Matt J. Duffy :: Thoughts on Journalism, Culture, and Boat Building

Adventures of the Shackleton in Maine

Matt Duffy — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:03:41 +0000

Well, I did put the Shackleton into the water up here in Maine. Unfortunately, I had to row her out of the water. See the dramatic re-enactment at right.

When I took the motor back to the marine shop, the mechanic declared it DOA. I could have poured more money into that 1985 Johnson 40 HP — but the mechanics thought it foolish.

I would’ve been more bummed out if my original boat — the Bluebird II — hadn’t worked so well this summer. She had barely a hiccup and ferried the family all over the Maine coast. We even painted the Bluebird’s trailer in anticipation of driving her south to her new caretakers in the warmer waters of North Carolina.

Since the Shackleton wasn’t in the water I did get to work out a few kinks. I fixed a vexing leak around the drain plugs — found some marine caulk that works wonders. I also installed a bow light and an automatic bilge pump (in case water finds a way back in.)

And the best news is … the trouble with the motor convinced me to play big or stay home. I just dropped the Shackton off at J and M Marine where she’ll be stored for the winter. In early spring, their mechanics will install a brand new 60 HP Yamama. It’s expensive, but I’ve heard the pleasures of owning a new Yamaha are unparalleled. I’m hoping that the profits from my academic editing company can totally cover the cost. The mechanics are going to install a new steering system, new controls, a tachometer, and several other bells and whistles. Can’t wait to post the pictures next summer.

So, the Shackleton will wait a while longer for her first Maine shakedown cruise. But, I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait.

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Putting that Ph.D. to good use

Matt Duffy — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 21:29:38 +0000

Lest you think I’m simply lazing about all summer in Maine, I’m doing far more than that. I’m writing letters to the editor.

Here’s my letter addressing a problem with a poll in the Portland (Me.) Press Herald:

In Tuesday’s front-page article about a recent Rasmussen poll, the newspaper states that Paul LePage “leads the race” with support from 39 percent of respondents compared to 31 percent for Elizabeth Mitchell. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 4.5 percent.

Because of the intricacies of statistical modeling, the margin of error means that LePage’s true support could be as low as 34.5 percent and Mitchell’s could be as high as 35.5 percent. Therefore, LePage and Mitchell are actually in a statistical dead heat.

According to the article, Rasmussen surveyed 500 people for the poll. In order to achieve a lower margin of error (in the 3 percent range), approximately 1,000 people would need to be interviewed.

Of course, interviewing twice as many respondents would cost a lot more money — which is why we see a lot of polls with large margins of error.

The Press Herald is surely not alone in this oversight. Research has found that many media outlets tend to ignore or downplay the details of polling margins.

In the future, reporters should be careful how they phrase poll results, and editors may want to be more selective in which polls they choose to highlight.

Matt J. Duffy, Ph.D.
Westport Island

That’s my first official use of the Ph.D. They took out the following coda: “Duffy teaches journalism at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, UAE. He summers in Maine.”

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Fourth of July float

Matt Duffy — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:18:31 +0000

Here’s the video of the float we made for the Fourth of July parade in Wiscasset, Maine. We came in second place. There’s just no beating the Congregational Church.

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Price gouging fail

Matt Duffy — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:25:57 +0000

The Shaw’s Supermarket in Wiscasset, Maine, doesn’t mind making a little profit on their chips.

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Old Dutchman

Matt Duffy — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 13:43:24 +0000

My niece and I offer some good old-fashioned entertainment for the family talent show.

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Regarding the ideology of the press

Matt Duffy — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 20:52:28 +0000

Jay Rosen offers a cogent rethinking of the ageless debate regarding the ideology of the press. The left says its beholden to corporate interests while the right says its influenced heavily by the supermajority of liberals who practice journalism. Rosen makes some great points in arguing that the problem with the press transcends these two camps.

Rosen points to The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank as an epitome of the undefinable press ideology. Milbank recently boasted that leftists and rightists disdain him equally — a trait that I’ve heard many journalists tout as evidence that they’re practicing “objective” journalism.

Rosen writes:

The man is simply compelled to tell the truth no matter who’s offended by it, so he is popular with neither side— and of course there are always and only two. But in order to keep up this image (for that’s exactly what it is, an image, similar to John McCain’s brand as a “maverick”) Milbank must continually locate “clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right,” as that bouncy song from the 70s put it.

What this means ideologically is that the people with political sense in press treatment will usually be the moderates, mavericks and “pragmatists,” a word that in political journalism has almost no content beyond, “opposite of true believer… ideologically flexible… not a purist.”

That certainly appears to be the case. Right now, for instance, the press narrative seems to be “look at how all the moderates are getting pushed out of politics.” Perhaps this is reality — or maybe something else is happening. Maybe a return to the partisan press would help alleviate the journalistic desire to view everything from the middle.

Rosen then goes on to define five terms that paint a picture of the ideology of today’s journalist. He calls the first “The Church of the Savvy”:

Prohibited from joining in political struggles, dedicated to observing what is, regardless of whether it ought to be, the savvy believe that these disciplines afford them a special view of the arena, cured of excess sentiment, useless passon, ideological certitude and other defects of vision that players in the system routinely exhibit. As I wrote on Twitter the other day, “the savvy don’t say: I have a better argument than you… They say: I am closer to reality than you. And more mature.”

Now in order for this belief system to operate effectively, it has to continually position the journalist and his or her observations not as right where others are wrong, or virtuous where others are corrupt, or visionary where others are short-sighted, but as practical, hardheaded, unsentimental, and shrewd where others are didactic, ideological, and dreamy. This is part of what’s so insidious about press savviness: it tries to hog realism to itself.

Yes. I’ve seen this as well. I’d call it smarm.

Read this rest — he makes some other on-target criticisms. I buy all of it. But that doesn’t mean journalists aren’t, at times, beholden to corporate interests or influenced by the liberal ideology of their membership.

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Shackleton heading to Maine

Matt Duffy — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 00:36:45 +0000

Monday morning I’ll tow the Shackleton northward toward Maine. Yes, I’ll be towing her with my 1999 Toyota Camry — there’s no need to snicker!

I decided that I didn’t want to leave Das Boot in North Carolina after all. I figure I’ll spend the summer with her and bring my other boat, the Bluebird II, back down to North Carolina in early August. I’ll store the Shackleton up there and imagine I’ll get some tips from Mainers on how to properly maintain a wooden boat in northern New England.

Didn’t seem right to enjoy the boat I built for such a short amount of time. Besides, she’s got a new lower unit on the motor — had to replace it after I hit a submerged rock on Lake Allatoona …. but that’s another story.

I’ll be in Elkton, Maryland, this week for a family reunion. So, expect some pictures of the Shackleton on the Chesapeake Bay. Tally-ho!

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Flag Figurer

Matt Duffy — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 12:26:13 +0000

The above application allows you to see how the U.S. flag would look as extra stars are added for additional states. Proves that there’s an application for everything.

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Johnny Cash going to Abu Dhabi, pictures to come

Matt Duffy — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 02:07:42 +0000

Pictured above is a framed photo of Johnny Cash. As you can see, I tried to sell it for $1 at my estate sale last weekend. Mysteriously, it failed to sell. I can barely comprehend why so many estate salers could walk by this picture and resist the temptation to buy. Therefore, I’ve decided to take this incident as divine intervention — clearly, I’m supposed to take this picture to Abu Dhabi.

So, that’s just what I’m going to do. I’ll post a picture in August of Mr. Cash on my office wall at Zayed University.

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How to Host a Murder

Matt Duffy — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:35:39 +0000

Pictured above is four “How to Host a Murder” games endorsed, as you can see, by Vincent Price himself. We’ve played this game once, hosting a mystery with six friends back in 1997 in Jackson, Miss. Since then, we’ve carted these other four games all around this great country — up to and all around Greater Boston and back to Georgia — into and out of about seven attics. This weekend, we draw a line in the sand — our “How to Host a Mystery” games will be available for sale at our estate sale. FREEDOM!

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