Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
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would be ready to relax and not worry about deadlines. It is also not surprising that Platt knows the profession as well as he does.
“News people need minds like garbage cans because every experience or bit of information could turn up to be useful someday,” Platt said. “A journalist needs to have broad interests and in fact be interested in everything.”
Platt does not understand people who say they are bored because there are so many things to be interested in and to do. Although working in journalism opens up a wide range of interests, it also limits the journalist in some ways. “I used to write poetry in college, but I couldn’t anymore except for doggerel,” Platt said. “After you’ve been in journalism for a while, the creative writing part dries up.”
During his years as a reporter and finance editor, Platt saw many changes in journalism. “The biggest change came with television,” Platt said. ‘Television changed the economics and the face of print journalism.”
The major change caused by TV has been the emphasis on “soft” news in print media. “There are more and more news features, explanatory features and recorded interviews instead of just hard news accounts,” Platt said. “All of it helps the reader’s understanding, but it can be carried too far.”
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