http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Acetaminophen-Educate-Do-Not-Regulate
Stop the FDA from banning Vicodin, Percocet and other Acetaminophen-based pain relievers.
The BlogCritics yahoo group messages sometimes contain enlightening discussion about ethics, publishing, blogger credibility, journalistic training and more. Just today, the subject of “professional” v “amateur” writing came into play. Here’s what my online colleague, Robin, had to say — and it bears repeating. Hell, it ought to be memorized.
Robin Kavanagh is a writer and teaches in the English and communications departments at William Paterson University, Montclair State University, Bergen Community College, and Passaic County Community College.
I think the heart of this issue isn’t so much about who is professional and who is not, as much as it’s about the ethics and legality of what we write. Those of us who have been trained as journalists have learned about the need to back up our points with credible sources and what copyright law and libel are all about. We learned it in school and at work. Writers who have not had this experience do not consider the same issues in their work. This doesn’t make them “worse” writers than trained journalists, it makes them untrained.
The danger in this comes when stories are written and the points made are unsubstantiated by solid sources and evidence. It leaves the writer open to criticism (which we all know to expect anyway) and possible legal action. Journalists know what they need to do to avoid a libel suit. Other writers — even those with English degrees and prowess in the literary world — may not and could land in serious trouble.
One of the big debates in the PR industry right not is whether or not bloggers should be considered journalists. While most of us publish on our own blogs, BC is a self-proclaimed magazine, which makes it an editorial publication and a site that PR reps are apt to send review material to. Those who write for BC should be aware of the power of their words and the implications of it on their own reputation and that of the magazine.
I teach media writing at a NJ college, and one of the first things I teach my students is what a responsible journalist does: takes into consideration the best interests of themselves (professionally), the publication they write for, and their audience (not necessarily in that order). Bloggers don’t really understand this obligation unless they’ve had experience with publishing in the past. Blogging by nature is more of a stream-of-consciousness or diary-like type of writing that can be done by anyone. You need to have a certain amount of skill and understanding of different styles of writing to pen articles vs. simple blog posts. But I think it’s something that everyone at BC knows, or at least should.
Bellwether Prize for Unpublished Manuscripts
The Bellwether Prize supports the writing and publication of serious literary fiction addressing issues of social justice in culture and human relations, underlining the political power of literature. In addition to the $25,000 cash prize, the award guarantees publication of the winning novel by a major U.S. publishing house. The publishing partner for the 2009–2010 prize is Algonquin.
Deadline: October 2
For more information: Download an application at www.bellwetherprize.org or contact National Writers United Service Organization, 113 University Pl., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10003-4527.
Whoa Nellie. Got the new Mule fiction loaded at last. The Dead Mule issue for June will have 1/2 its fiction on the 5th and the other half on the 15th. Just finished adding photos, including a nice bunch for Kevin Blankenship’s hauntingly beautiful chapbook. Now it’s time to move on back to the Art House Coop projects and to my own assemblage art.
Have begun a “sketching” class. Invited Next-door Peggy to start going with me but don’t know about her summer obligations elsewhere.
Will load photos of latest work in a bit. Rob and I are anxiously awaiting the ginormous box of ephemera we won on a recent ebay auction. It’s coming from Canada, so we’re trying to be patient. Read about it here on the Assemblagist site.
So, now I’m keeping up The Mule on Facebook and LinkedIn, writing the Assemblagist blog, this blog, reading/editing/accepting and publishing Dead Mule writers AND training El Roxanne the Amazing Puppy, all the while keeping existing Jack Russells content and exercised, working on 3 projects for Art House Coop, creating assemblages out the wazoo, helping Rob scrape and paint the exterior of our house, playing with grandsons,
and
working on a new fitness program with Rob.
That’s about it for an update, ya’ll. Read the new Mule tomorrow. Great Fiction. Pleasant Essays. Kick-ass Chapbook by Kevin.
Becoming annoyed with Cash in the Attic because the geegaw auction is proving unintellectual, I peruse the Guide and find
oh yes, it’s true
The Blue Dahlia is on TCM. It’s a fine morning visit with Veronica Lake. Mother never liked Alan Ladd. She had the oddest reasons for her approval. Hated Sinatra (he was a thug, Daddy said he had “small man syndrome”), thought Alan Ladd was a “pansy” (this from a woman born in 1917- to Mom, “feminine” men were not gay – they just weren’t rough and tumble John Wayne-ish characters), and Spencer Tracy was a gentleman, despite his affairs of the heart.
She absolutely adored Jimmy Stewart and Danny Kaye. In the early 1950s (pre-me), she and Daddy ran into Kaye in the O’Hare airport. He was gracious, kind, and even spoke with Ann. Mom said he had the largest hands, but he was so gentle when he shook Ann’s hand.
Rambling on to chance meetings – a few years later, some other airport – my parents fielded me, brother John, and Ann through waiting area. Story goes – Richard Nixon was there. Shook my hand.
Airports just ain’t what they used to be. There’s a whole series of posts waiting in the back of my mind about airports, my brother and Daddy, and how it was, then. Airports were like train stations. Romantic. Now they’re just annoying.
Re-read Rob’s blog post from a couple years ago on my failed attempt to fuse plastic bags. It made me smile – the memory of it all. I’d copy/post it here but grabbing the images and recreating the spacing would be a pain in the blog… so read it here.
Poet Losse has a marvelous interview published today on Very Like a Whale. It is a wonderful thing, having a poet as one of your best friends. I would wish such a fate upon everyone.
I plan to keep publishing as many and as diverse a group of poets from the south as I can until we decide we’re ready to archive the present Mule. I’m not sure when that will be. I think when our ten years are up, we may decide to put the Mule out to pasture. I’d like our April 2017 Dead Mule to kick butt like a donkey, jackass and a mule combined. But that’s just dreaming. In other words, I want to go out with a bang! I want it to make the Washington Post. Big Washington. Not Little Washington. At least Silliman’s Blog.
Late Sunday afternoon I took 3 small boys for a walk “in the swamp” across the street from the river house Matt rented for Mom’s memorial weekend. Bayview, NC.
That’s one story, but telling that part of it is the set up to this – extremely muddy upon return, Ollie (age 4) takes off everything but his Bob the Builder big boy underpants. I created a fishing pole for him with a bubble blower wand and fishing line and a plastic geegaw. (a MacGruber-Nana moment)
He stood on the sea wall looking out over the wide expanse of the Pamlico Sound, watching the sun go down, swinging the pole so the line wrapped around him and the toy slapped him, then unwound and repeated in opposite direction.
All the while playing a kazoo with the same “zoooot zoot zooooot” song.
One hand with the “fishing pole” and another on his butt, scratching a bug bite.
A most excellent child moment. I don’t need a photo to “see it” again.