As journalists, we are trained in how to tell stories. Other people’s stories.
At the midpoint of my journalism career, I started experimenting with how we could tell our own stories.
It started when Ted Glasser, then head of Stanford’s journalism program, suggested that I create a course called “Journalism as Memoir.” Our students were bright young people from all over the place, including China, Mexico and South Korea, and they would bring different story-telling traditions into the mix.
You’d have to ask the students how successful that course was, but I certainly learned a lot, mainly about the value of diversity.
People do tell stories somewhat differently based on their race, ethnicity, and other demographic factors, but there is at least one common element that strikes across all boundaries.
And that is a good story evokes an emotional response in the listener (or viewer or reader).
After teaching that course for several years at Stanford, I took it with me to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) program run by Susan Hoffman. There my students were senior citizens who wanted to learn how to write their one memoirs.
Now, many years later, I’m aware of the irony of being the caretaker of many other people’s stories when I can’t really tell my own.
HEADLINES:
White House Blocks CNN From Air Force One (NYT)
Trump rejects Iran’s conditional ceasefire proposal, WSJ reports, as Saudi coalition intercepts projectiles (CNBC)
Roads flood in New Jersey, inundate some homes, as major signs of nor’easter take shape (AP)
Supreme Court allows Trump administration to use expanded database for potential voter purges (NBC)
Trump-Xi visit wraps up with few achievements announced (CBS)
Trump Kowtows to China (Bulwark)
In Trump’s White House, China’s Dictator Is Welcome. American Media, Less So. (NYT)
Iran proposes a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in 7 days if the US meets its conditions (AP)
Oil prices fall after Iran asks U.S. to return to failed memorandum of understanding from June (CNBC)
Donald Trump’s US no longer a reliable ally, warns Belgium in leaked document (FT)
From Gaza to Sudan to Nepal, more than 500 million children are in desperate need of education (AP)
U.S. military lays groundwork for potential action around Cuba (CBS)
A Quiet ICE Surge That Unfolded ‘Everywhere All at Once’ This Summer (NYT)
Removal of 760,000 people from ACA marketplace could undermine US health system (Guardian)
White House says new pro-Trump ad funded by the ‘U.S. government’ is a ‘public service announcement’ (NBC)
New Senate Bill Seeks Major US Green Card Shake-Up (Newsweek)
Rare September Nor’Easter Prompts Airline Travel Advisories (Forbes)
New study suggests the aging brain is adapting, not declining (WP)
AI Agents Teamed Up to Cheat at Blackjack. Their Collusion Is Getting Harder to Spot (Wired)
Let’s Get Specific About These Doomsday Scenarios (Atlantic)
Are you an AI idealist, alarmist, or skeptic? (Harvard Law)
The head of one of the largest US endowments says OpenAI and Anthropic are in big trouble (BI)
Xi acknowledges risks of AI even as Trump dismisses them (WP)
Massachusetts Is Investigating Gambling Companies’ Use of A.I. (NYT)
AI governance is coming, with or without Trump (Transformer)
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