Articles on PR for People

Truth in Journalism: The Truth Will Set Us Free

On the Cape Falcon Trail in Oregon’s Oswald West State Park, there is a memorial to the journalist Matt Kramer. His integrity in journalism made a difference in the world. I am forever grateful for the work that he did. One person can, indeed, make a difference!

 


September 2023

This month we explore education. We are swamped with information, but the problem is we have so little time to filter what is true from what is not true. We spend at least five hours a day on our phones—and that is a conservative estimate. Ten hours a day of screen time is not unusual. In any interaction we have with a white screen, especially with a phone, we are passive recipients of a digital experience. Are we becoming mindless blobs?

 


The Truth is Not on Our Phones

We don’t fully embrace that our phones are robbing us of our ability to think. And if we can’t think, we will never be able to know the truth about anything. This might be a bit of a shock, but the truth is not on our phones. 


Book Review: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

A review of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien might seem like an unlikely addition to our education issue, but I think it’s a perfect fit. The Hobbit is a bold tale about those who pursue growth and awareness, call it continuing education, albeit self-education, and are often shunned by those who are stuck in their ways.


My Antonia by Willa Cather: A truly good summer read

Some claim that My Antonia, the third and final book of Willa Cather’s Great Plains Trilogy, is her finest work. Bohemian immigrant Antonia Shimerda is depicted through the eyes of orphan boy Jim Burden, who comes to live with his grandparents in Nebraska after his own parents have died. My Antonia is meant to be the story of Jim Burden’s life—his remembrance of things past—of the life that he shared with Antonia, her family, and with his grandparents.


Summer Reading: The Big Rich Beach Book

We work hard so we can take a vacation during the summer months. We might spend a week or two lolling about the beaches or hitting the trails through scenic parks and around mountains, straying far upstream from cars, crowds, and cell phones. Some of us stay home because we really can’t afford to go anywhere. Our free time rapidly fritters away like sifting sand in an hourglass. And yet, we are expected to read a book or two. 

 


What Do You Go By?

Many of us have walked along the street and have had to step around a prone body. We have no way of knowing if the person is alive or dead. Some of us look away. Others cannot look away. We care and want to help, but we don’t know what to do. The volunteers who participate in the outreach group called Sacred Encounters know what to do. Sacred Encounters serves those who are experiencing homelessness. Their mission ascribes to an act of faith: everyone deserves to be loved, even the most unlovable among us. 


Book Review: The Song of the Lark

The genius of Willa Cather lies within the knitted pastiche of her intricate storytelling. On the surface, Thea Kronborg grows up in the modest home of her Swedish immigrant family. The real story, however, resides with its not-so-hidden premise: every artist who has extraordinary talent eventually comes to an awareness that true talent is far larger than any one person.  


Book Review: Poverty, By America

Matthew Desmond’s book is eminently well researched and sets forth the irrefutable proposition of just how easy it is to become poor and stay poor in America. There is a dark underside to the reality of America being the richest nation in the world—it’s called poverty. 


Book Review: Ethan Frome

Ethan Frome is a bumpy sleigh ride through the icy white world of Ethan Frome, Mattie Silver and Zeena Frome, who are all doomed to freeze eternally.