Mediaboss Marketing

Words matter.

Nowhere is this more true than in the newspaper industry, where precise language is our most powerful tool.

Thats why a discussion in our newsroom this past week centered on whether we should change a style rule we follow in writing about immigration to allow use of the term "illegal immigrant" instead of or in addition to the term "undocumented immigrant."

Our rule defining use of the terms merited discussion for two reasons:

First, the Associated Press Stylebook, which The Salt Lake Tribune and most news organizations use, recently updated its rule to advise journalists to use "illegal immigrant" to "describe someone who has entered a country illegally or who resides in a country in violation of civil or criminal law." According to the AP rule, "illegal alien" is not an acceptable term and "illegal" and "undocumented" should not be used as nouns outside direct quotes.

The second reason for our discussion was that the terminology made headlines when the First United Methodist Church earlier this month passed a resolution directing members not to use "illegal" when describing immigrants in sermons, services and church publications. The Methodists are among those who believe describing immigrants as "illegal" is dehumanizing and insensitive.

In the end, we decided both terms are acceptable in The Tribune and at sltrib.com. Heres why: Both are precise language we believe accurately describes individuals immigration status if they are in the United States or any other country illegally. It is incumbent on our reporters and editors to verify immigration status to the extent they are able before using either term, and as always to report on immigration issues accurately and fairly.

This style rule means we choose not to engage in the political debate raging over use of these terms.

We define "illegal" as the AP defines it.

We define "undocumented" as lacking a birth certificate, passport, visa, work permit or other document required to reside in the United States or another country legally.

Read more from the original source:
Carricaburu: Word choice matters in reporting on immigration

New guidebook gives fresh perspective on Gods word and eternity

Kansas City, KA (PRWEB) March 21, 2012

In The Disciples Guide to Revelation: With a Special Message to the Sons of Jacob (published by WestBow Press), author Stephen Wood provides the average Christian an in-depth and applicable study guide for the book of Revelation. Unlike traditional end-of-times prophecy material, Woods guide is designed for use as an ongoing resource with significant ties to global headlines. Seeking to present readers with a stronger understanding of Gods word and plan for the return of Jesus Christ, Wood aims to fill the void many feel from confusion and uncertainty.

Most relevant is the undeniable reality of prophetic signs spreading at a dramatic pace throughout the world, says Wood. Travail in the elements, Israel, apostasies with seducing doctrines the outpouring is opening the eyes of multitudes who are thirsty for a deeper, Bible-based understanding of exactly what the Bible says about Gods plan for ushering in eternity.

Wood himself is no stranger to preaching the prophetic word. An ordained minister and seasoned missionary, his passion for spreading the gospel message worldwide is evident in his extensive work in India and the Philippines.

With application to recent events in Europe, Iran and the Middle East, and issues surrounding Occupy Wall Street controversy and New Age doctrines, Wood says now is the time for The Disciples Guide to Revelation, and calls it an adjunct to the sounding of the proclamation that Jesus will soon return.

Many of the 21st centurys most recent events are cross-referenced by Old and New Testament scriptures, all prophesied in the book of Revelation, the crown jewel of the Bible, as certainties just prior to the return of Jesus Christ, says Wood. I am fully inspired that the days are short.

For more information, visit http://www.disciplesguidetorevelation.com.

The Disciples Guide to Revelation: With a Special Message to the Sons of Jacob

By Stephen Wood

Visit link:
Revelation Revealed in New Book

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

NOYNOYING is a catchword that's likely to be short-lived, a passing craze that may just go away. That too, along with senator-judge Miriam Santiago's "wah," will pass.

But not for awhile, not until its fiendish creators replace it with some other protest gimmick or until President Aquino totally proves them wrong.

Have something to report? Tell us in text, photos or videos.

The "N" word, PNoy said, doesn't "merit attention." Yet in tackling the issue, he and his press agents are giving it time and energy that it's not supposed to merit.

There's an annoying catch, a Catch-22 of sorts, that pains: whatever he does, he's now victim of the "N" word.

He hit back at the critics who, he said, don't want to see or listen. And, he said, "Noynoying" he's not. In his denial he impliedly accepted what they said the word means. Protesters who coined "Noynoying" smeared his name, then used it to ridicule how he's doing as president.

No lazy bum

In saying PNoy is not "Noynoying," Malacaang unknowingly rides along with slanderers.

The nickname Noynoy is one that PNoy can't shed off: it helped make him president.

Read this article:
Seares: Is PNoy stuck with ‘N’ word?

If hydraulic fracturing is the stick that can break through stone, why would the word "fracking" ever hurt the industry that practices it?

On Tuesday, The Associated Press released an update to its newspaper industry-standard Stylebook, this time including an entry for hydraulic fracturing:

"A technique used by the energy industry to extract oil and gas from rock by injecting high-pressure mixtures of water, sand or gravel and chemicals. The short form is fracking, a term considered pejorative by the industry."

In other words, go ahead and call it fracking because that's what it's called, but the industry won't like it when you do.

AP energy writer Jonathan Fahey introduced the world to this linguistic concern in January, in a story that began with "A different kind of F-word ..." Yeah, one that ends in a "k," no less. So what?

"It's a co-opted word and a co-opted spelling used to make it look as offensive as people can try to make it look," an official with Chesapeake Energy, the nation's second-largest natural gas producer, told Fahey.

The co-opting culprits are environmentalists who think fracking is bad for the environment and who use the terminology in graphic wordplay to make their point. I'd rather not give examples. I'll also refrain from using "fracking" adjectivally. By now, the comedic shock value is about as new and original as "take my wife, please."

Overlooked in this invented conundrum is that the co-opting had to be done from something or someone. And that something and someone is the industry itself.

The first time I can remember hearing the word, and having the process explained to me, was a couple of years ago on a well pad deep in the South Texas brush. The consultant in charge of the drilling project was doing the talking, and in his way of telling, it was fracking, aka hydraulic fracturing, not the other way around like the AP Stylebook explains it. He said "frack" a lot you know how those guys working the rigs talk. He never blushed, nor did he apologize for using what his industry now considers a pejorative.

His explanation, by the way, was easy for this science- and math-challenged journalism major to follow. Neither the industry nor the engineering profession could have found a better ambassador. Forcing him to change his choice of words would be a tactical blunder.

Read this article:
TOM WHITEHURST JR.: Overly hyped and hydraulically fractured

By Jack M. Germain LinuxInsider 03/21/12 5:00 AM PT

If you don't already have a favorite text editor -- or even if you do -- TEA is worth a look. Code-writers and word-writers alike will find things to admire in TEA, and it's very suitable for use on low-powered notebooks and netbooks. However, TEA's smoothness is marred by a few missing assets.

The TEA Text Editor is a very handy writing tool that delivers a much different user interface. For most computer users cranking out words or program code for digital consumption, text editors are often preferable to feature-bloated word processors. TEA pours on features yet keeps from getting too steamy.

Tea

(click image to enlarge)

If you have tried very basic text editors such as Leafpad or gEdit, the TEA text Editor will greatly surprise you. If you are familiar with the Geany Text Editor, you will find TEA a very similar writing tool.

TEA is an acronym for Text Editor of the Atomic era. It is very suitable for use on low-powered notebooks and netbooks. It is also a great choice for Linux distros that play in RAM rather than spread out in disk storage. TEA is compact, configurable and feature-rich, and it consumes about 500KB of memory. It has markup support for LaTeX, DocBook, Wikipedia, and XML/HTML/XHTML.

Code writers will appreciate TEA's extensive syntax highlight for C, C++, Bash script, BASIC, C#, D, Fortran, Java, LilyPond, Lout, Lua, NASM, NSIS, Pascal, Perl, PHP, PO (gettext), Seed7, Vala and Verilog. This programming code support and other related tools stay out of your way if you do not need it.

Word crunchers will revel in TEA's tabbed layout. This maintains any number of open files. The built-in file manager makes locating and loading files from within the editor fast and convenient. The spellchecker and editing features provide all that word-smithing requires.

Read more from the original source:
TEA: A Smooth Text Editor That Hits the Sweet Spot