Andy Bechtel
@andybechtel.bsky.social
Journalism professor at UNC-Chapel Hill. Copy editor. NOLA native, Durham denizen. Member of AAUP and ACES: the Society for Editing. https://editdesk.wordpress.com/
Reposted by Andy Bechtel
Do we want to talk about the inept spacing, or that "just lay there" should be "just lie there"?
November 8, 2025 at 1:08 AM
Do we want to talk about the inept spacing, or that "just lay there" should be "just lie there"?
Reposted by Andy Bechtel
No joke, they used to show Ivy League football on PBS.
November 8, 2025 at 12:58 AM
No joke, they used to show Ivy League football on PBS.
Reposted by Andy Bechtel
The next mayor of New York on a lot of world fronts today
November 6, 2025 at 8:57 PM
The next mayor of New York on a lot of world fronts today
Reposted by Andy Bechtel
After Game 5 vs. After Game 7
It's almost as if sports commentary is an exercise of post-facto rationalizations!
It's almost as if sports commentary is an exercise of post-facto rationalizations!
November 2, 2025 at 3:08 PM
After Game 5 vs. After Game 7
It's almost as if sports commentary is an exercise of post-facto rationalizations!
It's almost as if sports commentary is an exercise of post-facto rationalizations!
Reposted by Andy Bechtel
"My father dropped dead. His headline lives on.
"Fifty years after my father, William J. Brink, wrote the words “Ford to City: Drop Dead” on a piece of copy paper at The New York Daily News, the headline endures in the national consciousness." — Bill Brink
"Fifty years after my father, William J. Brink, wrote the words “Ford to City: Drop Dead” on a piece of copy paper at The New York Daily News, the headline endures in the national consciousness." — Bill Brink
50 Years Ago, My Father Wrote the Headline That Refuses to Die
www.nytimes.com
October 30, 2025 at 12:36 PM
"My father dropped dead. His headline lives on.
"Fifty years after my father, William J. Brink, wrote the words “Ford to City: Drop Dead” on a piece of copy paper at The New York Daily News, the headline endures in the national consciousness." — Bill Brink
"Fifty years after my father, William J. Brink, wrote the words “Ford to City: Drop Dead” on a piece of copy paper at The New York Daily News, the headline endures in the national consciousness." — Bill Brink
Reposted by Andy Bechtel
Do you have gift cards you haven't used that can be used to buy groceries?
Grocery stores, WalMart, Target, Amazon (can order to pick up at Whole Foods), warehouse clubs
This is a good time to call the social worker at your local school and see if families have need.
Grocery stores, WalMart, Target, Amazon (can order to pick up at Whole Foods), warehouse clubs
This is a good time to call the social worker at your local school and see if families have need.
October 29, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Do you have gift cards you haven't used that can be used to buy groceries?
Grocery stores, WalMart, Target, Amazon (can order to pick up at Whole Foods), warehouse clubs
This is a good time to call the social worker at your local school and see if families have need.
Grocery stores, WalMart, Target, Amazon (can order to pick up at Whole Foods), warehouse clubs
This is a good time to call the social worker at your local school and see if families have need.
Rainy day grading with Blade Runner 2049 as the soundtrack. www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf0l...
MIXED: Blade Runner 2049 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
YouTube video by MusicAtMyLevel
www.youtube.com
October 28, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Rainy day grading with Blade Runner 2049 as the soundtrack. www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf0l...
Reposted by Andy Bechtel
The @newsobserver.com is hiring a higher education reporter! Come join an outstanding team of journalists covering a critical beat for the state of North Carolina. mcclatchy.rec.pro.ukg.net/MCC1008MCLTC...
mcclatchy.rec.pro.ukg.net
October 28, 2025 at 1:41 PM
The @newsobserver.com is hiring a higher education reporter! Come join an outstanding team of journalists covering a critical beat for the state of North Carolina. mcclatchy.rec.pro.ukg.net/MCC1008MCLTC...
Reposted by Andy Bechtel
"The Grokipedia entry for Musk includes no mention of his hand gesture at a rally in January that many historians and politicians viewed as a Nazi salute, while the Wikipedia entry for him has several paragraphs on the subject."
www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...
www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...
Elon Musk launches Grokipedia as an alternative to 'woke' Wikipedia
Grokipedia is a creation of Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok. Human volunteers write and edit articles for Wikipedia.
www.nbcnews.com
October 28, 2025 at 1:33 AM
"The Grokipedia entry for Musk includes no mention of his hand gesture at a rally in January that many historians and politicians viewed as a Nazi salute, while the Wikipedia entry for him has several paragraphs on the subject."
www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...
www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...
Reposted by Andy Bechtel
“Maybe it’s just that people have been saying Gulf of Mexico for 500 years and don’t easily accept change,” writes @joshuabenton.com @niemanlab.org www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/nine...
Nine months later, that body of water down south is still the “Gulf of Mexico” to news outlets
Since the start of summer, "Gulf of America" has been losing what little popularity it had in newsrooms.
www.niemanlab.org
October 27, 2025 at 9:00 PM
“Maybe it’s just that people have been saying Gulf of Mexico for 500 years and don’t easily accept change,” writes @joshuabenton.com @niemanlab.org www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/nine...
Any reference to George Springer's performance in the 2017 World Series must mention Houston's sign-stealing scandal and his "what happens in our clubhouse will stay in our clubhouse" response.
October 25, 2025 at 2:35 AM
Any reference to George Springer's performance in the 2017 World Series must mention Houston's sign-stealing scandal and his "what happens in our clubhouse will stay in our clubhouse" response.
Reposted by Andy Bechtel
Gotta hand it to ESPN, which gets to profit from relentless promotion of and partnerships with sports gambling and then cover the inevitable scandals that come with it. Selling disease and cure in plain sight.
Sources: Billups, Rozier arrests tied to gambling
Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Heat guard Terry Rozier have been arrested as part of a pair of investigations related to illegal gambling, sources told ESPN.
www.espn.com
October 23, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Gotta hand it to ESPN, which gets to profit from relentless promotion of and partnerships with sports gambling and then cover the inevitable scandals that come with it. Selling disease and cure in plain sight.
Reposted by Andy Bechtel
According to more than a dozen college and uni students, “the Canvas outage threw off their schedules, preventing them from not just submitting and viewing assignments but also from participating in-class activities, contacting professors, and accessing the textbooks and other materials…”
The AWS Outage Was a Nightmare for College Students
The outage impacted online learning platform Canvas, which is used by half of college students across the US, leaving many unable to access course materials or contact professors.
www.wired.com
October 21, 2025 at 3:58 PM
According to more than a dozen college and uni students, “the Canvas outage threw off their schedules, preventing them from not just submitting and viewing assignments but also from participating in-class activities, contacting professors, and accessing the textbooks and other materials…”
Canvas at UNC is down thanks to the AWS failure. Any other campuses affected?
October 20, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Canvas at UNC is down thanks to the AWS failure. Any other campuses affected?
Reposted by Andy Bechtel
exhibit a of “has never been a reporter” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/b...
October 19, 2025 at 1:16 PM
exhibit a of “has never been a reporter” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/b...
Reposted by Andy Bechtel
Administrators at Indiana University baselessly fired the student media director and ordered the student paper to cease its print edition, so it'd sure be a shame if this excellent digital front page were to be widely shared today
issuu.com/idsnews/docs...
issuu.com/idsnews/docs...
October 17, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Administrators at Indiana University baselessly fired the student media director and ordered the student paper to cease its print edition, so it'd sure be a shame if this excellent digital front page were to be widely shared today
issuu.com/idsnews/docs...
issuu.com/idsnews/docs...
It’s fall break at UNC. No classes or meetings today and Friday. Here’s my agenda:
✅ Grade two sets of assignments
✅ Prepare materials for post-tenure review
✅ Get jabs for flu and COVID
✅ Grade two sets of assignments
✅ Prepare materials for post-tenure review
✅ Get jabs for flu and COVID
October 16, 2025 at 5:05 PM
It’s fall break at UNC. No classes or meetings today and Friday. Here’s my agenda:
✅ Grade two sets of assignments
✅ Prepare materials for post-tenure review
✅ Get jabs for flu and COVID
✅ Grade two sets of assignments
✅ Prepare materials for post-tenure review
✅ Get jabs for flu and COVID
Reposted by Andy Bechtel
Fashion in the year 2025, as imagined in the year 1950
![[image] STRATO-GIRLS ... These young ladies are wearing costumes designed for interplanetary travel in the year 2025, as predicted by a New York department store (Arnold Constable). The suits are of transparent fabric treated with milium for warmth, complete with plastic helmet, wings, and food capsules attached to the belt, to insure a safe, cozy trip to Mars.
--The Bridgeport Telegram, 13 October 1950](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:uuwcnr32gcm7iuzfysuwjvop/bafkreia4l63rlf4b42onewf3hoe3vqcqsog2kmcl3mfordjxwu2dzkgafy@jpeg)
October 16, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Fashion in the year 2025, as imagined in the year 1950
Reposted by Andy Bechtel
🧠 “AI is everywhere. Editors should be, too.” AI’s ability to hallucinate, confidently generating false or misleading info, is one of its greatest risks to our industry. Lisa McLendon shares hallucination rates are worse. Human editors aren’t optional — they’re essential. tinyurl.com/4jask4br
October 14, 2025 at 1:19 PM
🧠 “AI is everywhere. Editors should be, too.” AI’s ability to hallucinate, confidently generating false or misleading info, is one of its greatest risks to our industry. Lisa McLendon shares hallucination rates are worse. Human editors aren’t optional — they’re essential. tinyurl.com/4jask4br
Personal news: I have enrolled openly in a health-care plan for 2026.
October 13, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Personal news: I have enrolled openly in a health-care plan for 2026.
Reposted by Andy Bechtel
welcome to the new era of CBS News, where brave truth-telling takes precedence over spelling Zohran Mamdani’s name correctly
October 13, 2025 at 3:35 PM
welcome to the new era of CBS News, where brave truth-telling takes precedence over spelling Zohran Mamdani’s name correctly
What does a slot editor do? When is the right time to write a headline with wordplay? @rhiannonroot.bsky.social has those answers and more. editdesk.wordpress.com/2025/10/07/q...
Q&A with Rhiannon Root of The Washington Times
Rhiannon Root is Universal Desk Afternoon Slot Editor at The Washington Times, a position she has held since 2017. A graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, she is one of the winners in the…
editdesk.wordpress.com
October 7, 2025 at 4:16 PM
What does a slot editor do? When is the right time to write a headline with wordplay? @rhiannonroot.bsky.social has those answers and more. editdesk.wordpress.com/2025/10/07/q...
Reposted by Andy Bechtel
Follow-up reporting is a big deal. National media need to remember to keep up.
chicago.suntimes.com/news/2025/10...
chicago.suntimes.com/news/2025/10...
Attorney for woman shot by Border Patrol claims officer said 'Do something b----' before shooting
Body-camera video appears to contradict the government's claim that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire at her late Saturday morning in Brighton Park, her attorn...
chicago.suntimes.com
October 6, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Follow-up reporting is a big deal. National media need to remember to keep up.
chicago.suntimes.com/news/2025/10...
chicago.suntimes.com/news/2025/10...
“I know you! You’re the midterm girl!” UNC junior Anna Yi is enjoying her moment on ESPN. (gift link) www.newsobserver.com/news/local/a...
Is UNC football worse than failing a midterm? A student’s ESPN claim goes viral
Junior Anna Yi’s quote delivered TikTok viral views and an on-air appearance during the Tar Heels’ loss to Clemson.
www.newsobserver.com
October 6, 2025 at 10:58 PM
“I know you! You’re the midterm girl!” UNC junior Anna Yi is enjoying her moment on ESPN. (gift link) www.newsobserver.com/news/local/a...
Reposted by Andy Bechtel
In announcing new opinion section direction, Post brass said they were prioritizing personal liberties and free markets. Liberties are under assault, as are free markets. Where's the coverage?
behold the bold and brave washington post opinion section (under new management), lol
October 5, 2025 at 7:56 PM
In announcing new opinion section direction, Post brass said they were prioritizing personal liberties and free markets. Liberties are under assault, as are free markets. Where's the coverage?