by Kevin Burton Sometime in the 90s when I worked at a photo lab, a co-worker asked me a question;. “If you could do anything you wanted to do, what would it be?” My answerer was something about spreading the gospel. “What’s stopping you?” He asked. His point was nothing …
Category Archives: journalism
Long Live The Frontiersman And Print News
by Kevin Burton On the morning of my first day as a full-time honest-to-God newspaper reporter, a game of musical chairs broke out. Musical desks too. I had been hired by The Frontiersman in Wasilla, Alaska, to replace a local government reporter. I was a second choice. The person they hired first …
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Put Your Hand To The Plow, For The Gospel
by Kevin Burton I have spent most of my life in the American Midwest, the breadbasket of the world, but I never did learn to use a plow. Nevertheless we are going to talk plows today as we learn about focus and hard work in service to God, in a message from Dr. …
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SNL Bits, And Harsh Words By Definition
by Kevin Burton I say “Jane you ignorant slut,” and you of a certain age know exactly what I am talking about. It’s an old Saturday Night Live bit from the 70s, Point/Counterpoint, a sendup of the political opinion shows and a similar segment on 60 Minutes. Jane Curtin spoke in favor of …
Salvation Through Jesus, Straight To The Point
by Kevin Burton “Write ‘em tight” they used to teach us in journalism school, “write ‘em tight.” That means don’t be wordy. Get to the point. That’s the first thing I thought of after reading a recent message from In Touch, the international radio and television ministry founded by the late Dr. …
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Use A Variety Of Verbal Tools To Communicate
by Kevin Burton In my early studies in journalism I heard or read somewhere that a news reporter should write at a 10th-grade level. I never did that. I wouldn’t. I was very aware that I was talking to everyone, “broadcasting,” in the print news sense of the word, with the emphasis on …
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In Praise Of Mexico, Lettuce And Billy Joel
by Kevin Burton On a tip from a new friend, I knocked on the door of Interlingua language school one day, and asked the good people there to employ me. Shockingly, they took me up on it. This was in the Reagan 80s. I was in somebody else’s country, Mexico, and somebody …
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How I Rode Cold Notes Straight To The Top
by Kevin Burton Today we finish up the Dictionary Scoop website’s list of jargon phrases used in journalism. As I did yesterday, I will add to the list. “Above The Fold” is a term that refers to stories and pictures that appear in the top half of the front page. It’s the part …
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Speaking My Language, Journalism Jargon
by Kevin Burton Every industry has its insider jargon and our friends at Dictionary Scoop have released a list of journalism phrases. And I’ll get to it, gladly. But first, one bone to pick. So the way I was trained in journalism was, get to the point, now. Put the most important …
Quibbles And Bits Sports Edition: Royals!
by Kevin Burton Do you believe in Miracles? Yes! Led by major league batting champion Bobby Witt Jr. (.332 batting average), the Kansas City Royals qualified for the playoffs! I’m still a little bit in disbelief. The Royals bubbled up into the playoffs in 2014 and I said what I am saying …
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