News Boi

 I watched "Field of Dreams" last night. It's definitely one of the greatest sports movies of all time, in my humble opinion. A quick synopsis for those who aren't familiar with the 1989 flick : Kevin Costner plays Ray, a farmer in Iowa, who hears a voice saying "If you build it, he will come." He builds a baseball field in the middle of his corn. Long dead major league players appear out of nowhere and start practicing.  Me and Dad in 2015 In the final scene, Ray sees one last player packing up his gear. He realizes the man is his father, whom he had a falling out with long ago. Ray's dad died before they could make up.  Ray introduces his wife and daughter to his dad, then they talk. At the very end, Ray asks his dad to play catch. For me, this is the most moving part of the film. I had a complicated relationship with my father. He was a hard person to get to know. He didn't talk much. When we spoke, it was usually about some game or other. He taug...

 My opinion piece ran in today's Greeley Tribune.  Read rest of story    

This fall will mark my first semester as adviser to our campus news publication, The Mirror, which began publishing in 1919. I'll still be teaching classes, which is great, but I'm also excited about this new opportunity. When I came to the University of Northern Colorado in the year 2000, The Mirror was thriving as an independent entity. I remember when it had close to 10 editors and many reporters. But thanks to the recession of 2008, a sinister rival paper that stole advertising and the general demise of newspapers, The Mirror dwindled to two editors and a few reporters last spring. The journalism and media studies department faculty, in consultation with the student activities director, decided it would be best if the publication were moved back on campus. Many Mirror alums saw this as a death knell.  But I see it as a new beginning. It's an opportunity for us to get many more journalism students involved. I'll be bringing The Mirror into several of my classes, and...

So how does being a boi intersect with my love of writing and news? In the 20th century, one of the highest goals for most reporters was to be totally objective. I've learned a lot about objectivity since I got my journalism degree in 1991. I've come to understand that there is no way to be totally objective. Every reporter and editor comes to a story with a background that informs how they do their job. That background includes their religion, class, race, education, sexuality, etc.  My background as a Jewish lesbian from the Northeast informs all that I do, including how I write or edit a news article. Being a boi is part of my background as well.  Our backgrounds also influence what beats -- or topics -- we choose to cover, and what questions we choose to ask while covering a those stories. I tell my students to be as objective as possible while doing their work. As journalists, we have to be aware of our biases and try not to let them influence the story. And unless we...

 So why is this blog called "News Boi"? What is a "boi," anyway? The term "boi" originated in queer communities of color. " Boi " can have lots of meanings, but to me it means a queer woman who presents as masculine. I have been presenting as masculine ever since I was a little kid. When substitute teachers showed up and I raised my hand, they would call on me by saying something like, "that boy in the striped shirt." I always had short hair and wore "boy's" clothes. I wonder now why clothes are even labeled "boy's" and "girls." But that's a discussion for another day. For a long time, I tried to fit in by wearing clothing that was more feminine. It never felt right, and I I was unhappy. I guess I didn't accept myself for who I really was. Once I did accept that part of me, I began wearing masculine clothing again. And if someone calls me "sir," I don't feel bad at all. In fact...

It's been a while since I've blogged. I used to do a blog called " The Cranky Copy Editor ," but that was years ago.  I am trying to get more of a social media presence out there, hence this blog, on which I hope to share some of my writing and a few tips on the craft. A little about me: I am a journalism professor and a former reporter and editor. I have been published in The Denver Post , the Connecticut Post , the Durham (North Carolina) Herald-Sun , the Greeley Tribune and the Johnstown (Colorado) Breeze . You might wonder why I'm calling this blog "News Boi." I started reading newspapers when I was very young. I remember in sixth grade, my social studies teacher, Mr. Solecki, made reading the town paper part of our homework. Each week we would have a news quiz based on the paper's content. Mr. Solecki told us that anyone who got four 100s in a row would not have to take the quizzes anymore. I promptly got four perfect scores, but I continued ta...