Blog Posts for Earl Merkel

'Obscene' Profits At KFC, Taco Bell?

Earl Merkel — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 08:01:13 -0700

Given today's widely publicized comments about the need to regulate 'rapacious' businesses --notably, the insurance industry-- AP rings in with a fact-checking analysis of its own. Can a government takeover of Col. Sanders' realm be far behind?This is the kind of reporting that an unfettered, non-partisian news media can --and should-- provide in a democracy. It's not pleasant reading if you have ...

CSI's Zuiker & His 'Digi-Novel:' We Have Seen The Future; Does It Work?

Earl Merkel — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 06:10:38 -0700

Here's the latest in our ongoing examination of "what the heck is the future of the novel?" -series... --Earl Merkel ----- "Digi-novel" combines book, movie and website NEW YORK (Reuters) - Is it a book? Is it a movie? Is it a website? Actually it's all three. Anthony Zuiker, creator of the "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" U.S. television series, is releasing ...

'Publisher Seeking Authors!' Danger, Will Robinson?

Earl Merkel — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:05:13 -0700

A writer e-mails me to ask about ad ("Publisher Looking for Authors!"). I reply-- but is your answer different? Respond, and I'll forward your comments.--Earl Merkel----------------------- Sent: Thu, Oct 15, 2009 10:17 am Subject: FW: publisher looking for authors Dear Earl: I received this through my writing group. The article talks about publishers – have you heard of ...

A Nobel... For Not Being G.W. Bush?

Earl Merkel — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 04:19:39 -0700

No commentary today: hey, I'm just reporting here-- but when even the Associated Press seems a tad abashed, you have to wonder if all of this is maybe a bit too much, a little too early. From the AP story: "...The Nobel committee praised Obama's creation of 'a new climate in international politics' and said he had returned multilateral diplomacy and institutions like the U.N. to the ...

Letterman Blackmailed? No-- T'was Just Writer-Procrastination

Earl Merkel — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 07:50:51 -0700

There's a myth --started, I suspect, by writers-- that all writers write "not because we want to, but because we have to." The compulsion to write is, we tell people, an "artist sort of thing."Uh-huh. Ri-i-i-ght. Yeah-- that explains why so many of us stare at the morning's blank computer screen, motionless hands poised over the keyboard, until our eyeballs bleed. And then we ...

A Writer's SOS-- Was My Reply Wrong?

Earl Merkel — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:45:19 -0700

Every writer --whether newbies or veterans suffering acute crisis-of-confidence issues-- has wondered: do I need outside editing help to whip my book into publishable shape? Below is an e-mail I received from just such a writer, and the advice I provided. Was I wrong? You tell me, and I'll pass it along. --Earl ...

William Safire, RIP: Language Loses An Outspoken Champion...

Earl Merkel — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 14:21:15 -0700

Another good one bites the dust. If you're not familiar with William Safire's ON LANGUAGE columns, you're simply not as good a writer as you could be. Period. He was also a take-no-prisoners -type of columnist-- and one who backed up his opinions with carefully researched fact. No "nabob" he, Mr. Safire will be missed by those who savor both finely honed writing and the practice ...

Who Cries For The Slain Pro-Lifer?

Earl Merkel — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:40:06 -0700

As a recovering journalist, I still find my decades-old j-school training occasionally reminding me how lazy --even cowardly-- I often feel these days. It nags particularly loudly when I catch myself personally avoiding that most rare of today's journalistic attributes: an impartial fairness in dealing with an uncomfortable story. I try to ease that guilt by telling myself that I'm no longer ...

RIP, Larry Gelbart...

Earl Merkel — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 05:42:08 -0700

RIP, Larry. If you know this Chicago-born writer's work only through M*A*S*H (the TV- series version), you're missing the full measure of his talent. He wrote films and plays you've no doubt seen and enjoyed immensely, but which most people associate only with the actors or directors who were attached to those projects. Why? Well, you've probably heard the joke: once there was a Hollywood ...

My I-view with Rod "Blago" Blagojevich...

Earl Merkel — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 06:09:14 -0700

Did he try to barter Obama's Senate seat? Well, he says, "yes"-- not, he insists, for money... but for love. My interview with him, referenced below, is in the second bloc of our show, but you guys might enjoy the rest of the program, too. Still, if you just want to hear Mr. Blagojevich choke-and-stutter, it starts at about 12:50 min into the program. <chuckle> Please note the ...