John McIntyre
@johnemcintyre.bsky.social
Retired Baltimore Sun editor, flaneur. Author of “The Old Editor Says” and “Bad Advice.” Kentuckian transplanted to Baltimore.
Reposted by John McIntyre
Whatever else it can do, this tech adds work and erodes trust. The extra work is time-wasting and wearying, and I resent the erosion of trust most deeply. I cannot believe it is healthy for society to be ever less sure that anything you encounter is the real thought or expression of a fellow human
I spend so much time verifying everything now from art to cited sources to photos to historical references to citations to quotes to legal and medical information that it's really hard to fathom how much work AI has collectively added to the world, not reduced
Here's the reality this example illustrates:
It's not even just about people blindly trusting what ChatGPT tells them. LLMs are poisoning the entire information ecosystem. You can't even necessarily trust that the citations in a published paper are real (or a search engine's descriptions of them).
It's not even just about people blindly trusting what ChatGPT tells them. LLMs are poisoning the entire information ecosystem. You can't even necessarily trust that the citations in a published paper are real (or a search engine's descriptions of them).
December 7, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Whatever else it can do, this tech adds work and erodes trust. The extra work is time-wasting and wearying, and I resent the erosion of trust most deeply. I cannot believe it is healthy for society to be ever less sure that anything you encounter is the real thought or expression of a fellow human
I’ve ordered the 18th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style and the 12th Merriam-Webster Collegiate. I will be 75 in two months, and I think they should see me out.
December 6, 2025 at 8:40 PM
I’ve ordered the 18th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style and the 12th Merriam-Webster Collegiate. I will be 75 in two months, and I think they should see me out.
Who ya gonna trust?
Yeah, "the real story"
An essay by Joan Didion in 1968 pointed out a fundamental problem with standard American journalism: "It is a comment on our press conventi...
johnemcintyre.blogspot.com
December 4, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Who ya gonna trust?
Reposted by John McIntyre
“Have Yourself A Merriam Little Christmas”
Merriam, a career-oriented lexicographer from the city, returns to her small town for the holidays and meets Webster, a ruggedly handsome librarian, who shows her the true DEFINITION of Christmas.
Merriam, a career-oriented lexicographer from the city, returns to her small town for the holidays and meets Webster, a ruggedly handsome librarian, who shows her the true DEFINITION of Christmas.
December 2, 2025 at 7:18 PM
“Have Yourself A Merriam Little Christmas”
Merriam, a career-oriented lexicographer from the city, returns to her small town for the holidays and meets Webster, a ruggedly handsome librarian, who shows her the true DEFINITION of Christmas.
Merriam, a career-oriented lexicographer from the city, returns to her small town for the holidays and meets Webster, a ruggedly handsome librarian, who shows her the true DEFINITION of Christmas.
At the holiday table.
Those holiday meals
I posted this on Thanksgiving morning on social media: I made the mashed potatoes this morning, with cream cheese, Parmesan, and more butte...
johnemcintyre.blogspot.com
November 30, 2025 at 9:21 PM
At the holiday table.
I made the mashed potatoes this morning, with cream cheese, Parmesan, and more butter than you want to know about. Kathleen made corn pudding. The turkey is in the oven and I’ve taken down the smoke detectors. There will be crab cakes and Key lime pie and wine and cursing from the kitchen.
November 27, 2025 at 5:36 PM
I made the mashed potatoes this morning, with cream cheese, Parmesan, and more butter than you want to know about. Kathleen made corn pudding. The turkey is in the oven and I’ve taken down the smoke detectors. There will be crab cakes and Key lime pie and wine and cursing from the kitchen.
What the hell happened to the Republic that there is now a profession called “TikTok influencer”?
November 26, 2025 at 7:52 PM
What the hell happened to the Republic that there is now a profession called “TikTok influencer”?
The flood of messages from retailers all day long leaves me thinking they are sounding a little desperate this year.
November 26, 2025 at 2:42 AM
The flood of messages from retailers all day long leaves me thinking they are sounding a little desperate this year.
Reposted by John McIntyre
The problem Donald Trump has as pretender to the throne of America is that he leads a party full of scavengers who are all realizing it might be in their best interests not to pretend anymore.
War of the Brown Noses - Truthdig
The great Trumpworld crackup has only just begun.
www.truthdig.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:00 PM
The problem Donald Trump has as pretender to the throne of America is that he leads a party full of scavengers who are all realizing it might be in their best interests not to pretend anymore.
I see that John Allen Paulos referred today to the Supreme Court as the supine court. Will there be T-shirts?
November 21, 2025 at 9:04 PM
I see that John Allen Paulos referred today to the Supreme Court as the supine court. Will there be T-shirts?
Will anyone else speak for Henry Mencken?
Evicting Mr. Mencken
A few days ago the Enoch Pratt Free Library dedicated the DeWayne Wickham Room of Maryland Journalism, housing the papers and honoring the ...
johnemcintyre.blogspot.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Will anyone else speak for Henry Mencken?
Reposted by John McIntyre
I can never hear or see something about the extreme right Proud Boys without remembering that "proud boy" is a term for a gelding that doesn't realize it's been neutered and keeps acting like a stallion. So do with that info what you will. *sips coffee*
November 14, 2025 at 9:39 PM
I can never hear or see something about the extreme right Proud Boys without remembering that "proud boy" is a term for a gelding that doesn't realize it's been neutered and keeps acting like a stallion. So do with that info what you will. *sips coffee*
These damn TV shows that resort to display texting to carry the narrative: I am no longer eight years old, sitting n the floor directly in front of the set.
November 14, 2025 at 3:30 AM
These damn TV shows that resort to display texting to carry the narrative: I am no longer eight years old, sitting n the floor directly in front of the set.
Reposted by John McIntyre
Reposted by John McIntyre
I see the “technically it’s ephebophelia” crowd is out today, so just a reminder that A) this is NOT a case where technically correct is the best kind of correct and B) the minute you say this, the gods dump you in the “irredeemable creeper” basket and wash their hands thoroughly after touching you.
November 13, 2025 at 6:57 PM
I see the “technically it’s ephebophelia” crowd is out today, so just a reminder that A) this is NOT a case where technically correct is the best kind of correct and B) the minute you say this, the gods dump you in the “irredeemable creeper” basket and wash their hands thoroughly after touching you.
We've lost a first-rate journalist.
I knew Bob Erlandson; he was a friend of mine
We learned this week that Bob Erlandson died Friday at ninety-four, brought down by a massive stroke. Among the Baltimore Sun reporters I...
johnemcintyre.blogspot.com
November 11, 2025 at 7:44 PM
We've lost a first-rate journalist.
The Baltimore Banner has announced an opening for a copy editor.
Copy Editor
Baltimore, MD
job-boards.greenhouse.io
November 7, 2025 at 3:25 PM
The Baltimore Banner has announced an opening for a copy editor.
Reposted by John McIntyre
Black and Latino voters are the spine of the Democratic Party, not white moderates. That’s what this election showed—when candidates actually energize the people doing the groundwork, the ones who show up rain or shine, they win. You can’t fake authenticity or build power without us. #Pinks #Momsky
November 5, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Reposted by John McIntyre
oops here is the gift link
Opinion | Trump Is an Albatross
www.nytimes.com
November 5, 2025 at 1:09 PM
oops here is the gift link
We will tell stories of what life was like during the reign of the Mad King.
November 5, 2025 at 12:23 PM
We will tell stories of what life was like during the reign of the Mad King.
Reposted by John McIntyre
Extraordinary how many establishment Democrats really wish they didn't have a talented rising new star who connects to people by talking to them and understanding what their interests are, then speaking to those interests. Like a job where the new guy makes everyone look bad simply by doing the job.
November 4, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Extraordinary how many establishment Democrats really wish they didn't have a talented rising new star who connects to people by talking to them and understanding what their interests are, then speaking to those interests. Like a job where the new guy makes everyone look bad simply by doing the job.
A hardy perennial that no frost can touch.
Give my regards, irregardless
Facebook's Captain Grammar Pants laid down the law this week: "Irregardless is a double negative, and we all know that we can’t not never, ...
johnemcintyre.blogspot.com
October 31, 2025 at 2:06 PM
A hardy perennial that no frost can touch.
Third-term nonsense. Constitution be damned, does anyone who has watched videos imagine that he will be alive to assume office in January 2029?
October 28, 2025 at 7:50 PM
Third-term nonsense. Constitution be damned, does anyone who has watched videos imagine that he will be alive to assume office in January 2029?
AI? Not a fan.
The Old editor glares at AI
A while back I shared a post, then deleted it after I was persuaded that the image in it had been generated by AI. I do not trust AI and do...
johnemcintyre.blogspot.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:12 PM
AI? Not a fan.
People send me things, among them this from the once-great Baltimore Sun: “Armstrong Williams offers perspective on some of the controversy’s of the week. …”
October 27, 2025 at 11:41 AM
People send me things, among them this from the once-great Baltimore Sun: “Armstrong Williams offers perspective on some of the controversy’s of the week. …”