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Dante A. Ciampaglia

Bluey, Bingo, Bandit, and Chili smile and pose in their backyard

"Bluey" Gives Us a Lesson on the Necessity of the Ending

I love a good kicker. As an editor and a writer, ending a story on the best possible note — high, low, a great quote, something pithy — is just as important as a pull-'em-in lede. If we look around, though, it's clear we don't know

man holding a sign that reads "I wish this were fake news" at a protest rally

The Civic Necessity of the Public Editor

Everyone claims to want accountability. This thing happened; that person is responsible; and if it's you who is responsible, you have to accept the consequences. It's a truth drilled into us as kids, and it's a central underpinning of the rule of law. But

Walter Murch looking off frame while working in a darkened edit room

Walter Murch and the Art of the Edit

The editor of "Apocalypse Now," "The Conversation," and "The Talented Mr. Ripley" has a lot to teach those of us who edit words and writers.

man in a cheap tuxedo and a woman in a white dress standing in a room full of suits of armor

Notebook Dump: "The People’s Joker" Confirms Robert Wuhl is a Legend

Programming note: What I’m calling “Notebook Dump” will be an infrequent part of the Retronym newsletter — an extra bit that relates to an article/interview/what-have-you I’ve recently worked on. It could be something cut for space, a thread excised for narrative purposes, or more thinking on a

google homepage, "how do" in the search box, followed by 9 suggestion queries

Algorithms Are Not Audiences

Some thinking-out-loud about why and how to put people — not platforms — first in publishing Google noticed its search has been overwhelmed with low-quality clickbait. It only took 15 years. In early March, the company announced an algorithm adjustment to downgrade "spammy, low-quality content" — including, dear lord, obituary spam

black and white photo of a man in a tie working at a cluttered desk

In Defense of Editing

Editing is a bridge, a road, a sewer system — for media and culture. That infrastructure is weakened, but we can turn things around!