InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network
I love the academy. I love having smart conversations with my colleagues and students. I love seeing young people’s eyes opened to new ideas and a critical perspective on all manner of topics and issues. I love seeing older students who return to school and find a new or refreshed love of learning. I am a vocal proponent of the enduring value of higher education for all who choose to pursue it.Read more…
Adding to the 11 journalists who have died in the line of duty this year, NPR photojournalist David Gilkey and his interpreter, Zabihullah Tamanna, were killed June 5 when their Humvee, part of an Afghan army convoy, was hit by rocket propelled grenades during a Taliban ambush.Read more…
What can we learn when a newspaper folds? Especially if it’s part of a valuable local news ecosystem? Read more…
The Gannett Company made an offer of $815 million Monday to buy the Tribune Publishing Company, which owns The Chicago Tribune and The L.A. Times, along with a handful of other papers, including the Orlando Sentinel just down the road from us here in Tampa.Read more…
What happens when we say something without thinking it through and it hurts someone deeply?Read more…
Many, if not most, journalism students tend to get into the field because they like writing. When I hand them assignments asking them to calculate a percentage change, I am often met with lamentations of, “I went into journalism so I wouldn’t have to do math!”Read more…
With Sunday night’s Oscar win for best picture, “Spotlight,” the movie about the Boston Globe’s investigation into systemic child abuse by Catholic priests, provided renewed validation of the press’s role to hold the powerful accountable in our society.Read more…
This week I, along with a dedicated group of University of Tampa students and a Central Florida youth cultural arts nonprofit called Prodigy, will launch a community journalism program for teens.Read more…
In my last post I took some time to consider the ideas of legacy and success from a Christian perspective. When I die, how will people remember me? What will be my mark on the world? What impact will I have made on the lives of others? I didn’t know at the time how apropos those words would be. Last Tuesday my grandmother died. On Saturday I gave the eulogy at her funeral. She was 94 years old.Read more…
When I die, no one will make a documentary about me. I don’t expect a big New York Times obit on my grand contributions to society and culture. It’s unlikely that social media will be flooded with worldwide tributes and memorials to how my work changed people’s lives.Read more…
In the entrance of the Communication building, where I teach many of my classes on campus, is a quote from the artist Chuck Close: “Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work.”Read more…
Journalists traffic in the currency of credibility. What are we to make of this if even the most basic news reports are cast off as irreconcilably subjective, biased and untrustworthy?Read more…
The story isn’t about me; it’s about others. It’s about serving others. If I have any gift or talent to do this job, it’s only because of God’s glory and generosity.Read more…
In case you missed it, it’s election season. Candidates are stumping, campaign managers are spinning, and the talking heads can’t stop talking. It’s also a convenient time for the general public to complain about how biased and sensationalized the news media is (as if “media” were a monolithic singular noun).Read more…
When I was about 5 years old, the small church I grew up in rolled out its at-the-time new ministry to reach youngsters quickly going through all the offering envelopes with their doodling during the worship service.Read more…