A reminder of the media's history

The Poynter Institute's "Today in Media History" site is a good place to be reminded of all that has happened in the past.  David Shedden discusses historic events and provides news accounts of the events. Some things -- like Hurricane Katrina -- are well know, while others -- like Ann Franklin becoming one of the first women newspaper publishers -- are more trivial. But they are all noteworthy for anyone interested in media history.

On D-Day anniversary, recalling Ernie Pyle

On this 70th anniversary of D Day, it is only right to remember the work of correspondent Ernie Pyle. Pyle wrote several columns from Normandy. In "The Horrible Waste of War." Pyle wrote: "I walked for a mile and a half along the water's edge of our many-miled invasion beach. You wanted walk slowly, for the detail on that beach was infinite."

A nod to the classroom where things began

Alex Stewart directed me to an interesting story about how the number A113 appears in virtually every movie made by Pixar Studios.  A113 is the classroom number at the California Institute of Arts where many of the animators at Pixar, Disney and other studios first discovered and mastered their craft.  You can see A113 on a car license in Toy Story, as protocol code in WALL-E, and on an underwater camera in Finding Nemo, just to name a few Pixar films.

Correspondents finally recogize Harry McAlpin

Pioneering black journalist Harry McAlpin got some long overdue recognition at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on Saturday night.  McAlpin, a reporter for the Chicago Defender, covered the administrations of Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, but the association refused membership to blacks. That injustice was finally corrected this year as McAlpin was admitted posthumously and a scholarship was started in his name.

Humans of New York and Walker Evans

Humans of New York is one of the most popular blogs and spots on Facebook. The photo blog began in 2010 when Brandon Stanton wanted to capture New Yorkers and their stories. Stanton has made thousands of portraits and his blog has some four million fans. Some of the portraits have now been published in a book.

Xinyu Du draws some interesting parallels between the Humans of New York portraits and the work of the great Depression-era photographer Walker Evans. As she rightly notes, Humans of New York focuses on ordinary people, just as the portraits of Evans did. I'm sure that Short would be thrilled to be mentioned in the same breath as Evans.

Quote of the Day

The new Times Insider feature in the New York Times puts readers behind the scenes at the one of the country's most respected news organizations. A recent story explained how the newspaper selects its long-running "Quote of the Day." The quote has been a feature of the Times since 1950.

On Internet Fragments, Ugh

Here's an interesting article about Internet slang that Sarah Olah sent me. Writer Teddy Wayne calls the single words or incomplete sentences ("This," "Preach," "Ugh") that often accompany links or photos on the Internet "fragments." And, he notes, they "are indicative of how quickly we pass judgment while on the Internet without investigating an issue too deeply. We share articles and videos that conform to our prejudices but rarely seek our opposing views, and hardly ever link to them unless it’s to mock them." It's an excellent point that we would all do well to remember.