 years  https://slate.com/human-interest/2019/11/50-best-nonfiction-books.html

Author hits back after library removes LGBT picture book from shelves  https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/nov/20/author-west-virginia-library-removes-lgbt-book-shelves-daniel-haack-prince-and-knight   

George Eliot translation of Spinoza sheds new light on her fiction  https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/nov/22/george-eliot-translation-of-spinoza-sheds-new-light-on-her-fiction

***POETRY

‘My cell is smaller than my size’ – how writing poetry saved a political prisoner (video) https://aeon.co/videos/my-cell-is-smaller-than-my-size-how-writing-poetry-saved-a-political-prisoner

Finding poetry in the letters of Vincent van Gogh https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/finding-poetry-in-the-letters-of-vincent-van-gogh-1.4090884   

Typewriter poet pounds out poems in 20 minutes https://www.ktre.com/2019/11/22/webxtra-typewriter-poet-pounds-out-poems-minutes/      

In the Woods of Greenwich, a Studio for Writing Poetry https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/20/style/in-the-woods-of-greenwich-a-studio-for-writing-poetry.html   

Don’t Let Your Children Become Insufferable Poets https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/18/opinion/future-humanities-science-education.html   

Gay Poet's Book Canceled Over Sexy Instagram Pictures https://www.out.com/books/2019/11/15/gay-poets-book-cancelled-over-sexy-instagram-pictures

Who’s More Qualified to Write About Death Than a Funeral Director Poet? https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/26/books/review/the-depositions-thomas-lynch.html

***PRIVACY & SECURITY 

Key takeaways on Americans’ views about privacy, surveillance and data-sharing https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/11/15/key-takeaways-on-americans-views-about-privacy-surveillance-and-data-sharing/

Suspect can’t be compelled to reveal “64-character” password, court rules https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/11/police-cant-force-child-porn-suspect-to-reveal-his-password-court-rules/

***PRODUCING MEDIA

How to Make Your Podcast Sound Like NPR  https://lifehacker.com/how-to-make-your-podcast-sound-like-npr-1840048544

Articles of Interest about Literature, Journalism, Writing & Languages – Nov 4

***JOURNALISM

Here are the 34 news projects Google is funding in North America https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/10/audio-archiving-public-meeting-tracking-and-more-local-boosts-here-are-the-34-news-projects-google-is-funding-in-north-america/

These watchdogs track secret online censorship across the globe https://www.cnet.com/features/the-watchdogs-tracking-secret-online-censorship-across-the-globe-ooni/

Local news is more trusted than national news — but that could change https://www.knightfoundation.org/articles/local-news-is-more-trusted-than-national-news-but-that-could-change

***FAKE NEWS

'It's a fine target': Census bureau to fight misinformation https://www.apnews.com/7d310c83acc648cd8762d0fb05f49afb

“Data voids” on the web have opened a door to manipulators and other disinformation pushers https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/11/watch-your-language-data-voids-on-the-web-have-opened-a-door-to-manipulators-and-other-disinformation-merchants/

***SOCIAL MEDIA 

The Most Frequent Emoji https://home.unicode.org/emoji/emoji-frequency/

Facebook’s removal of false ad shows a double standard for policing content https://wapo.st/2CdZ6tb

Instagram May Be Causing an Increase in Yoga Injuries https://www.thecut.com/2019/11/instagram-cause-yoga-injuries-increase.html

***LANGUAGE 

What 26,000 books reveal when it comes to learning a language https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191025110311.htm

Do our reading lists determine how we process language?https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326891.php#1

From vocabulary to grammar, long-dead elements of the language still haunt our everyday speech (podcast) https://slate.com/podcasts/lexicon-valley/2019/10/zombie-elements-of-the-english-language

***WRITING & READING

An expedition reveals the perils of reading Dostoyevsky in Antarctica https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2019/10/10/an-expedition-reveals-the-perils-of-reading-dostoyevsky-in-antarctica

Scientific evidence on how to teach writing is slim https://hechingerreport.org/scientific-evidence-on-how-to-teach-writing-is-slim/

***LITERATURE

An 18th-century guide to hunting vampires inspired the first works of vampire fiction https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2019/09-10/vampire-mania-in-eastern-europe/ 

Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Novel Adaptation

www.openculture.com/2019/11/anne-franks-diary-the-graphic-novel-adaptation.html

***POETRY 

'Love Poems (For People With Children)' https://www.npr.org/2019/10/26/773030262/sleep-loss-sunscreen-and-very-little-sex-in-these-love-poems-for-parents

One language dies every two weeks. How can poetry help? (podcast) https://www.theguardian.com/books/audio/2019/oct/29/one-language-dies-every-two-weeks-how-can-poetry-help-books-podcast  

When poetry can help to ease the pain https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/oct/28/when-poetry-can-help-to-ease-the-pain

New ‘Divining Poets’ Poetry Decks Spotlight Quotes By Rumi And Emily Dickinson https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelkramerbussel/2019/10/28/new-divinging-poets-poetry-decks-spotlight-quotes-by-rumi-and-emily-dickinson/#59dbc69763a0

***PRIVACY & SECURITY 
Adobe left millions of Creative Cloud user records exposed online https://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/adobe-left-millions-of-creative-cloud-user-records-exposed-online /

Under digital surveillance: how American schools spy on millions of kids https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/22/school-student-surveillance-bark-gaggle

ACLU sues feds to get information about facial-recognition programs https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/10/aclu-sues-feds-to-get-information-about-facial-recognition-programs/

China touts dubious emotion recognition AI tech to find criminals http://bit.ly/2qmsVFe

***INTERNET

50 years ago, I helped invent the internet. How did it go so wrong? (opinion) https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2019-10-29/internet-50th-anniversary-ucla-kleinrock

The Internet Archive is adding digital previews of book sources to Wikipedia articles https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/4/20947403/wikipedia-internet-archive-book-citations-digitizing-online

Articles of Interest about Literature, Journalism, Writing & Languages - Sept 18

***JOURNALISM

Who pays for local news in the U.S.?

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/09/12/who-pays-for-local-news-in-the-u-s/

Online news in the U.S.: Key facts

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/09/11/key-findings-about-the-online-news-landscape-in-america/

A Diversity Bully at the Society of Professional Journalists Convention (opinion)  

https://journoterrorist.com/2019/09/16/diversity-bully/

CNN Beats Journalist's Copyright Suit Over Gilda Radner Documentary https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/cnn-beats-journalists-copyright-suit-gilda-radner-documentary-1240286

***JOURNALISM & GOOGLE

Google Says a Change in Its Algorithm Will Highlight ‘Original Reporting’

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/12/business/media/google-algorithm-original-reporting.html

New Google rules aim to boost original reporting in search results

https://www.axios.com/google-news-algorithm-original-reporting-search-results-publishers-7a0314ed-1132-4535-a158-eac1aa8f008d.html

***STUDENT MEDIA

Here’s why writing on a college paper is so much harder than you think 

http://cuchimes.com/09/2019/college-paper-struggles/

We Must Save Independent Student Newsrooms

https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2019/09/11/colleges-should-support-independent-perspective-student-newspapers-offer-opinion

First-year on importance of college newspaper, journalism

www.the-college-reporter.com/2019/09/16/first-year-on-importance-of-college-newspaper-journalism/

***FAKE NEWS

I create fake videos. Here’s why people believe even the obvious ones

https://www.fastcompany.com/90404007/i-create-fake-videos-heres-why-people-believe-even-the-obvious-ones

A Historical Look At Vaccine Skepticism

https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2019/09/13/a-historical-look-at-vaccine-skepticism/

Online Dating in a World of Deepfakes

https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/online-dating-in-a-world-of-deepfakes/

***SOCIAL MEDIA

TikTok's Beijing roots fuel censorship suspicion as it builds a huge US Audience

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/09/15/tiktoks-beijing-roots-fuel-censorship-suspicion-it-builds-huge-us-audience/

The machine always wins: what drives our addiction to social media 

https://www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2019/sep/16/the-machine-always-wins-what-drives-our-addiction-to-social-media-podcast

A new class of apps can use machine intelligence to determine if your text conversations are imbued with hidden romantic sparks 

https://www.wired.com/story/ai-apps-texting-flirting-romance/ 

***INSTAGRAM

I Faked My Way as an Instagram Poet, and It Went Bizarrely 

Well https://www.vice.com/en_in/article/zmjmj3/instagram-poetry-become-successful-scam

I Was Caroline Calloway: Seven years after I met the infamous Instagram star, I’m ready to tell my side of the story

https://www.thecut.com/2019/09/the-story-of-caroline-calloway-and-her-ghostwriter-natalie.html

How To Be Authentic About Faking Your Instagram Photos 

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tanyachen/how-to-be-authentic-about-faking-your-instagram-photos

***WRITING & READING 

13 Glaring Grammar Mistakes in the U.S. Constitution

https://www.rd.com/culture/mistakes-in-constitution/

The Best Apps to Conquer Your 'Read Later' List

https://lifehacker.com/the-best-tools-for-conquering-your-massive-read-later-l-1838097178

***LANGUAGE

New Words That You Should Add To Your Vocabulary

https://www.sadanduseless.com/exceptional-words-dictionary/#more-77418

The Life Changing Linguistics of… Nigerian Scam Emails 
https://daily.jstor.org/the-life-changing-linguistics-of-nigerian-scam-emails/

Merriam Webster adds more than 530 new words and phrases to its dictionary

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/new-words-in-the-dictionary

***LITERATURE

How Latinx Literature Gave Me A Sense Of Place

https://www.bustle.com/p/how-latinx-literature-gave-me-a-sense-of-place-18737659

Literature spawns professor's love for science 

https://www.zanesvilletimesrecorder.com/story/news/local/2019/09/16/dooley-found-literature-spawns-love-science/2055457001/

How a Dying Man Wrote a Timeless Novel - The New York

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/17/books/review/lampedusa-steven-price.html

Tiny tweaks in word choice make a difference

In 1973, America watched as then President Richard Nixon vehemently declared on national television, “I am not a crook” in regards to the Watergate scandal.

Not many people believed him.

In fact, as soon as he uttered the word “crook,” most people immediately envisioned a crook.

The major mistake Nixon made was in his framing. By saying the word “crook,” he evoked an image, experience, or knowledge associated with crook in the minds of everyone watching. 

George Lakoff, a professor in cognitive science and linguistics at University of California, Berkeley, makes the point in his book Don’t Think of an Elephant! that when trying to get your point across, refrain from using the other side’s language. Doing so will activate and strengthen their frames and undermine your own views. Instead, successfully arguing a point requires you to establish your own frames and use language that evokes images and ideas that fit the worldview you want.

Think about it this way: Something that has a “95% effective rate” will sell better than something with a “5% failure rate.” It’s all in how you frame it.

Vivian Giange, writing in Fast Company