The Recovering Journalist
Ruth Ann is a "recovering journalist."
Starting out as a teen deejay in her native Buffalo, NY, she spent three decades in media work, including Emmy-nominated television reporting and anchoring at the CBS-TV affiliate in Nashville, TN, a daily talk-radio program on WLAC-AM, and 17 years as a columnist for the Nashville Banner. Ruth Ann served on the board of the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the Society of Professional Journalists, of which she has been a member for over 30 years.
Ruth Ann also holds membership in the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences, the Radio and Television News Directors Association, American Women in Radio and Television, the Buffalo Broadcasters Association, the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Conference Community, and is a lifetime member of the Broadcasters Foundation.
Timeless
Day 234 Did I mention I removed my wristwatch a few weeks ago and have not put it back on? I tossed it in my purse and have only looked for it twice – once to make sure it was there, and just now to take this photo. It’s said that most young people don’t wear [...]
Full StoryStarting Over (Again)
Day 233 I continue to prove that I am an exception to the “do it this many days in a row and you will change your habit” theory. I can’t think of a single habit that I have changed permanently through this method. My inabiity, unwillingness, or whatever-excuse-I-have-today to post daily here is only one example, [...]
Full StoryBe Very Afraid! Stay Tuned For Details…
Day 232 Yesterday I noted that major whackage is underway in my email subscriptions. Two that I am keeping (so far): The Daily Beast and Postitive Quote of the Day. TDB gives me a fast look at current events that people are talking about. Since I’ve ended a lot of my print subscriptions and no [...]
Full StoryTake This Job And….
Day 222 Among the things I never expected to do in this life: choose drawer pulls. This is not a task for which I was groomed and trained. Lawsy, Miz Scarlett, I don’t know nuthin’ bout pickin’ no drawer pulls. However, the sales representative knows. He deftly slides panel after panel along the display rack, expertly [...]
Full StoryThis’ll Only Take Two Minutes (YMMV)
Day 219 Four people heard the same words and came to four different conclusions. One said “It’s just a little bit up ahead.” The other three began asking what, exactly, was “a little bit”? Was it a block? A mile? A few miles? The non-answer answer was: “We’ll be there in just a few minutes.” [...]
Full StorySix Things I Learned In Six Months Of Doing Nothing
Day 217 (The following is the text of the talk I gave at TED University on July 12, 2010.) Hi, I’m Ruth Ann. On January first, 2010, I began a one year sabbatical.I’m at the halfway mark, and I’d like to tell you Six Things I Learned In Six Months of Doing Nothing. OK, Obviously, I wasn’t [...]
Full StoryWiki W/ Me?
Day 215 When I read this article in the New York Times, I was glad I added the Wikimedia Foundation to my list of grantees a couple of years ago. I’m sure it gave Wikimedia’s counsel no joy to refuse the Bureau’s demand to remove the picture of the F.B.I. seal from Wikipedia. But when government [...]
Full StoryDream A Little Dream..of ME?
Day 213 My experiences as a media personality gave me a priceless education. One thing I learned: a life in the public eye puts you in private imaginations. Over the course of my career, thousands of people wrote or called to tell me how I showed up in their heads. Some of them were imagining [...]
Full StoryDo Be Do Be Do
Day 191 I’ve just returned from a reception for the TEDGlobal2010 Fellows. These world-changing individuals are intimidating even to the Fellows who precede them. Every time we meet a new class of Fellows, at least one of the outgoing Fellows or Senior Fellows will say, “I’m glad I didn’t have to compete for a spot in THIS [...]
Full StoryThere But For The Grace….
Day 179 The Larry King story kicked up a little Post Traumatic Stress in me. Even though I haven’t earned a living in the media business for many years, I still read some of the trade magazines, subscribe to NewsBlues , keep up with the trends. So I knew months ago that The King would be “stepping [...]
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