Jim Slusher
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The obituary as perspective on the news and what mattersAug 22, 2025 9:34 am - I have been writing this column about newspaper issues for more than 25 years. How does it come to pass that I have never talked about obituaries? Apparently, I needed a ...
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What animal lovers and children have to offer the newsAug 21, 2025 8:57 am - Columnist Jim Slusher: Uplifting stories like a months-long search for a blind man's lost dog and a boy's "free compliments" stand restore faith in human nature amid divisive news.
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The varied reporting at the sunrise of a new school yearAug 15, 2025 4:00 am - Columnist Jim Slusher: As a new school year begins, the Daily Herald pledges continued comprehensive coverage of suburban schools beyond just first-day photos and sports, covering diverse issues and achievements.
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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...