by Jeff Maisey | Apr 26, 2025 | News, News & Views, Robotham
By Tom Robotham Recently, I sat on a panel—convened at Old Dominion University—to talk about the state of journalism. I was impressed by the students in attendance. They struck me as bright, and they seemed to be knowledgeable about current events. That said, they...
by Jeff Maisey | Feb 20, 2025 | News, News & Views, Robotham
By Tom Robotham For the last decade or so, I’ve been in the habit of turning on CNN first thing in the morning, and letting it run for hours until it was time head to campus for afternoon classes. Often, it was background chatter while I prepared lectures, graded...
by Jeff Maisey | Jan 21, 2025 | Beer Reviews, Festivals, Horton, News, Robotham, Wine & Spirits
By Tom Robotham Last spring, I wrote an essay called “Leaving the Treehouse”—a reflection on my realization that it was time to vacate the apartment I had occupied for 17 years. I called it the Treehouse because it was on the fourth floor of an old building in West...
by Jeff Maisey | Nov 19, 2024 | News, News & Views, Robotham
By Tom Robotham When Donald Trump ran for president in 2016, I disagreed with many friends who thought there was no way he could win. The book I mentioned in my last essay—Amusing Ourselves to Death—kept coming to mind, and Trump personified author Neil Postman’s dark...
by Jeff Maisey | Apr 21, 2024 | News, News & Views, Robotham
By Tom Robotham For the last few weeks, I’ve been looking for a new apartment. It’s not that I’m unhappy with my current place. Not by a long shot. For 17 years, it has served me well. In the afternoons, on clear days, the living room is bathed in sunlight filtered by...
