Bryan McKenzie

Baltimore-area readers: SAVE THE DATE! July 6, 2024, from 6:30-8 pm, at Snug Books in Baltimore, author John Maly will read from his debut novel, JURIS EX MACHINA. Audience discussion about the implications of AI will follow. Register today for free tickets at www.snugbooks.com Here's a teaser: With a click, the bread fell into the toaster. One circuit fired the heating coils. Others monitored bread temperature and color. Yet another circuit was quite unlike all the rest- as exotic as it was sinister; when it activated, 368 people would die. In the 22nd century, the justice system is airtight in the domed city of Arcadia. Human error has been removed. Yet somehow, a well-intentioned young kleptomaniac named Rainville falls through the cracks and is wrongfully convicted of mass murder. He is exiled to Wychwood Prison, a crumbling necropolis beyond the dome where the dead outnumber the living, where the inmates are also the guards. News of the crime follows him, and he becomes a marked man. Rainville's only hope for survival is becoming the first inmate in history to escape Wychwood. Can he do it? The fate of Arcadia depends on it. Can't make the event? You can grab your copy today at https://lnkd.in/ewRP8SP4, which also benefits Snug Books, an independent, woman-owned bookstore. #whattoread #ai #artificialintelligence #scifinovel #cyberpunk

6

Check out one of my popular FWA blog posts, Crafting a Sell Sheet for your book to take to book stores, libraries, etc. You can do it quickly and easily for free in Canva!

6

The assassination attempt on the former president reminds us that all journalists must be prepared to cover public gun attacks and trauma. Has your newsroom discussed ethical approaches and tips for trauma-informed reporting? Check out my article this week in Nieman Reports (Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard) on best practices for covering mass shootings, developed from the experiences of survivors. #journalism #journalismethics #gunviolence https://lnkd.in/eaw_9nGM

23

1 Comment

You go farther when you go together. You also go farther when you keep learning. Looking forward to solid business and craft insights from these three keynote speakers.

3

Government subsidy of news media means deciding who counts as news media. It means government control of news. https://lnkd.in/eKaDtjhB

Editing pet peeve: the goofy obsession with the Oxford comma. Oxford enthusiasts—whom I often refer to as "Oxfordnistas"—insist that the serial comma is the ultimate arbiter of clarity and slayer of ambiguity. And they demonstrate this overstated power through a series of reductionist—albeit humorous—memes. Below on the left is one such example. Again, this meme assuredly suggests a moment where a lack of a serial comma may confuse readers. Rather than express a list of the three, the Oxford-less sentence seems to imply an appositive suggesting the exotic dancers are, in fact, Stalin and JFK. But what happens if you change strippers (plural) to stripper (singular). One good contrived strawman argument deserves another, right? On the right is the counterpoint. Here, the sentence with the Oxford comma introduces ambiguity. Is that JFK on stage three collecting singles, or is somebody else? The trick is simple: When in doubt, rewrite. "We invited JFK, Stalin and the strippers." See how this is clearly a list of three? See how I didn't need the comma to do so? Ultimately, the Oxford comma is a stylistic convention, so it is a matter of personal preference. You can also write, "We invited JFK, Stalin, and the strippers." That *also* works. Either way, stop pretending that your prescriptivist take on the Oxford comma is holy writ. #Oxfordcomma

2

1 Comment

In this monologue, Dan Harris, political and current affairs commentator and co-host of the 'Over Here, Over There' podcast, discusses the anxiety surrounding the upcoming 2024 presidential election - and has a clear message for President Joe Biden: https://lnkd.in/eyasNc6G

2