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Growing Up (also: 3 years in NYC ?)

I was deep in left field and the ball was hit short, not far behind second base. I sprinted, knowing two things with great certainty: I definitely wasn’t going to catch the ball, and I was definitely going down. So, I at least tried to control the fall. The grass was still moist from theContinue reading “Growing Up (also: 3 years in NYC ?)”

Bro

I was a teenager in the 1980s and I’m pretty sure every fifth word out of my mouth was “dude.” “Dude, did you do the homework? Can I see it, dude?” If the answer was no, my response was usually a sharp, “Dude!” That one word expressed my fear that we – regardless of genderContinue reading “Bro”

Annual Review

My year in review.

Affirmative

Life is so random. In early 1992, I called the Philadelphia Inquirer to ask about their summer internship program. I had missed the deadline for applications by a few days, the person on the phone told me. But she added that the deadline for applications at the Philadelphia Daily News was in a few days.Continue reading “Affirmative”

Active Learning

I told a colleague about the topic of the class I was about to teach and she said, “That sounds really great. Can I sit in?” So she did, arriving for the second half of class on the first day of the term. By the time she arrived, we had already gone through a rangeContinue reading “Active Learning”

Future Colleagues

I used to take the train from Philly to Baltimore once per week to teach a 3-hour Special Topics in Journalism class. I was filling in for a pretty well-known person, the university’s Journalist-in-Residence, and it paid $5000 per semester. I bought 10-packs of tickets for $400 per set, three times per semester, so $1200Continue reading “Future Colleagues”

Leadership (also: I’m Moving to New York)

My friend Mai is a graduate student, studying education. She recently asked me how I define “administration,” and what does “leadership” mean to me? She hit me at a good time. I’ve been thinking about this stuff a lot lately. An administrator creates pathways for people to do the work needed, I responded. They ensureContinue reading “Leadership (also: I’m Moving to New York)”

Sabbatical

On July 27, a few hours after defending my doctoral dissertation, I went to the pool to chill. I nearly fell asleep in the water. I had no idea how exhausted I was. It’s a good thing I was on sabbatical this year because I never would have been able to get the dissertation doneContinue reading “Sabbatical”

The Public Advocate

Just about one year ago, I came back to Philadelphia after living in Tokyo for three years. The morning after arriving in Philly, I ran into a friend as I walked to the CVS to receive my first COVID-19 vaccination. I ran into a few other friends on the way back to the hotel. AContinue reading “The Public Advocate”

Teaching Journalism to Society

Back in 2007, during my first semester teaching the 300-student Journalism & Society class, I invited two journo friends to talk to the students. Josh Cornfield, then a hotshot young reporter covering city politics for The Metro, arrived on time and kindly responded to countless questions from me and the students. It was great. HeContinue reading “Teaching Journalism to Society”