Two experts working with the Sunday Times used "forensic stylometry" to conclude that Robert Galbraith's novel The Cuckoo's Calling was actually written by the Harry Potter author, Ben Zimmer writes: "Their high-profile investigation provides some insight into the strengths and limitations of computerized authorship analysis, which has applications not just in the literary world but in legal inquiries as well." More from Virginia Hughes.
Science writing news
Christine Brunkhorst, a former English teacher in Minneapolis, writes in the Star Tribune that working for free might give you a toehold toward your career, but comes with a cost for society: "Unpaid internships give a leg up to the well-off. As a teacher hoping to send students into the larger world with sympathetic imaginations — and if not yet a kinship for people of lesser means then at least an awareness of their plight — I find this omission disappointing."
The judge who certified Authors Guild vs. Google as a class action has been overruled and Google's "fair use" defense must be dealt with first, Rick Anderson writes at Scholarly Kitchen: "Only a couple of years ago, most commentators were saying that the Google Books project was dead in the water. It now seems clear that the Second Circuit’s decision breathes new life into it." More from the Guild, Publishers Weekly.
It's mostly because the news came from TV writers, Brendan Nyhan writes for CJR: "Predictably, some of them resorted to 'he said,' 'she said' style coverage that failed to make clear just how extreme and scientifically discredited [Jenny] McCarthy’s views are." Nyhan praises two exceptions — Meredith Blake of the Los Angeles Times, and Bill Carter of the New York Times, who said McCarthy's anti-vaccination crusade was based on a "widely disproved theory."
Tommy Tomlinson asks: "What if you could find a real story as good as the song playing in your head?" On Nieman Storyboard, Tomlinson conducts a line-by-line analysis of what he calls the best George Jones song, "The Grand Tour," picking out elements of detail and other literary devices. "The songwriters — Norro Wilson, George Richey and Carmol Taylor — take you through the home of a destroyed relationship, guided by the man who now lives there alone."
Forget the old practice of offering your references only when asked for them. Now, you should simply publish them on your LinkedIn profile, Arnie Fertig writes for U.S. News: "Recruiters, human resources staffing pros and hiring managers all scour them to find great candidates. Rather than assuring the hiring authority at the end of the process that they are making a good choice, a reference can now bring you to the attention of decision makers at the very beginning."
Technology writer Virginia Heffernan declares for creationism. You'd think it was the end of the world. Turns out, however, that she's not really a true believer. Also, the Bigfoot Genome Project. Is Sasquatch a human hybrid and European immigrant?
Maria Popova quotes authors on their routines. Susan Sontag started at eight and wouldn't answer the phone until noon. Simone de Beauvoir didn't write before 10 a.m. Hemingway, of course, wrote standing up. And William Gibson: "As I move through the book it becomes more demanding. At the beginning, I have a five-day workweek, and each day is roughly ten to five, with a break for lunch and a nap. At the very end, it’s a seven-day week, and it could be a twelve-hour day."
Next summer may still be a year away, but Poynter's Dan Caterinicchia says it's not too soon to start preparing for the hunt: "That preparation should include meticulously researching markets where you may want to intern and establishing portfolios with examples that show you’ll be ready to start producing professional-grade content from day one." Caterinicchia's guide includes helpful "do" and "don't" tips from editors at three intern-hiring journalism organizations.