One man's take on the media

Creepy media: Here's a CBS Sports column on the creepiness of the media following the Michael Vick/dogfighting fiasco called Thank clueless media -- and you -- for Vick saturation. The creepiness won't end soon, because Vick will be able to play for the Philadephia Eagles in about three weeks.

Peeve this: If you have a lot of pet peeves (and I do), you might try the web site snippets.

Jobs in journalism: Maybe it's just the holiday weekend, but there aren't many jobs on JournalismJobs.com.

The obvious: I was watching TV yesterday, and they showed a shot of Richard Petty. Under his name it said RACING LEGEND. Well, duh. It's like Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali; doesn't need explanation.

Helping yourself: Here's a blog on 25 things journalists can do to future-proof their careers. The first one is about starting a blog.

Needs editing: In an Associated Press story on the president speaking to school children, it read: Upon arrival at the school, Obama's motorcade was greeted by a small band of protesters. One carried a sign exclaiming: "Mr. President, stay away from our kids." The first sentence would read better as A small band of protesters greeted Obama's motorcade at the school.

Writing help: Here's an article on writing strong but flawed characters.

My opinion: This paragraph was found online today — Whomever the Dolphins start at wide receiver — Ted Ginn Jr., Davone Bess and Greg Camarillo clearly separated from rookies Brian Hartline and Patrick Turner during the last week of preseason — all five wide receivers could see chunks of action on offense. I would go with whoever to start the sentence. Why? Whoever the Dolphins start is a nominal; it works as one word. So it should be whoever.

And that sentence is w-a-a-y too long.

Links: On my web site, I have links to some of my stories online.

Editorial group: If you're a writer, editor or general freelancer, you might check out my Freelance Writers and Editors group on Yahoo!

Writers' guidelines: If you want to write for magazines (or book publishers), check out the writers' guidelines on my Freelance Writers and Editors group on Yahoo!

Check it out: You might look at Funds for Writers, which specializes in grants for writers.

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com TWITTER: EDITORatWORK

More EDITOR@WORK blog entries

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

Entries from The Dog Blog

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 10 years with Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

Blog entries from The Auto Racing Journal

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

More blog entries by Tom Gillispie

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer outta there!