The Old Normal of Halloween on Lanier Place

November 2, 2017

Even in these Days of Trump, Halloween 2017 was normal, the old and buzzing and traditional normal, in which “trick or treat” still means a little girl with a lit pumpkin or bags for candy saying thank you, and nobody really tricks anybody.

Conspiracy Theories Old and New

October 30, 2017

Today, distrust in government, the media and most institutions, including universities, is high. Many believe these disconcerting times of mistrust began with the assassination of JFK and Robert F. Kennedy in the 1960s.

In Trump’s Wake, Hurricane Harvey

October 19, 2017

It looks like the beginning of an intense debate, from which there is no returning to a status quo where the outrageous activities of a Harvey Weinstein go unnoticed or are excused as locker-room normalcy.

The Las Vegas Shooting: An American Nightmare

October 2, 2017

There were countless reported acts of heroism Oct. 1 — people throwing themselves on others to protect them, others applying bandages and pressure to bleeding wounds.

Hugh Hefner, Who Outlived Style He Created, Dies at 91

September 28, 2017

The founder of the Playboy empire had the resources to live his youth over and over again, Dorian Gray with a pipe.

The Emmys: Where Was Trump?

September 18, 2017

The heavy dose of Trump talk at the Emmys reinforces certain facts of daily cultural life in America during the age of Trump. You can’t get away from him even when’s gotten away from you.

Jim Vance, the Coolest, Remembered

September 14, 2017

Friends, colleagues, big shots and regular folks came to the cathedral to celebrate the life of the late WRC anchor, who on this day appeared not to have left our consciousness.

A Loss in the Family: Jim Vance

July 24, 2017

The longest serving broadcaster in the D.C. area succumbed to cancer last Saturday.

Shed No Tears for the Media

January 12, 2017

Fake news. Shrinking revenues. Vanishing jobs. Oh, woe be journalism. Oh, woe to be a journalist. Oh, spare me. It is true that many talented journalists, including friends of mine, […]

Anything but Conventional

August 1, 2016

The inimitable Ted Koppel was the first major television news anchor to break the tradition, opting not to devote his “Nightline” to the conventions because they had become little more […]