For the love of language

Christianne Sharman and her brother, Graham Sharman III, are partners in Sharman Communications, a public relations and corporate communications firm founded by their mother in 1990. She is also a travel writer for The Spokesman-Review.

It’s everywhere

Confessions first. I’m something of a Luddite. I like books I can hold in my hand, newspapers I can take to the coffee shop.

But the Web is. No getting around it. And I admit I’ve found plenty out there to capture my attention.

I love language, which is why Salon.com ranks as a favorite. The political and popular culture writing by Salon contributors shames me; it’s jaw-droppingly great. And I regularly visit Merriam-webster.com, where you can sign up for an e-mailed word of the day and hear pronunciations for the new vocabulary you pick up on Salon.

My father was a journalist and my husband is one, too. No psychological analysis needed, thank you. So I’ve always been interested in the field. Anytime journalists take a good hard look at themselves — on NPR’s On the Media ( www.onthemedia.org), or in the now-defunct Steven Brill’s Content magazine — I’m engaged.

The Spokesman-Review’s Daily Briefing blog ( www.spokesmanreview.com/ blogs/briefing) satisfies that particular curiosity a little bit every day.

For my political fix, I subscribe to the daily update on Truthout.org, which often includes Keith Olbermann’s latest diatribe. I cannot get enough of that guy. Again, great writing, powerfully delivered.

In the arena of fun, Rocketboom’s videoblog ( www.rocketboom.com/vlog/) never fails to offer up something clever. And my cousin is one of the stars of “One Life to Live,” so I visit a couple of fan sites ( www.mediadomain.com and www.soapnet.com) to see what they’re saying. I’ll tell you, those are some endearingly nutty people.