journalism Archives - CohenConnect.com

May 1, 2020

Is Facebook facing the fact its Community Standards struck out with me 3 times in one night?

If you’re a longtime reader, then you’ve probably seen the phase I went through, ending articles with this phrase: If you appreciate what you…

February 9, 2020

Your local reporter may be phoning it in

Have you seen Katie from Kansas on your local CBS TV station’s website? You probably shouldn’t. This post started when I was looking for…

December 23, 2019

The bad and the good at work (media edition)

We all have good days and bad days, but both of these quotes refer to the bigger picture at different times in different people’s…

October 18, 2019

Haven’t been in touch for a while. This is partly the reason.

To those of you eager to read more blog posts here (this is blog #150!), and news on ThePhillyFiles.com, I’m temporarily sorry. No, I…

August 15, 2019

ThePhillyFiles’ six-week milestone!

I sent the following to subscribers of ThePhillyFiles on Mailchimp: It’s hard for me to believe but today marks *six weeks* since the kickoff…

July 8, 2019

Video: First fiery justice, then the law

A man the BBC calls a “far-right extremist” — who set fire to a synagogue, a year ago — first went down in flames…

June 13, 2019

Adding my own few points to Nexstar’s ‘Digital First’ strategy

The phrase “Digital First” is nothing new. Managers in TV station news departments have been saying it for years, but they really hadn’t practiced…

May 3, 2019

Lenny’s update, and the writing and posting you may have missed

You may have actually looked at the homepage of this blog, CohenConnect.com, and thought I hadn’t been writing. It may have looked that way,…

March 16, 2019

Control of the media after the mosque attacks in New Zealand

THANK YOU to the two new followers from over the past week, bringing the total up to 116. I hope you like what you…

February 21, 2019

Pre-election politics in Israel, and where I’ve been

Tomorrow will be a month since my last actual blog post. I’ve been very busy working and also spent a little time in Florida…

January 7, 2019

Odds, ends and new beginnings

It’s always good to be remembered, and hopefully being your last new year’s message of the year will keep some of my thoughts on…

January 2, 2019

Banned from Facebook pages twice in 2 days!

Sometimes, interesting things happen when you read friends’ Facebook pages. I’m not talking about going to look on purpose, which I’ve done before. I’m…

December 12, 2018

Exposing hate, close to home (as if acceptable anywhere)

My interest started when I was looking at my Facebook feed over the weekend and saw this post from a former coworker. Obviously, we’re…

December 6, 2018

Blogging better in 2019 after hitting 20,000 views in 2018

THANK YOU! I don’t know what else to say. There’s nothing special about hitting 20,000 blog page views except that it’s a big round…

November 21, 2018

The end of an era, and beginning of this one (Part A of this one)

It was 20 years ago tonight. Not exactly. It was actually four days off, on Nov. 25, but what really matters is it was…

November 4, 2018

Difficult week, from anger to sadness, as election approaches

I don’t remember a seven-day period like the time since last Saturday. That’s when I woke up, turned on the TV, and saw what…

October 28, 2018

Not a good day for political thoughts, the USA as a whole

I’ve known I had another blog post “due” before the election, if you know how I think, but too much on my mind and…

October 16, 2018

Political pondering, 3 weeks before Election Day

The “game” of politics is no fun anymore. Discussing anything having to do with it used to be educating and entertaining, and sometimes enlightening,…

October 10, 2018

The case against us all paying for private schools

Several times a year, before elections, a man in Florida emails me about who to support in elections down there. The goal is to…

October 2, 2018

News starting out good but going downhill fast

It’s a happy moment at CohenConnect.com. (Online definition of moment: “a very brief period of time.” The italics are mine.) September’s blog numbers were…

September 26, 2018

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Sometimes I see or hear something so stupid, I lose control and have to call it out right away. That’s especially true when it…

September 23, 2018

Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, justice and becoming a Justice

President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will be giving the Senate Judiciary Committee calendars from 1982 to back up his continued denial of…

September 14, 2018

Eric Trump and his shekels

I try not to go more than a week without posting something. Unfortunately, it has been 11 days dues to holidays that won’t be…

September 3, 2018

Labor Day weekend leftovers

I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure you’ve had a busy week, between getting used to having your kids in school or planning what…

August 29, 2018

Ron DeSantis didn’t learn from Roseanne Barr

There are just 69 days until the midterm elections (for those of you who really explored all around this all-around great blog to see…

August 16, 2018

Sanctions against Sinclair? Sounds justified

It’s either coincidence, karma or a higher power when things come together in ways previously thought impossible. This weekend, Jewish people around the world…

August 9, 2018

Tribune to Sinclair: Judge’s gavel instead of merger’s handshake

It’s a great day in broadcasting, or as great as things can get in this day and age. There will be no merger between…

July 27, 2018

Sinclair sinks, Trump’s temper, Cox’s cash value

There’s something to be said for waiting before starting to write. That’s not my nature. I want to get things out first. I type…

July 25, 2018

Big merger, big problem, big surprise!

This was starting to get a little hard to keep track of, and I wrote most of this last night. Good thing I waited…

July 17, 2018

More moderation in politics, not so in casting calls

I’ve had a lot on my mind lately. There’s too much going on, between job stuff, the news and that last blog post I…

July 15, 2018

You may be right but don’t let some on the left know (and vice versa)!

I tend to stay away from politics that I really, really care about — simply due to my background as a journalist and the…

July 13, 2018

The FCC’s war on American children, adults

The Federal Communications Commission has a very important mission, but it’s not being fulfilled.In fact, the opposite has been happening over the past few…

July 8, 2018

From Philly? How your neighborhood (or one nearby) got its name

Philadelphia may be one of the biggest cities in the country and arguably the most historic, considering it is the birthplace of our country….

June 28, 2018

Ready to ‘X out’ Comcast Xfinity from my life

I DECIDED TO STAY WITH COMCAST. Yes, you read correctly. I made the decision yesterday after coming “thisclose” to switching to Verizon. This is…

June 27, 2018

The necessity of public unions, now no chance for compromise

NOTE: Shortly before publishing, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced he’ll retire effective July 31. According to Axios, that’ll give President Donald Trump “a…

June 2, 2018

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign

Who would’ve thought of me as some type of music expert? Definitely not anybody who knows me! I’ve been planning this blog for a…

May 31, 2018

Where have you gone, Sasha Savitsky?

I don’t know why TV stations (and networks) allow mistakes to remain without corrections but it’s certainly a disservice to viewers and readers. One…

May 29, 2018

The lousiness of laziness and liars

I hate lazy people (and stupid ones, but that’s a blog for another time). I can understand being sick. Last year, I showed up…

May 25, 2018

Follow-Up Friday, plus David Hogg defeats Publix

First, I want to thank you for all your reading. This is my 99th blog and so far there have been more than 14,100…

May 23, 2018

The Big Bang Theory’s wedding episode succeeded where Publix failed

Most of us strive for perfection. Some of us do it too hard, and it can affect our well-being. On the other hand, there…

May 18, 2018

It happened again, and again

There’s never a good time to write a story like this. We know there has been a school shooting in Texas, apparently between Houston…

May 17, 2018

Forget Laurel and Yanny. Did Cecily call Adam a moron?

I don’t know about you but yesterday, I couldn’t stop “hearing” about what the people who listened to a certain audio file heard. Most…

May 13, 2018

In defense: The good Facebook can do when used by the right people

First, happy Mother’s Day to everyone to whom that applies. I hope you’re having a great day! Second, today is also the celebration of…

May 8, 2018

Paying for news, one candidate’s free airtime and asking for your comments

I hope you’ve had a terrific Tuesday! I have a few thoughts (just a few) I figured I’d get out today. This morning, Axios…

May 4, 2018

Media mega-merger may be moving closer, impacting Miami

I’ve avoided writing much about Sinclair Broadcast Group trying to buy Tribune Media because I’ve been busy and I don’t want to jinx any…

April 25, 2018

Who says everything I write is negative (but correct)?

This is my 90th blog post and like most journalists, I identify mistakes all over and somehow — often through publicity — try to…

April 19, 2018

Sanctuary cities judges show they know justice, not politics

I’m not writing to take an opinion on the issues of sanctuary cities or illegal immigration, but have to say I’m pleased a gang…

April 17, 2018

Comey comes alive with tough talk against Trump

I didn’t know much about James Comey until about two years ago. Since then, I thought pretty highly of the guy and that really…

April 10, 2018

Salaries, senators and a spat between a Fox News host and the A.P.

I’m actually going to start optimistically and thank you for reading. The blog is getting very close and may have 12,000 hits after this…

April 5, 2018

How long until local news people figure out local locations?

Tragic story. Heartbreaking. The victims put their lives on the line and lost them, just to protect us. And reports of it were made…

April 4, 2018

My urge: Follow your conscience, despite the cost

Listen to this. Ever heard anything so absurd? It’s not “Follow the Leader” because there is no leader. There are local TV news anchors….

April 3, 2018

Villanova Victory, Volume III

They did it again! Villanova University’s men’s basketball team is celebrating its second national championship in three years. According to the schoolâ€™s president, Rev….

March 30, 2018

Tiffany Trump’s trouble, what unions could do to Amazon and the media

It’s nice when Americans exercise their First Amendment rights (freedom ofÂ religion, speech, the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and…

March 29, 2018

Who Trump hates more, Facebook or Amazon? Oh, and Stormy Daniels’ motion to make him speak!

OK. Let’s get this right. Lawmakers and many Americans are angry about Facebook and how it handled 50 million users’ people’s data, but President…

March 26, 2018

Facebook: Friend or foe? Keep or delete?

If you were reading the Sunday paper, you may have come across this full-page ad from Facebook with a letter signed by Mark Zuckerberg….

March 20, 2018

Be nicer to Mike Jerrick, and other thoughts on what’s making news

People who know me can never, ever say I’m not loyal to people I like and respect. You’ll see that in a moment, along…

Mild Coronavirus case? 8 tips to recover at home July 6, 2020
Coronavirus is still infecting people across the globe, with most who develop symptoms exhibiting mild illness. According to the Centers for Disease Control and... The post Mild Coronavirus case? 8 tips to recover at home appeared first on The Philly Files.
Business ownership appeals to vets seeking post-military careers July 4, 2020
Once their service ends, veterans often expect to start a new career. In many cases, the same skills and characteristics that helped make them... The post Business ownership appeals to vets seeking post-military careers appeared first on The Philly Files.
Snack hacks that really pop July 3, 2020
If spending more time at home than usual has you reaching for snacks more often, keep some quick, flavorful options on-hand to help fuel... The post Snack hacks that really pop appeared first on The Philly Files.
Philly officer, 2 relatives charged with robbing 15 gamblers July 2, 2020
PHILADELPHIA — A Philadelphia police officer is under arrest, accused of taking part “in the robbery and assault of multiple victims at a North... The post Philly officer, 2 relatives charged with robbing 15 gamblers appeared first on The Philly Files.
From 2nd generation, to reviving a winery after 6 decades July 1, 2020
One thing that gives us great comfort in the ever-changing wine industry is the survival of the venerable family-owned wineries. Too many of the... The post From 2nd generation, to reviving a winery after 6 decades appeared first on The Philly Files.
7 tips to save money and have fun shopping online June 28, 2020
Online shopping allows you the ease of getting items delivered directly to your door. Not only is online shopping convenient, but it also allows... The post 7 tips to save money and have fun shopping online appeared first on The Philly Files.
Philadelphia releases crime prevention and violence reduction action plan June 26, 2020
Friday morning, Philadelphia Police Comm. Danielle Outlaw announced a plan to prevent crime and reduce violence in the city. The idea includes District Attorney... The post Philadelphia releases crime prevention and violence reduction action plan appeared first on The Philly Files.
Video: Fire up the grill for smoked… fruit! June 26, 2020
As summer grilling season sets in, Americans grab their tongs to take advantage of backyard barbecue opportunities. In addition to classic cookout fare like... The post Video: Fire up the grill for smoked… fruit! appeared first on The Philly Files.
Upgrade your home, downgrade energy usage June 25, 2020
7 efficient home improvement projects The best home upgrades not only make spaces more livable and energy-efficient but are also cost-effective. Making energy-efficient improvements... The post Upgrade your home, downgrade energy usage appeared first on The Philly Files.
Searching for the top tempranillo in Spain and Oregon June 25, 2020
Alberto Moro said his family wasn’t really interested in making white wine until they fell in love with the godellos made in the Bierzo... The post Searching for the top tempranillo in Spain and Oregon appeared first on The Philly Files.

Flag DayJune 14, 2020

Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the U.S. flag on June 14, 1777, by resolution of the Second Continental Congress. It stated: "The flag of the 13 United States be 13 stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be 13 stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation." Flag Day is not an official federal holiday. In 1916, Pres. Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation officially establishing Flag Day, and in 1949, an Act of Congress established National Flag Day. The U.S. Army also celebrates its birthday on this date; Congress adopted "the American continental army" on June 14, 1775.

Independence DayJuly 4, 2020

Independence Day — also known by its date, the Fourth of July — is an American holiday commemorating the signing of the Declaration of Independence here in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776. The Continental Congress declared the 13 colonies were no longer part of Britain and were united, free, and independent states. The Congress had voted to declare independence on July 2, but it was not declared until July 4. Look for fireworks, parades, barbecues, concerts, family get-togethers and other ceremonies.