Mark Obbie's Blog, page 47
March 18, 2013
The limits of empathy
Thanks to controversy over news coverage of yesterday’s Steubenville, Ohio, rape verdict, I learned of the job done by Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports. His verdict report is far more than a straight news account, and he doesn’t flinch when addressing … Continue reading →
March 14, 2013
On Pi Day, 11 years ago
One anecdote that didn’t fit in the shortened Kindle Single version of God’s Nobodies occurred one week after John Ginocchetti’s death in March 2002. I write in the book of the massive outpouring of love and concern for the families … Continue reading →
March 13, 2013
“What is there to try?”
Now that the circus has come to Steubenville, Ohio, we can watch and learn about a case that’s been hashed over in social media to a remarkable degree. Or we can ignore the actual evidence presented in court and remain … Continue reading →
March 10, 2013
True-crime in the twitterstream
Just a periodic reminder that while I occasionally am moved or motivated to post lengthier critiques on this blog, I use my Twitter feed to point to notable narratives on crime, of which there have been many lately in The … Continue reading →
March 8, 2013
A birthday present
Today marks the first birthday my father would have had since I left the world of salaries and offices for freelancing. With apologies for taking the blog on a personal detour, here’s a story about the significance of that. We … Continue reading →
March 2, 2013
View from the Newtown Bee
The danger in writing the kind of story Rachel Aviv tells in the March 4 New Yorker* is that it may come off as merely seeking sympathy for journalists who covered a terrible crime, rather than for the true victims … Continue reading →
February 27, 2013
E-singles how-to for authors
Since the publication of God’s Nobodies in December, I’ve been surprised at how few people I talk to — journalists included — are aware of e-singles. Millions have sold in the two years since this form of short, low-priced e-book … Continue reading →
February 26, 2013
An Andre Thomas debating kit
When the case of Andre Thomas gets decided by a federal court, and later, if the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in on the constitutionality of executing the mentally ill, it’s a guarantee that all manner of pundits and instant experts … Continue reading →
February 24, 2013
Newtown reveals holes in victim services
AP’s Michael Melia provides a valuable glimpse of a unique service for the families devastated by the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre. State troopers were assigned to each family to provide not just protection but all manner of help: running errands, … Continue reading →
February 23, 2013
A “bitter” lesson in reporting
I’m straying from this blog’s focus on criminal justice journalism to praise an extraordinary piece of reporting, and to absorb a few lessons from it. In my career, I’ve been fortunate to have a number of editors who’ve taught me … Continue reading →
