Formed in 2009, the Archive Team (not to be confused with the archive.org Archive-It Team) is a rogue archivist collective dedicated to saving copies of rapidly dying or deleted websites for the sake of history and digital heritage. The group is 100% composed of volunteers and interested parties, and has expanded into a large amount of related projects for saving online and digital history.
Jordan Thomas is communications and outreach coordinator at the Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association in Durham, North Carolina. In this interview, conducted by email, Thomas discusses ECWA's purpose and goals, and how she connects to website readers, social media followers, newsletter subscribers and supporters of the organization. Q. What is ECWA, and what is your role … Continue reading Q&A with Jordan Thomas of the Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association
An assassination in passive voice
Today is the anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Here's how The Associated Press reported the news via teletype on the afternoon of Nov. 22, 1963. Let's look at the lead. Did you notice that it's written in the passive voice? "President John F. Kennedy ... was shot to death today by … Continue reading An assassination in passive voice
Book review: ‘Staged News: The Federal Theatre Project’s Living Newspapers in New York’
I recently reviewed "Staged News: The Federal Theatre Project's Living Newspapers in New York" for the journal Journalism History. Researched and written by Jordana Cox, the book is a fascinating blend of history, journalism and theater in the 1930s. Here's a blurb: Staged News connects journalism to the politics and economic policies of the era … Continue reading Book review: ‘Staged News: The Federal Theatre Project’s Living Newspapers in New York’
Q&A with Jake Potter, integrated communications director at RDU International Airport
Jake Potter is integrated communications director at the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority. A 2008 alumnus of the journalism school at UNC-Chapel Hill, he previously worked as associate director of communications at Affordable Dentures & Implants and as an intern at The Motley Fool and The News Reporter in Whiteville, North Carolina. In this interview, conducted by … Continue reading Q&A with Jake Potter, integrated communications director at RDU International Airport
All aboard the Tar Heel Bus Tour
This week, I am participating in the Tar Heel Bus Tour. It's a program designed to help UNC-Chapel Hill faculty, administrators and staff learn about North Carolina — and for the people we meet to learn about us and the university. The tour has two buses: One goes east from Chapel Hill, and one goes west. … Continue reading All aboard the Tar Heel Bus Tour
The return of the Durham VOICE
Carl Kenney, instructor of the Community Journalism course at UNC-Chapel Hill The Durham VOICE is back. In 2008, my colleague Jock Lauterer started the Durham VOICE, a student-produced website and monthly newspaper that covered the northeast central section of Durham, North Carolina. It's an area of the city often overlooked by other news organizations. For … Continue reading The return of the Durham VOICE
Q&A with Taylor Heeden of QnotesCarolinas
Taylor Heeden is a staff writer at QnotesCarolinas, a news organization based in Charlotte, North Carolina. A graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, she previously worked at the Johnstonian News and the Chatham News + Record. In this interview, conducted by email, Heeden discusses her work at Qnotes and offers advice to student journalists. Q. Describe your … Continue reading Q&A with Taylor Heeden of QnotesCarolinas
What I am teaching this semester
The fall semester at UNC-Chapel Hill begins on Monday, Aug. 21. Here's what I am teaching this term. MEJO 557, News Editing. In this course, undergraduate students learn about editing for digital media, including headline writing and social media. The class meets in person twice a week, and it has 18 students. Here is the … Continue reading What I am teaching this semester
Chatting with ChatGPT about editing
Over the summer, I have been playing with ChatGPT, a chatbot that uses artificial intelligence to provide written answers to questions. Starting with a prompt, you can ask ChatGPT to compose, refine, revise or make its answer shorter or longer. The result is what looks and reads like a post or essay. I'm curious how … Continue reading Chatting with ChatGPT about editing
Jazzman, take my blues away
Next week, I am stepping out of the journalism school at UNC-Chapel Hill and spending my afternoons at the music department. From June 26-30, I will be one of several instructors in the UNC Summer Jazz Workshop, which includes performances each evening that are free and open to the public. It’s the eighth year that I’m participating in … Continue reading Jazzman, take my blues away
The Editor's Desk 
