Jim Slusher
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Taking a little time out for some not-so-magic wordsAug 09, 2025 4:30 pm - It’s August. It’s hot. There’s rancor everywhere around us. Let’s take a break this week and cool off with something light. It starts with a letter to the editor, a newsp...
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Things you can learn in newspaper stories about something elseJul 31, 2025 4:00 am - Columnist Jim Slusher: From time to time, I like to take off on a routine inspired by the late, great Chicago Sun-Times columnist Sydney J. Harris, who often found the most intriguing facts in unexpected places and compiled them into columns under the theme “things I learned while looking up something else.
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Technology points up importance of ethicsJul 23, 2025 4:21 pm - One of my favorite journalism war stories dates back more than two decades but grows more relevant every day.
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A lesson on what journalism really does in a democracyJul 17, 2025 4:00 am - Columnist Jim Slusher: If you think that the lesson of Sage Gilliland’s exposé at Prospect High School is that good journalism helps bend that famous “arc of the moral universe” toward justice, I have something a little different to suggest.
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Between Solomon and M*A*S*H*: Choosing sensitivity over drama at the water coolerJul 10, 2025 4:00 am - Columnist Jim Slusher: A newspaper editorial team debates whether to publish a photo of misbehaving kids on e-bikes, weighing newsworthiness against sensitivity.
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Celebrate freedom and attend to its cracks and fissuresJul 03, 2025 4:00 am - Columnist Jim Slusher: On Independence Day, contemplate freedoms like speech and press, which face new challenges in the internet era. Support local journalism to maintain an informed democracy.
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When ‘anything goes’ extends to a president’s public languageJun 26, 2025 4:00 am - It is, of course, far more consequential to consider issues surrounding President Trump’s authorization of dropping actual bombs on another country than to wring one’s ha...
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Two different pictures and a confusion of masksJun 12, 2025 4:00 am - Columnist Jim Slusher: I’ve seen two very different pictures of journalism and journalists last week. One that is prominent and almost everyone sees. One that is more isolated and rarely rises to the level of the public consciousness.
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The role of ‘Homes & Garden’ in a seasonal artistryJun 05, 2025 1:27 pm - Columnist Jim Slusher: As spring arrives, suburban gardens burst into color, transforming neighborhoods into art galleries, thanks to dedicated amateur gardeners inspired by sources like the Sunday Homes & Garden section.
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The unique lessons hiding within a familiar type of pictureMay 22, 2025 4:00 am - Columnist Jim Slusher: Graduation photos may seem repetitive, but each one captures a unique moment in time for an individual. The images reflect community value, the transition to adulthood and much more.