Monthly Archives: October 2011

As winter closes in, protest is no lark for the Occupy movement

Posted on October 31, 2011 by jerrylanson

The Occupy Boston protest camp in Dewey Square marked its first month yesterday, a day after a bitter Nor’easter lashed the encampment with sheets of rain and a coating of snow. This much I’ve figured out: Protest for these folks … Continue reading →

Posted in Occupy Boston, Occupy Wall Street, protest, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Troubling images as Oakland, Calif., cops crack down on Occupy

Posted on October 26, 2011 by jerrylanson

It’s tough to assess an event that happened 3,000 miles away. But the photos and videos from Oakland, Calif., this morning look far more fitting for the streets of Syria than for an American city. ‘   In other video … Continue reading →

Posted in Occupy Boston, Occupy Wall Street, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Marking a modest milestone

Posted on October 25, 2011 by jerrylanson

This is my 250th post on News Prints. It comes near the end of the blog’s 25th month. When I began writing on Oct. 1, 2009, it was as part of the phantom “staff” of a universal blog called True/Slant, … Continue reading →

Posted in blogging, story telling, writer's block | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Right turns nasty over Occupy Wall Street

Posted on October 23, 2011 by jerrylanson

Perhaps the surest sign that the national Occupy movement has gained at least some traction is a shift in the strategy of the Right, which has moved from dismissing the protesters to demonizing them. A couple of recent polls showed widespread … Continue reading →

Posted in media coverage, Occupy Boston, Occupy Wall Street, protest, The Right reacts, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

A 92-year-old icon of the ’60s marches with Occupy Wall Street

Posted on October 22, 2011 by jerrylanson

Pete Seeger epitomizes peaceful protest.  With gentle smile, banjo and an arsenal of folk music — songs like If I had a Hammer and We Shall Overcome — he has long stood for both community and personal freedoms. So I … Continue reading →

Posted in Occupy Boston, Occupy Wall Street, Pete Seeger, protest, Woody Guthrie | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Occupy’s first legacy: Re-establishing the power of The Commons

Posted on October 16, 2011 by jerrylanson

Analysis of the Occupy Wall Street movement typically has centered on its message and the belief of most analysts that it lacks specificity and focus. But perhaps, as New York Times architecture critic Michael Kimmelman notes in an essay today, “the encampment … Continue reading →

Posted in community, consensus building, Occupy Boston, Occupy Wall Street | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The words used in news can report — or distort: Part II

Posted on October 15, 2011 by jerrylanson

The lead headline in at washingtonpost.com this afternoon reads: “‘Occupy’ demonstrations turn violent, go global.” To me that implies that the Occupy Wall Street movement in the United States turned violent today.  From what I read, it did not. The … Continue reading →

Posted in media coverage, news, news media, newspapers, Occupy Boston, Occupy Wall Street | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

NYTimes skirts — or crosses — boundary of staging a story

Posted on October 15, 2011 by jerrylanson

News organizations frequently “humanize” the news to draw readers, listeners and viewers.  They tell the story of one person to serve as a microcosm of a bigger issue, giving a “face” to an abstract idea. At other times, news media … Continue reading →

Posted in new york times, news media, Occupy Wall Street, staged news | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The words used in news can report — or distort

Posted on October 14, 2011 by jerrylanson

Participants declared themselves the part of the “99 Percent,” to highlight their claim that that 1 percent of Americans control much of the country’s wealth. –– The New York Times This seemingly innocuous sentence appears as a bit of background … Continue reading →

Posted in media coverage, new york times, Occupy Boston, Occupy Wall Street, subtle bias in news, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Seeing the world through a new lens

Posted on October 13, 2011 by jerrylanson

I’m seeing the world differently these days. I haven’t taken up yoga, converted to Buddhism, changed political parties, or even changed my too-caloric diet.  But a week ago today, while I lay drugged but awake beneath the diamonds on the … Continue reading →

Posted in cataracts, eye surgery | Tagged , | 2 Comments