A couple of years ago I got a telephone call on Election Day from someone who would one day be among my colleagues in a new job outside newspapers or even journalism. Jon Dooley, now vice president for Student Life at Elon University, rang me up on the day of Burlington's municipal elections in November of … Continue reading Still a sticking point
Reporting and journalism
It began with a green envelope
The first letter from a person I never met was inside a green envelope and landed unceremoniously atop my desk on Oct. 20, 2011. It started this way. "Dear Mr. Taylor, "The other day the Times-News ran an editorial which mentioned, in part, the problems the Erich and Hornbuckle families are dealing with as the … Continue reading It began with a green envelope
Still in Mike Wilder’s corner and still helping those battling cancer
There is no feeling in a workplace quite like the one when a colleague is taken in the prime of life by either accident, incident or unspeakable disease. For the Burlington Times-News in the spring of 2013 the culprit was No. 3. It was tough to watch how quickly cancer swallowed Mike Wilder, a longtime … Continue reading Still in Mike Wilder’s corner and still helping those battling cancer
A story without end, until
The lead prosecutor in the controversial 1990 murder trial of Blanche Taylor Moore died Saturday when she stepped into traffic on Interstate 485 in Charlotte, authorities said. Winston-Salem Journal This post was originally from Oct. 15, 2015 -- shortly after I read the story referenced above. Since it was written, little to my knowledge … Continue reading A story without end, until
Elon’s incoming president was a journalist first
Connie Ledoux Book impressed me right from the start. I saw her for the first time several years ago, nearly a lifetime it seems today. I was in attendance at the then-annual lunch hosted by the North Carolina bureau of the Associated Press in conjunction with the annual Winter Institute and awards ceremony conducted by … Continue reading Elon’s incoming president was a journalist first
Something to be proud of
I wrote this editorial for the Burlington Times-News on the occasion of the first Alamance Pride festival in 2015. On Saturday the group will hold its third in downtown Burlington. Happy birthday to a more inclusive day in the Burlington, North Carolina community. This area still has its bumps in the road but this event … Continue reading Something to be proud of
Still married: Twenty years and counting
I wrote this column in September of 2007 on what was then our 10th wedding anniversary. Today we mark 20 years. Today both of us are out of the newspaper business (and who would have believed that in 1997?) and I'm always home on time after work. Now I'm the one waiting for her to … Continue reading Still married: Twenty years and counting
Reporters and editors share their most memorable misteaks
A few years ago I asked my journalist friends on social media to share embarrassing stories about reporting or editing errors – things like spelling a name wrong or mangling a title – details that sound like little stuff but are really the mistakes that erode reader confidence in journalism. I shared them earlier this … Continue reading Reporters and editors share their most memorable misteaks
Throwback Thursday: Not a football-related incident — really?
This is a column I wrote a couple of years ago for the Burlington Times-News about an incident that occurred in Alamance County back when I was a young sports writer in 1987. This involved something at a local high school and the actions of a coach and something he told me as if to … Continue reading Throwback Thursday: Not a football-related incident — really?
That time I gave a newspaper history lesson to Elon journalism students
A few weeks ago Kenn Gaither, associate dean and professor in Elon University’s School of Communications, asked if I would be willing to speak to his entry level journalism class, Comm 100, about the evolution and future of newspapers and future of print and journalism in general. The assignment landed around lunchtime today. I spoke … Continue reading That time I gave a newspaper history lesson to Elon journalism students
Madison's Avenue 