This month marks the first anniversary of re-launching my freelance writing career – and what a difference a year makes. In the past 12 months, I’ve written for close to a dozen magazines and Websites, reconnected with former colleagues I hadn’t talked to in years, discovered LinkedIn and Facebook, started this blog, joined a writer’s […]
Portland is for word lovers
Portland has a lot of nicknames. Stumptown. The Rose City. Rip City. Bike Town. Tree City. But come Nov. 8, the best name will be Portland is Wordsville. That’s the day the annual Wordstock literary festival begins and Portlanders renew their passion for words. Now in it’s fourth year, Wordstock is a two-day celebration of […]
Make it easy for readers to understand the hard stuff
The current financial crisis has been tricky for even veteran business writers. How do you explain difficult concepts like collateralized debt obligations or the London interbank lending rate in language that the now-famous Joe the Plumber will understand? It’s not easy. But it is possible, as a handful of writers have shown, including some with […]
National Press Club hosts forums on future of news
A year-long series of forums on the future of the news business rolls into Portland next week, courtesy of the National Press Club. The Washington D.C. professional journalist organization will host a forum on Tuesday, Oct. 21, at the University of Oregon’s newly opened Turnbull Center in downtown Portland. The stop comes in the middle […]
Like our new look?
Change is in the wind. It’s a new season, we’re about to get a new president, and it’s time for WordCount to get a face lift. Starting this week, I’ve switched to a cleaner, more traditional design with black type on a white background. It’s got a newspaper feel to it that should make it […]
Arianna Huffington, blogger mogul
The first time I ever heard of Arianna Huffington was in 1994 when her then husband Michael was the Republican challenger for incumbent Democrat Dianne Feinstein’s U.S. Senate seat in California. My workspace in the Orange County Register’s newsroom was right next to the cubicle of the political reporter covering the election. During the race, […]