Eric Starkman April 16, 2010 1:30 pm : Comments 000
Newspaper journalists suffer from a misguided belief that reporting great stories is all you need for success. Yes, a good editorial product is critical for a newspaper to survive, but an equally important – and decidedly less glamorous – component is getting their take on the news out there before their audience has seen or heard it already elsewhere. When it comes to print newspapers, that means getting those trucks rolling out to the newsstands pretty early in the morning. more…
Eric Starkman April 9, 2010 12:14 pm : Comments 000
New York may be renowned for having some of the finest restaurants in the world, but few have called our neighborhood in midtown Manhattan home. Around the corner from Grand Central Terminal, the area around Madison and 42nd Street had always been more of a “passing through” area rather than a destination spot for people in search of a good meal. Thanks to Benjamin Prelvukaj and Jason Avery, however, that’s all changed. more…
Eric Starkman March 9, 2010 1:36 pm : Comments 000
Much has been written about the changing role and significance of mainstream media and the myriad factors that continue to erode its once-vaunted credibility. Chief among them is, of course, that the field is rife with unethical individuals who fabricate and plagiarize, a trend I wrote about last May when New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd was caught using prose previously published by a blogger (my take here). Since then, at least two other high-profile cases of journalism plagiarism have emerged, as outlined in this column by New York Times columnist Clark Hoyt. more…
Eric Starkman January 6, 2010 1:42 pm : Comments 000
When I first joined The Detroit News after working for several years as a business reporter at major Canadian newspapers, I was completely taken aback by the comparably low level of editorial concern and legal oversight given to any of my highly critical stories about private individuals. more…
Eric Starkman October 27, 2009 2:00 pm : Comments 001
Those who know me will attest that I’m something of a fitness buff. more…
Eric Starkman October 10, 2009 9:30 pm : Comments 002
I avoid one-actor plays as I typically require a developing plotline and the interaction of multiple characters to hold my rather limited attention span. more…
Eric Starkman September 11, 2009 11:42 am : Comments 001
The Internet is typically blamed as the primary reason for the accelerating decline of daily newspapers, but I don’t buy that argument. Quality neighborhood news cannot easily be found on the Internet and a newspaper that is staffed by journalists who understand and respect the communities they cover will always be in demand. Sadly, most daily newspapers don’t appreciate their readers’ interests and values, and accordingly, cannot establish, let alone maintain, a connection to their subscribers. Sometimes the disconnection is so egregious it leads to the publication of appallingly offensive articles. more…
Eric Starkman August 4, 2009 1:37 pm : Comments 002
I could never make it as a restaurant critic. Don’t get me wrong — I enjoy fine dining as much as the next person and would have no problem doling out the criticisms when warranted. It’s the delivery of high praise that would be more problematic for me. There are only so many original ways I can imagine to describe a perfectly prepared filet mignon. more…