September 2025
Adventures in Writing - Collaboration
27/09/25 07:59
September 27, 2025 (Vol. 19 No. 37) - That dapper young man on the left is Dr. Charles "Chuck" Marsh, the best writer and editor I know. (This selfie was taken in May 2019 at the last University of Kansas commencement prior to my retirement.) Chuck and I have collaborated on three successful textbooks this century: Public Relations: A Values Driven Approach, Adventures in Public Relations: Case Studies and Critical Thinking, and, with Bonnie Short, Strategic Writing: Multimedia Writing for Public Relations, Advertising and More. (Upon retirement, Bonnie, Chuck and I turned over the writing/editing of Strategic Writing to two very capable colleagues, Angie Hendershot and Lisa Loewen.) Chuck and I have been friends for more than three decades. I can tell you without reservation that my collaboration with Chuck Marsh has been the most rewarding experience of my professional life. We are, in many respects, very different people. He comes out of corporate public relations, was a magazine editor, and has a doctorate in English. I came out of government public relations following a career as a radio reporter/anchor and earned a Masters degree in journalism. I can be a hot head while Chuck is always Cool Hand Luke. They say print and broadcast folks don't mix. My collaboration with Chuck proves otherwise. I think Chuck would agree that I am a good "macro editor" or big picture guy while he is a better "micro editor," focused on grammar, punctuation and style. However, in a partnership such as ours, these roles often switch. It's not necessarily something is planned. It just happens as the occasion arises.
Engaging in a writing partnership is something that evolves over time. The partners develop their own rhythm of communicating with one another and their own systems of accomplishing their common publication goals. We have different writing styles but learned over time to blend them so our books had one consistent voice. However, the first thing that has to happen before anything else is that they must develop a common sense of trust believing that the partners share a common vision and respect for one another. As it turned out, that came naturally. I've liked and respected Chuck from the very first time we met when I came to Lawrence for a job interview in April 1991. He and I now are embarked on our own solo writing careers. But we still frequently talk, often over lunch, and share our ideas and stories of our journeys along the winding paths that authors take. Other than the women I have loved and married, this has been the most important partnership of my life. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.
Adventures in Writing - The Diamondback
23/09/25 09:37
September 23, 2025 (Vol. 19 No. 36) - That dapper young man sitting on the couch on the right in the above photo is Phil Jacobs, my friend and fellow housemate. The other guy on the couch with his head cocked to the right is me. That picture was taken in Fall 1973 in the office of the Chancellor at the University of Maryland. Phil, a second reporter - I believe his first name is Maury - and I were interviewing Chancellor Charles Bishop for the student newspaper The Diamondback. My experience writing and editing the student newspaper was a pivotal moment in my life. Up until that time, my focus was on launching a career in broadcasting. As I noted in a blog post 13 years ago (Vol. 6 No. 24), Johnny Carson was my hero. Journalism was not on my radar until I took an Introduction to Journalism class as a summer school elective. I was required to find, write and edit stories for the newspaper - something that proved to be very hard to do. But once I produced something the editors felt was worthy of publication - boom! - there it was in what we referred to as The DBK. Seeing my byline in the paper was like a magic elixir. I was hooked. I realized that I enjoyed being a storyteller. From that moment forward, my career path became a fusion of my two loves, broadcasting and journalism. I was so immersed in the journalism culture that I moved out of my apartment in nearby Langley Park and moved into a house with Phil and three other DBK journalists. The front and lower floor of the house was a bicycle shop, The Speed Shop, located on U.S. Route 1 in College Park. (Despite what the name suggests, no drugs were sold or consumed there.) It was the time of Watergate, Spiro Agnew's resignation, the Saturday Night Massacre and War in the Middle East. On campus, I covered a range of stories, including a scandal involving a vice chancellor's use of state employee labor for private purposes, a Board of Regents meeting in Baltimore and tragic series of suicides on campus. I also wrote some humor columns, including my favorite, "The Great Coffee Shortage." The premise of the column was that a 1973 coffee shortage was the result of the arrest Juan Valdez, a fictional character promoting Columbian coffee. I claimed that Valdez, who the commercials had depicted as the only person lovingly picking Columbian coffee beans one-by-one, had been implicated in the Watergate affair. (At least I thought it was funny!) My college journalism experience was challenging, fun and life-altering. It is also an example of the value of a liberal arts education. Without being exposed to the possibilities of journalism, I may have spent my life playing records on a small AM radio station in a rural town. There is nothing wrong with that, per se. But considering what I have accomplished since, that would have been a waste of talent. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.Quivering Media Quislings
18/09/25 07:33
September 18, 2025 (Vol. 19 No. 35) - I am scared. And I am pissed. The news that Disney/ABC has indefinitely suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! because of comments he made in the wake of the murder of conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk has raised alarms across the country. Jimmy's "offense" was to suggest that the MAGA crowd was quick to brand without any evidence Kirk's accused assassin as a leftist when, in reality, he is one of their own. Offensive? Only if you are someone burned by the truth. Even today, we do not have enough evidence to determine where - if anywhere - the murderer lies on the political spectrum.Now let's clear up a central point in this controversy. Disney/ABC did not deny Kimmel his First Amendment rights. The amendment prohibits the government from abridging free speech, not private companies. However, Disney was threatened by Trump's hand-picked FCC chairman over Kimmel's remarks, saying "we can do it either the easy way or the hard way." When the government pressures private companies the way this White House has, that is a First Amendment issue. This is the second time Disney/ABC has bowed down to the Count of Mar-a-Lardo. It paid Trump $16 million to settle a defamation suit that would have been laughed out of court. It did do because of pending business before the government. CBS paid Trump to settle a bogus lawsuit against 60 Minutes (one it would have easily won) and then cancelled Late Night with Stephen Colbert for the same reason. (CBS will tell you the cancellation had to do with costs and declining ratings, but that's a lie.) What makes all of this both laughable and infuriating is what happened this past weekend when Fox News host Brian Kilmeade suggested that homeless people should be given "involuntarily lethal injection." He apologized and then nothing happened. So, let's get this straight: Kilmeade sprouts stuff that could have come out of Mein Kempf and nothing happens while Jimmy Kimmel tells the truth and gets cancelled? Our country is venturing down a slippery slope. Free speech in America is under attack by a ruthless tyrant in the White House and is being aided by a bunch of quivering quisling media companies who have put profits over principles.
What can we do about it? Plenty. First, boycott Disney, ABC and its network affiliates. Hit these bastards in their pocketbooks. Second, take to the streets. Join local protests to let your local politicians know that there will be a price for allowing this tyranny to continue. Finally, vote Democrat next fall. Never, ever vote again for the Republican party, the spineless gaggle of quislings who have facilitated the fat oligarch's rage. It is time to resist and fight back to reclaim our country. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.
Not In My Name
16/09/25 10:42
September 16, 2025 (Vol. 19 No. 34) - Without regard to either world opinion or its own past, Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel continue to engage in a campaign of starvation and genocide in the Gaza Strip. It has been almost two years since the hideous attacks by Hamas against Israeli citizens. Israel had every right to react and retaliate against the barbarism of its sworn enemy. However, Israel has gone too far through indiscriminate bombing, forced resettlements and using food as a weapon of war. Isn’t this exactly what the Nazis did? The Trump administration has turned a blind eye to this. While publicly condemning Israel’s recent murder of Hamas officials in Qatar - a country that, up until that time, had been working with the United States to mediate the conflict - it isn’t like Trump threatened to punish or restrain Israel. Things continue the way they always have, with the U.S. giving Netanyahu a blank check to murder, maim and starve in the name of righteous retribution. Not in my name. The world is condemning Israel and the United States for the atrocities currently being carried out in the Middle East. At the same time, the U.S. is alienating countries with whom we have curried favor for decades and driving them into the orbit of the seemingly rationale Chinese. Most of the American people - including myself - are horrified by the actions of Israel and believe Netanyahu’s actions constitute war crimes. But Donald Trump, himself devoid of any semblance of a moral backbone, will do nothing that he perceives threatens his standing with the evangelical community. (How these evangelicals can say they love Jesus and support Donald Trump is beyond any logic I know.) It may already be too late, but the time has come to sanction Israel for its war of aggression in Gaza. We should do so if for no other reason than to let the world know that the United States of America stands for human rights - even for those groups and individuals with whom we disagree. Trump, you may not be complicit in war crimes in my name. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.He Never Fails To Fail
11/09/25 07:31
September 11, 2025 (Vol. 19 No. 33) - In a rare Oval Office address last night, President Trump called the assassination of conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk "a dark day for America." He didn't realize just how right he was. For the first few minutes of the speech, Trump was surprisingly presidential. He paid tribute to Kirk and his message and sent condolences to Kirk's family. He also deplored political violence, something every president should say. But then he went off the rails, making a "dark day" even darker. He blamed the "radical left" for the assassination - although at the time the speech was delivered, the suspect had not been caught nor did we know his/her motive. He cited a series of attacks on conservative politicians - failing to mention the Capitol Insurrection of January 6, the ball peen hammer attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband, the arson attack at Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's home, or the murder earlier this summer of two prominent Minnesota Democrats. Trump then said he would use all federal agencies and the military to bring force to bear upon the radical left - harkening to his immoral and unconstitutional use of the military to police American cities. He said the radical left needs to tone down its heated rhetoric - totally ignoring the fact that it was he who undermined social discourse more than any other person in American history. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! I was disappointed in the President, but not surprised.
Late yesterday afternoon, I wrote in a Substack post, "I hate to say it, but this is a time for presidential leadership. What President Trump says may well determine whether or not we are beginning an endless cycle of violence. I'm afraid to admit it, but I have little faith in Donald Trump doing the right thing." There are several things to note about last night's Oval Office speech. First, is its location. Oval Office speeches during Trump's two terms can be counted on one hand. Second, it was recorded for release on social media. That suggests to me that Trump and his advisers did not want to risk having the President - famously known for having no filter between his warped brain and his big mouth - going off on a wild rift saying words he and the nation would regret. That's smart strategy, which makes the address that more frightening. He said exactly what he wanted to say, which means his threats are that more real and cannot be dismissed as "Trump being Trump."
As I said yesterday, political violence cannot be condoned, whether it be from the right or the left. Nor can we condone a lack of presidential leadership. How many times has Donald Trump been given the choice between doing and saying what is right and what is wrong, only to have him turn to the dark side? And how many times have congressional Republicans willfully traveled with him down that that dark rabbit hole? Unfortunately, when it comes to being a calm and reassuring voice during times of crisis, Donald Trump never fails to fail. That's it for now. Fear the Turtle.