What happened to John A's Blog?

[nan linds]

Seems there is very little up to date news from John A although the other UConn writers have info posted. I know he is around as I have seen an article or two in the Courant . The link in the forum here just brings me to the Courant page. Perhaps he has been re-assigned? semi retired?

 

[DaddyChoc]

and the Courant has revamped their website... maybe lost in the shuffle or re-linked

 

[genosguy]

The Courant

and the Courant has revamped their website... maybe lost in the shuffle or re-linked

The Courants new format to put it bluntly STINKS. No real flow, multiple pages with way too many ads.

 

[RadyLady]

Additionally, these guys have really taken to twitter...it's the progression of the times.
News organizations seem to want quick and dirty and chatty, writers are following suit.

seems you don't need to write a comprehensive newsy article any more, first you blog, and now you tweet.

 

[Beemer]

Additionally, these guys have really taken to twitter...it's the progression of the times.
News organizations seem to want quick and dirty and chatty, writers are following suit.
seems you don't need to write a comprehensive newsy article any more, first you blog, and now you tweet.

Unfortunately people like me have greater attention spans- Twitter is simply too brief for me. I want something I can sink my teeth into. I have a saying about the Internet- it is a million miles wide and 1/8 inch thick.

 

[meyers7]

Unfortunately people like me have greater attention spans- Twitter is simply too brief for me.

Well they many times put a link to an article in the Tweet.

 

[Zorro]

I have adjusted to email, but I do not text and I am damned if I will tweet. Or follow tweeters. If any of you find anything inteesting out there, please bring it back to the Boneyard. Incidentally, i am thinking of starting a group called curmudgeons anonymous, the idea being not to try to cure folks of curmudgeonry, but to enable and encourage them in this attitude. Whoddaya think?

 

[HGN]

I have adjusted to email, but I do not text and I am damned if I will tweet. Or follow tweeters. If any of you find anything inteesting out there, please bring it back to the Boneyard. Incidentally, i am thinking of starting a group called curmudgeons anonymous, the idea being not to try to cure folks of curmudgeonry, but to enable and encourage them in this attitude. Whoddaya think?

Zorro , I am with you....I am not a twitter either. I prefer a nice good and informative article that tells me something. Not some twitter tidbit morsel that leaves you hanging.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Zorro , I am with you....I am not a twitter either. I prefer a nice good and informative article that tells me something. Not some twitter tidbit morsel that leaves you hanging.

Yah.. but will you PAY for it???

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

I'm not "on" Twitter, but I find it useful to follow scores of non-televised Arizona athletics games, for example. Especially because I usually don't watch events on the internet either (this weekend's football game, which I wasn't up to attending, was an exception). For some sports, the only way to find out what's going on on a timely basis.

Apart from the current discussions, I am a curmudgeon in good standing, I think. I use Andy Rooney as my inspiration.

 

[Vowelguy]

Zorro , I am with you....I am not a twitter either. I prefer a nice good and informative article that tells me something. Not some twitter tidbit morsel that leaves you hanging.

But that's not what it is in many cases. As Meyers notes, many reporters use it basically as a headline service. The tweet the main topic, then link to a longer article.
As a user it's great if you're interested in lots of different news sources -- basically I get a list of what they're all publishing and then pick and choose which ones I want to read.

 

[ChicagoGG]

I don't twitter, but I do check in on the tweets of the Horde, USA basketball, and a few others, just to get the links to the latest stories. Jim, John and Rich seem to also be covering local football (as in Yale and HS teams) while waiting for the UCWBB season to kick off. I must say that with the Red Sox in their current state, I am glad to have USA basketball to follow now while we wait for the return of our beloved team to it's accustomed coverage levels. (However many days it is until First Night is too many...)

 

[jcoton56]

Additionally, these guys have really taken to twitter...it's the progression of the times.
News organizations seem to want quick and dirty and chatty, writers are following suit.

seems you don't need to write a comprehensive newsy article any more, first you blog, and now you tweet.

The newspaper hired these guys to write - now they are paing them to do less of a job?

 

[RadyLady]

Well they many times put a link to an article in the Tweet.

If they write an article - and it is usually a blog

 

[RadyLady]

The newspaper hired these guys to write - now they are paing them to do less of a job?

I don't know how to answer that. Perhaps they are fulfilling their obligations in this way...no one says we have to like it

 

[jcoton56]

I don't know how to answer that. Perhaps they are fulfilling their obligations in this way...no one says we have to like it

I hear another industry grinding it's way to the grave. When there is no more newspaper to work at, these guyswill look in the mirror and realize they don't have what tv wants.

 

[RadyLady]

Unfortunately people like me have greater attention spans- Twitter is simply too brief for me. I want something I can sink my teeth into. I have a saying about the Internet- it is a million miles wide and 1/8 inch thick.

I am not a fan of Twitter...I believe that you can have too much social media, and your time is eaten up be having to continuously check to ensure you don't MISS anything. It can be addictive and distracting.

I prefer the in depth articles just as you do, but the days of this type of reporting are leaving us fast in favor of the sound bite. This trend is likely being supported by the same folks who program stuff such as "Fat Guys in the Woods" on the weather channel.

BTW, I found John's page on the courant and he has had a couple of articles in there...mostly about USA basketball, and pretty much content that we have already seen.

http://www.courant.com/hc-bio-john-altavilla-staff.html

 

[OneTrickPony]

I am thinking of starting a group called curmudgeons anonymous...

I thought that was the Boneyard...?

 

[OneTrickPony]

I have adjusted to email, but I do not text and I am damned if I will tweet. Or follow tweeters. If any of you find anything inteesting out there, please bring it back to the Boneyard. Incidentally, i am thinking of starting a group called curmudgeons anonymous, the idea being not to try to cure folks of curmudgeonry, but to enable and encourage them in this attitude. Whoddaya think?

I just signed up for a Twitter account...apparently this is something a teacher should know how to do. The good news is that typing skills are no longer an issue...I knew if I waited long enough...yes!

 

[RadyLady]

I hear another industry grinding it's way to the grave. When there is no more newspaper to work at, these guyswill look in the mirror and realize they don't have what tv wants.

Superficial is the new '20'. Chatty news shows offering up the opinions of their "talent" rather than hard core in depth news. Specialty channels such as the weather channels are bringing in news segments and sports segments often thinly connected to the weather, trying to broaden the scope of their content, and trying to get folks to only watch their channel and no others.

I must say, we already have offerings of news, weather, and sports on the local channels, which focus on broader content, mostly local stories, true, and most times the content is better quality, less about Justin Bieber, more about what is really going on in politics, the area and so on. I have gone back to depending upon their weather broadcasts, rather than the hit and miss crap of the weather channel.

I do miss the old courant. I am not a fan of the new website.

 

[RadyLady]

I thought that was the Boneyard...?

how old do you have to be to belong? I want to belong.....

 

[UcMiami]

how old do you have to be to belong? I want to belong.....

Curmudgeon-ness is a state of mind and not an age! No bottom or top limits!

 

[ed4ourgirls]

The new Courant page for UConn Women's Basketball has a slightly different URL.
The Boneyard link to the Courant needs to be updated.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

In truth, few want to report the news without making editorial comment on it. That used to be the purview of a section called "opinion / editorial", now it is embedded in every article.

I was just reading an Andy Rooney essay (really, why he came to mind in an earlier post) where he talked about his job being to report the facts (as a journalist) and the readers job to form an opinion.

Now, expect to be told what your opinion should be.

 

[Vowelguy]

In truth, few want to report the news without making editorial comment on it. That used to be the purview of a section called "opinion / editorial", now it is embedded in every article.

I was just reading an Andy Rooney essay (really, why he came to mind in an earlier post) where he talked about his job being to report the facts (as a journalist) and the readers job to form an opinion.

Now, expect to be told what your opinion should be.

It's a different world.
Now there are 1000 places on the web where you can get the exact same news item. The only way to differentiate yourself is to provide something others can't.