Don’t talk about Alex Morgan like that!

The governing body of World Cup Soccer, FIFA, is under fire this week for an article on the organization’s official website that describes Alex Morgan, the star of the U.S. Women’s Soccer team, in a dismissively sexist manner. The article started this way: “Alex Morgan is one of the most […]


From poetry to prose: A search for meaning

My youngest son is a poet and so upon his graduation from college (yay!) and return home for the summer, we have been having discussions about what poetry is. You won’t be surprised to hear that we haven’t figured it out. But we know that we like some and can’t […]


Two people who made a difference with the written word

The way we use words does make a difference, as proved by two events in the past week. The first was the death of a gentleman who may best conjure up the phrase “ink-stained wretch.” His name was Vincent Musetto and he was the New York Post copy editor who […]


A great interview from the saddle at the Belmont

One of my favorite moments at the three big horse races, the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont, is when the reporter interviews the winning jockey right after the race ends while they are both on horseback. Mostly, I wonder at how the reporter, Donna Brothers, does it. I would be […]


What politicians teach us about the media: Keep talking

Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin and candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, made a little news by describing himself as the “most scrutinized politician in America.” He’s not the first politician to observe that he’s getting a lot of media attention, and they never make it sound like a […]


First Amendment makes U.S. unique, and poses unique challenges

For several years I attended every home football game at Western Connecticut State University so that I could network with faculty, donors and other friends. The president’s box, where I did my thing, was adjacent to the press box, where student journalists and coaches sat. One day, immediately following an […]


Content Marketing: Attracting customers through thought leadership

Although you might not use the term “Content Marketing,” if you are in business and you have a website to convey information about your firm, you are a content marketer. How well you do it is another question. Even those familiar with the term are experimenting and learning how to […]


Perspective + Communication = Success

I guarantee you that I can disturb and alarm any businessperson just by explaining to them how a university works. It’s foreign territory for them, a place they don’t want to go when they hear about it. The object of their disdain is the concept of shared governance. A business […]


12 rules that will help you write better

All writers have a set of rules or, more precisely, broad ideas that guide them in their craft. You could also characterize these rules as pet peeves, good ideas they picked up somewhere and tricks that work for them. I presented my list recently at a Chamber of Commerce gathering […]


Educating our children to create the future

The Bill and Melinda Gates foundation last month announced it will move its education plans forward with more data collection and reporting, followed by attempts to influence political decisions on governance of secondary school and colleges. Its next step, as reported in the education journal “Inside HigherEd,” is to “create […]