tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75930736876720652732024-03-13T00:23:39.266-04:00The MagrakerCovering the Good, the Bad and the Mucky of MagazinesBobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-45861733769387405042009-01-20T09:36:00.002-05:002009-01-20T09:41:15.940-05:00Mag-BreakerThe <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">MagRaker</span> will be taking a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">mag-breaker</span> as I'll be studying in Paris for the next five months. You can read about my adventures abroad <a href="http://9sqmetersinparis.blogspot.com">here,</a> at <a href="http://9sqmetersinparis.blogspot.com">9 Sq. Meters in Paris</a>. Until then, I'll be thinking of a way to bring back five months worth of European magazines with me on the plane ride home...Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-43958649914795040812008-12-10T14:31:00.013-05:002008-12-14T20:43:15.957-05:00Is Print Dead?<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/31557200@N07/sets/72157611022645640/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 428px; cursor: pointer; height: 348px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3128/3098039971_1d0fe7bc5b.jpg?v=0" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/31557200@N07/sets/72157611022645640/"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Click above for a slideshow</span><br /></span></a></div><p><br />With financial bailouts being handed out to mega-banking institutions and now Detroit automakers, it seems the publishing industry could be in need of the most governmental assistance. The troubled industry is suffering increasingly lower ad revenues and diminishing subscriptions, as more people are turning online to get information personalized and quicker. Print has had a difficult time transitioning to the Internet, and many claim that print is dying. But even in our difficult economy with media layoffs announced daily, new magazines are constantly being launched. So what’s in store for magazines and the Internet?<br /><br />Richard Maggiotto believes he has the solution: <a href="http://www.zinio.com/">Zinio.com</a>, a website that allows digital subscriptions of major magazines to be e-mailed to readers every month. Zinio has partnered with more than 300 publishers of 1,200 magazine titles including <a href="http://zinio.com/gncoffer?issn=popm-1234&of=ZH01&ns=usa">Popular Mechanics</a>, <a href="http://zinio.com/gncoffer?issn=1054-4836&of=Zh01&ns=usa">Men’s Health</a> and <a href="http://zinio.com/gncoffer?issn=0888-0808&of=ZH1&ns=usa">ELLE</a>. According to Zinio's website, the company currently delivers 20 million digital issues annually to a base of 3.5 million readers worldwide.<br /><br />Maggiotto started Zinio in 2001 after working in the late 90's at America Online when Time Warner merged with the company. It was up to him to give Time Inc. a digital makeover, and shortly after leaving AOL, Maggiotto took that know-how and began to apply it on a large scale. However the initial reception was not very friendly.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3214/3097690329_efba000e61.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 112px; cursor: pointer; height: 150px;" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3214/3097690329_efba000e61.jpg?v=0" border="0" /></a>“The response to Zinio was not as welcoming as I’d hoped,” Maggiotto said. “I was knocking on many doors. The early days were hard.” Zinio, he said, was treated by magazine publishers as Napster, the now-illegal mp3 downloading software. But really Zinio acts as a marketing agent no different from Barnes & Noble or iTunes. “Essentially the publisher only pays when they have a subscriber. Zinio becomes the U.S. Postal Service.”<br /><br />But in the last two years, Zinio has seen a resurgence in popularity due to a <a href="http://magraker.blogspot.com/2008/09/paper-cut.html">heightened environmental concern</a> and a desperate industry in the middle of a worldwide economic crisis.<br /><br />“Publications have to change. In the U.S., 12 billion magazines are printed every year. Seventy percent of those issues are sent back to the publisher. The amount of cost, with printing and mailing—it’s so wasteful!”<br /><br />“Now magazines recognize the value of it,” he said. “We’re not competing with them. We want publishers to do what they do best—produce incredible content. We’re building the distribution chain for that content.”<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3042/3098100145_a162c9908d.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; width: 136px; cursor: pointer; height: 143px;" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3042/3098100145_a162c9908d.jpg?v=0" border="0" /></a>ELLE is one of the magazines available through Zinio, with subscriptions for digital issues at $12 actually more than ELLE’s current $10 subscription promotion. Cara Buese, digital marketing assistant for <a href="http://www.elle.com/">ELLE.com</a> and <a href="http://www.ellegirl.com/">ELLEgirl.com</a>, believes online expansion is the only way to stay viable.<br /><br />“The magazine industry has completely <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/search-and-find-magazines-on-google.html">changed its business model</a> since the advent of the Internet,” she said. “Traditional publishing gained revenue from printed advertising pages, subscriptions, and single copy sales. It is now mandatory for a magazine to have an online presence to sell additional advertising space and complement printed content. I believe the website is even more popular than printed magazines because it allows consumers easy access to content free of charge.”<br /><br />Along with digital subscriptions, Buese said, magazine websites have become a crucial element of the reading experience.<br /><br />“It is mandatory for magazines to have an online presence. They serve to enhance and complement the print publication. One goal of a magazine's website is to give incentive to consumers to purchase the print issue. Magazines must now print advertisements that promote its online counterpart. The industry has expanded, as there is a need to ensure there is no disconnect between online content and printed content.”<br /><br />Buese said French ELLE was the first major fashion magazine to create a website, and competitors like Conde Nast soon followed with <a href="http://www.style.com/">Style.com</a>. These sites served as an online database that offers much <a href="vhttp://magraker.blogspot.com/2008/12/staying-in-stylecom.html">more content than a reader could find</a> in a single magazine issue. “ELLEgirl Magazine actually folded,” she said, “but continues to remain an active website. The costs of maintaining a website are much cheaper than printing magazines.”<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3075/3098526316_d97be2f2e2.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 115px; cursor: pointer; height: 115px;" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3075/3098526316_d97be2f2e2.jpg?v=0" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.blogmagazine.com/">Marie Yarbrough</a>, marketing coordinator of <a href="http://www.magazines.com/">Magazines.com</a>, has seen the changes brought about online during her decade in the magazine industry.<br /><br />“There is definitely a market for digital magazines,” she said of Zinio.com, “but I don’t think it will completely replace print. I think the answer for magazines is to provide consumers with as many options as possible to interact with their brands.”<br /><br />Yarbrough admits many magazines were slow to establish an online presence but have come on strong in the last couple years. She points to <a href="http://www.people.com/">People.com</a>, <a href="http://www.sportsillustrated.com/">SportsIllustrated.com</a>, <a href="http://www.fortune.com/">Fortune.com</a>, <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/">Businessweek.com</a>, <a href="http://www.wired.com/">Wired.com</a> and <a href="http://www.makezine.com/">Makezine.com</a> as examples of good online magazine counterparts.<br /><br />“Magazines need to realize their websites are a way to interact more frequently with their readers. If they don’t recognize this then their competitors will. Editors, writers, designers—everyone—has had to learn how to survive and thrive within the new medium, and now Web 2.0 is forcing magazines to be innovative in ways they never had to consider before.”<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3092/3097714847_e36305dedb.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; width: 132px; cursor: pointer; height: 176px;" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3092/3097714847_e36305dedb.jpg?v=0" border="0" /></a>“To me, the core change seems to be readily available content online, and the decision of how much to make available, for free,” said Lucy Silberman, assistant managing editor for <a href="http://www.interviewmagazine.com/">Interview Magazine</a>. “Now magazines are having to not only reproduce current and archival printed material for the web, but to also create new and original (and constantly changing) content.”<br /><br />Interview Magazine does not offer a digital subscription, and in fact, has even upgraded the quality paper each issue is printed on. Just this month, the magazine relaunched their website. Silberman finds the line between magazine and website to be complicated.<br /><br />“The idea of free and readily-available content is tricky," she said. "Ideally, you want your website to act as a companion to, rather than replace, the original print publication. With our recently relaunched website we've been able to cover items that didn't make it into the magazine, including interviews, photos, and <a href="http://www.interviewmagazine.com/blogs/">blogs</a>. Many magazines choose to only offer a taste of the content online, and then direct people to purchase the physical magazine. But the magazine can also direct people to the website.”<br /><br /><a href="http://city-magazine.com/">CITY Magazine</a> has published <a href="http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/city/city61/">digital copies of each issue (“ezines”)</a> for several years through <a href="http://www.nxtbook.com/">Nxtbook Media</a>, a digital magazine publisher recently named to the Inc. 500. These digitial issues initially cost $1.99 but are now free. These ezines provide the same page-flip format of a printed magazine but provide hyperlinks with certain key phrases and advertisements.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3019/3098549852_b2e78e38aa.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 111px; cursor: pointer; height: 175px;" alt="" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3019/3098549852_b2e78e38aa.jpg?v=0" border="0" /></a>“Something like Zinio is part of the answer, the first step,” said Alexander Wolf, design director of CITY Magazine. “ It's a much more faithful representation of a magazine online than what you'd find online more than a few years ago.”<br /><br />Wolf has also found in a reverse influence, that the Internet has affect the design of print magazines. “Many magazines take visual cues from the digital aesthetic which powers the Internet. Look at any issue of <a href="http://www.wired.com/">Wired</a> or some of the big consumer magazines and they have tons of sidebars and news nuggets that are decidedly web-ish in their look and feel. Because people are engaging with web sites constantly, their eyes are trained in take in tremendous amounts of information.”<br /><br />The Internet has “changed the game completely,” said Wolf. “Providing ‘news’ in a print magazine is pretty silly at this point, as you can not beat out the timeliness of a blog or web site. Magazines have to editorialize ‘news’ in an interesting fashion to prove relevant, and the final product on the newsstands is more like a book than it ever was in the past, as a keepsake publication.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">So, are Printed Magazines at the End of their Life?</span><br /><br />While no one is denying the unquestionable power of the Internet, <a href="http://www.magforum.com/digital_history.htm">the lifespan of print magazines</a> is still under dispute. Magazine aficionados and many of those working in the industry perish the thought of online-only magazines, but others believe it’s the only hope for a troubled industry.<br /><br />“I’m not trying to say print is dead. Print will exist for a long time to come,” Maggiotto said. “But magazines need to reinvent themselves as brands rather than paper products. They aren’t proprietors of paper—magazines don’t own the printers they’re printed on. They own the content.”<br /><br />Maggiotto points to new technology, like WiFi ubiquity and flexible reading screen displays such as <a href="http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=10551&storeId=10151&langId=-1&categoryId=8198552921644539854&XID=O:sony%20oled:corp_hpdoled08_gglsrch">Sony’s OLED</a>, as tools to help magazines in the future. He said Zinio is working on a screen in 2009.<br /><br />With 18,000 magazines in the United States alone, Maggiotto believes the tough economic climate will shake out a lot of titles. Buese agrees, citing the rising cost of printing magazines over website expenses.<br /><br />“I believe we’ll see further web integration in the future,” Buese said. “However, I do not think the print industry will cease to exist, particularly for art, culture, and women's fashion magazines. There is a tactile experience in touching a glossy magazine with color photos that can’t be had by browsing online photos.”<br /><br />“It's a tough time for print media,” Silberman said. “That said, there are still people who impatiently check the mailbox every day, waiting for their subscription to arrive. , I think many readers feel you lose something when magazines or newspapers are wholly digital. Personally, I tend to read print publications more closely; you might stumble upon content that you wouldn't have looked at if you were casually browsing online. Only time will tell whether or not print magazines are a dying breed.” </p>Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-88188541470482633692008-12-04T20:02:00.003-05:002008-12-04T20:17:55.400-05:00Reinventing the News: Adam GaffinWhile blogs don't often have original reporting from professional journalists, they do collect information from many places to provide a new angle or contextual idea about a topic. Adam Gaffin (a professional journalist) has took this idea to heart by creating <a href="http://www.universalhub.com">Universal Hub</a> in 2005. Universal Hub, a play on the nickname "Hub of the Universe," collects alternative news about Boston and New England at large in one place.<br /><br />Gaffin, who spoke to my class on Wednesday, say he started the project because he was tired of Boston mainstream media's lack of coverage on what he thought were interesting news stories. After a murder happened in his quiet town without any coverage from the Boston Globe, he decided he needed to create a sounding board to post this kind of pertinent news.<br /><br />Universal Hub takes from hundreds of Boston bloggers and breaks down news by neighborhood or topic. Gaffin, who also edits a technology trade magazine, has a background with computer programming, so creating such a user-friendly blog was no problem for him. He encourages up-and-coming bloggers to target a niche and says advertisers will pay to reach that untapped audience. Though Universal Hub is only a sidejob for Gaffin, it's has come to play an important role in Boston journalism.Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-84765802204249947112008-12-04T18:15:00.009-05:002008-12-05T13:15:35.480-05:00Staying in Style.com<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IUg5s2Hk9lM/STlvn0Un2iI/AAAAAAAAADk/4d0fl3dr1jw/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 316px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IUg5s2Hk9lM/STlvn0Un2iI/AAAAAAAAADk/4d0fl3dr1jw/s320/Picture+1.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276371168291969570" /></a><div><a href="http://www.style.com/">Style.com</a> bills itself as the home of style on the Internet, as well as the online counterpart for Vogue and W Magazine. The site provides countless resources for the fashion crowd, including video presentations and slide-shows from every runway. But interestingly enough, Style.com does little to represent the magazines it was created for.<br /></div><br />Put out by mega-publishers Conde Nast, Style.com is an interesting example of what magazines have done right and wrong in creating a website. By providing a supplement to their magazines, Conde Nast still leaves a purpose for their print publication, including articles and editorial spreads. But while there is a lot of multimedia exclusive to the site, there is very little in the way of the magazine's articles archived on the site. Unlike <a href="http://www.nymag.com/">New York Magazine</a>, who's website has a clear connection to the layout and content of its print counterpart, Vogue and Style.com feel very disconnected.<br /><br />Moving online has changed the purpose of fashion magazines. Style.com has every picture of every article of clothing shown at every major fashion show for the season. Anyone from a New York City stylist to a 13-year-old in Missouri can now have access to the front rows of the runway--an impossibility 10 years ago. Though an advancement in technology, it also puts magazines in a compromising position. By giving their audience absolutely everything, fashion editors, once needed to view the clothes from the front row and make decisions for their audience, are now obsolete while any person with an Internet connection can make decisions for themselves. Now magazines have to serve their reader's whims instead of the top tier of editors speaking down to its audience.<br /><br />Conde Nast has been accused of being behind the times, technologically speaking. <a href="http://www.thebigmoney.com/articles/impressions/2008/11/13/glossed-over?page=full">According to Big Money</a>, Conde Nast has been notoriously slow to equip their offices with new technology, and it's understood that CN owner, Si Newhouse, believes websites to be less prestigious than print publications. Whether Newhouse wants to face it or not, online is the future and it's time for Conde Nast to get in style.Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-81133214443072839822008-12-02T23:25:00.003-05:002008-12-03T03:01:10.430-05:00Reinventing the News: TwitterIn our ADD generation, it seems that instantaneous blog posts aren't enough. Instead, posts need to be shorter, quicker and able to record play-by-play news. Enter <a href="http://www.twitter.com/">Twitter</a>, a social media network that limits people's entries to 140 characters and allows constant updating.<br /><br />Readers of Twitter mainly follow people, with posts much like <a href="http://www.facebook.com/">Facebook</a>'s status updates, rather than news organizations. I find in many ways Twitter serves to validate meaningless minutiae about poster's everyday life: sometimes funny, occasionally candid, but mostly trivial. However, more news outlets are jumping on the 2-year-old technology as a way to reach more people, though not all of them are understanding Twitter's strengths and weaknesses. The <a href="http://www.twitter.com/BBC">BBC</a>, for example, uses Twitter only as a promotional tool for publicizing any new article on their site. At this moment, it's news people, not news organizations, using Twitter the best.<br /><br />Two such individuals are <a href="http://www.twitter.com/acarvin">Andy Carvin</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/newmediajim">Jim Long</a>. Carvin utilizes Twitter's strength of a way to report on minute-by-minute developments by "<span style="font-style: italic;">tweeting</span>" through tech news conferences and political campaign events. As a new media reporter for National Public Radio, Twitter is just one of the many ways Carvin is working with online tools to reinvent journalism. Long, a cameraman for NBC's Washington Bureau, chronicles the details of shooting interesting news stories for TV. His account of the challenges and interesting places he's in puts TV news packages in a totally different light. Both Carvin and Long come from non-print news outlets, and perhaps its the limit of word count that has lended itself so well to these reporters.<br /><br />The online persona <a href="http://www.twitter.com/maxgladwell">Max Gladwell</a> is not a person at all but rather a collective of posters concentrating on social media and green living. But with Twitter not allowing much room for a personal voice in one's writing, the <span style="font-style: italic;">tweets</span> read as if from one person. MG highlights news articles with a phrase and a link and lets the reader come to their own conclusion.<br /><br />What I like about these sites is they interact with their followed Twitters and readers. They link to sites and point out information they find relevant and interesting, offering at times concise analysis if any at all. But while Twitter may be perfect for covering events, I don't think it offers any new technology that a simple blog couldn't do. It's the community around Twitter that makes the site so appealing.Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-65049630589955619012008-11-24T00:40:00.003-05:002008-11-24T01:11:56.504-05:00Reinventing the News: NewsTrust<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://newstrust.net/images/pages/about.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 300px;" src="http://newstrust.net/images/pages/about.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>So much information is spread on the Internet as news, but how much of it is ethical reporting? That's where <a href="http://www.newstrust.net/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">NewsTrust</span></a> comes in, a site designed for professional journalists and news junkies to rate the quality of news stories.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">NewsTrust</span> is working with Northeastern University in rating Global Economy stories. Tonight I rated three economic stories, beginning with reports of <a href="http://newstrust.net/stories/31456/reviews/81121">British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's potentially unpopular stimulus plan</a> to kick-start the country's economy. The unpopular part comes with new taxation. Next I took a look at China during the economic crisis with <a href="http://newstrust.net/stories/31458/reviews/81124">a report on housing projects funding</a> and <a href="http://newstrust.net/stories/31461/reviews/81127">an opinion piece on China's attempts to build confidence</a> through proposed major spending. Both pieces had a mixed tone, seemingly acknowledging China's potential but also fearing the county's success.<br /><br />It's easy to point out the lack of context in many of these articles, but it's <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">important</span> to remember that many of these stories serve only to report on that moment's news, not an analysis of a whole issue. Context and sourcing were my major issues when rating articles, but it's always easier to rate something than to do it yourself.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">NewsTrust</span> is a great idea in that it highlights well-written and researched reports for the public from a variety of sources , but it lacks a major component of all successful online tools: numbers. Popularity is so crucial for influential websites, and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">NewsTrust</span> has a very small community of dedicated readers and raters. Instead of attracting <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">journalists</span> already in-the-know, average readers need to trust <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">NewsTrust</span> as their go-to news source.Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-23534414569956981862008-11-16T11:07:00.000-05:002008-11-16T11:07:00.559-05:00Teenage Kicks<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IUg5s2Hk9lM/SR9S3EWOrtI/AAAAAAAAAC8/LqpkkRMv9Cs/s1600-h/image4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 259px; height: 345px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IUg5s2Hk9lM/SR9S3EWOrtI/AAAAAAAAAC8/LqpkkRMv9Cs/s400/image4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269021195060031186" border="0" /></a>Everything seems cooler in England. The clubs, the It-girls and boys, the street fashion, and even the high <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">schoolers</span>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.dazeddigital.com/">Dazed and Confused</a> is calling all 18 year <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">olds</span> and under to contribute to their January issue. Along with a contest to <a href="http://www.dazeddigital.com/ArtsAndCulture/article/1384/1/Dazed_Cover_Versions">remix the cover</a>, shot by Hedi <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Slimane</span>, teenage Brits will submit material to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">MySpace</span> and other sites to show what it's like to be young in the UK today.<br /><br />At right is one of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Slimane's</span> three cover photos available for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">photoshopping</span>. While the use of the term "remix" seems somewhat passe, does it creep anyone else out how ready Hedi is to work with teens? When is the 40-year-old designer-turned-photographer not obsessing over teens?Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-60791801413720430142008-11-15T17:13:00.002-05:002008-11-15T17:41:29.913-05:00Italian Vogue's Trash is V's Treasure<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IUg5s2Hk9lM/SR9O_QKpZeI/AAAAAAAAACs/H7RFSpFIFgw/s1600-h/image4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IUg5s2Hk9lM/SR9O_QKpZeI/AAAAAAAAACs/H7RFSpFIFgw/s320/image4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5269016937625118178" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">V Magazine Winter 2008/09<br /></span></span></div><br />Oh those uptight European fashion magazines with their full frontal nudity and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">avant</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">garde</span> imagery. Will they ever <span style="font-style: italic;">lighten up</span>?<br /><br />It's not often that European fashion magazines deem photo spreads too racy, but that's the case with photographer Steven <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Meisel's</span> new "dogging" inspired shoot. <span style="font-style: italic;">Italian Vogue</span> declined running the pictures but with recession-era America's new found austerity, <a href="http://www.vmagazine.com/">V Magazine</a> has published them instead.<br /><br />Dogging is the British term for having sex in public, usually with someone watching, and these photographs, with models Anna <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Selezneva</span>, Iris <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Strubegger</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Daul</span> Kim, give off more of an eerie feeling than a sexy one. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">night vision</span> photographs with limited color are a little creepy and a little beautiful, but definitely not pretty. Wonder why <span style="font-style: italic;">Italian Vogue</span> turned them down. Could it be they're still on their <a href="http://magraker.blogspot.com/2008/10/back-to-africa.html">do-good-for-Africa</a> high horse?Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-75225291248391312612008-11-12T15:56:00.005-05:002008-11-12T16:27:38.953-05:00Reinventing the News: Caffeinated Campus Map<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3164/3023425037_8a5ae8873d.jpg?v=0"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 241px; height: 320px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3164/3023425037_8a5ae8873d.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a>As part of our experimentation with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">GoogleMaps</span>, my class has collaborated on an interactive presentation of all the <a href="http://reinventingthenews.wordpress.com/2008/11/12/the-caffeinated-campus/">coffee shops around campus</a>. In contrast to the plenitude of liquor stores near my Mission Hill apartment, there's a sad lack of coffee shops. It may look bleak with only 7-11 and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Dunkin</span>' Donuts, but <a href="http://www.jplicks.com/">JP Licks</a> provides a nice refuge for people who want to enjoy their cup of coffee instead of getting a quick and cheap caffeine fix before the morning commute.<br /><br />JP Licks, named after the Jamaica Plain area of Boston, is known more for its ice cream than coffee, but the cafe has a wide range of Fair Trade Organic styles. $1.85 will get you a medium coffee, and the place has <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">WiFi</span> and enough room to comfortably sprawl out. The staff, while usually hanging out in the back, is very friendly, and there was a good mix of college students and young professionals enjoying a Tuesday afternoon with a book in hand or a computer in front of them. While JP Licks will never become a cafe destination, it's a good place to get away from your TV and get the needed caffeine to finish that last minute paper.Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-86498423890271610152008-11-10T16:12:00.002-05:002008-11-10T16:32:17.403-05:00Reinventing the News: MapsI'm not obsessed with celebrities the way some blog-readers are, but I definitely get the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">occasional</span> kick from the oddities of a celebrity only discovered when their <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">army</span> of PR people aren't around. Enter <a href="http://gawker.com/stalker/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">GawkerStalker</span></a>. When I lived in Manhattan, I would check the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">GawkerStalker</span> map to see how interesting (or boring) celebrities found the neighborhoods I lived and worked.<br /><br />The beauty of this map-based celebrity sighting system as opposed to new stories is that these Google Map presentations are non-linear. Like me checking <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">GawkerStalker</span> around my neighborhood, the reader can enter a map news presentation anywhere pertinent to them. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">GawkerStalker</span> also adds another level of audience interaction: the sighting tips are submitted by local <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Manhattanites</span> with their own analysis, usually interesting and slightly funny. These are updated daily. Of course, leave it to PR flacks <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">to work</span> Stalker for their own benefit: with the launch of her new show soon, many overtly nice <a href="http://gawker.com/5057617/whitney-port--ubiquitous-new-yorker">sightings of Whitney Port</a> starting pouring in to Stalker presumably from her PR hacks. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Gawker</span> did not post them.Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-56985409264818709902008-11-06T22:39:00.004-05:002008-11-07T17:02:28.375-05:00Reinventing the News: Spikey Em<a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/">Boston Globe</a> reporter Emily Sweeney spoke to my journalism class this week about her work in online video and other mulitmedia projects. Sweeney graduated a decade ago from my university, and her return to my school really reinforced how much journalism has changed in the last ten years. A Globe reporter for the last seven years, she is also the New England President for the and Society for Professional Journalists.<br /><br />In our financially troubled times, Sweeney has carved a niche for herself by being the Globe's video reporter. She started the first video blog for the newspaper in September 2006. Like <a href="http://magraker.blogspot.com/2008/10/reinventing-news-steve-garfield.html">Steve Garfield </a>who previously spoke to my class, Sweeney's video skills are definitely rough. But online video for newspapers are a new field, and many older, established newspaper reporters, while excellent journalists, don't have the basic knowledge of computers young people have. Her early interest in technology has made her a go-to girl for Globe videos.<br /><br />Many of Sweeney's videos are simply things she finds entertaining or interesting, very rarely hard news. Sweeney, who goes by the moniker Spikey Em due to her ultra-gelled hair, showed our class a few of her projects, including a video about <a href="http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1185143625/bctid1569953940">Boston slang</a>. While some of the vocabulary she features are universal (since when is "book it" only used in Boston), her video is an example of the World Wide Web's local appeal. Though this video has the potential to reach all corners of the globe, publications have had the most success by appealing to a local or niche market through the Internet.<br /><br />Her videos have been a learning process for her too. In her video last year documenting the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vykXpnFRvio">decline of Bingo's popularity </a>in Boston, she narrated without any script. She has since learned that a script is necessary for any video work, no matter how comfortable you may think you are with the subject. For more tips of the trade, Sweeney has authored a <a href="http://spikeyem.com/index_files/multimediasuperhero.htm">How-to Multimedia guide </a>for journalists that appeared in <a href="http://www.editorandpublisher.com/"><em>Editor & Publisher</em></a> and <a href="http://www.spj.org/quill_list.asp"><em>Quill Magazine</em></a> in 2006.Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-32563983746013374592008-10-28T14:55:00.006-04:002008-10-29T14:49:01.990-04:00Back to Africa<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IUg5s2Hk9lM/SQdpCH3WQ9I/AAAAAAAAACk/nnMcWb_tiEk/s1600-h/italian_vogue_july_2008.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262290174797562834" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 320px; height: 220px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IUg5s2Hk9lM/SQdpCH3WQ9I/AAAAAAAAACk/nnMcWb_tiEk/s320/italian_vogue_july_2008.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="http://www.vogue.com/"><em>Vogue</em></a>'s Anna Wintour better watch out. First the world fell in love with <a href="http://www.vogue.fr/">French <em>Vogue'</em>s </a>Carine Roitfield. Then Russian <em>Vogue</em> editor Aliona Doletskaya was accidentally introduced at a party as the next editor of American <em>Vogue</em>. Now, <a href="http://www.style.it/">Italian <em>Vogue</em></a>'s Franca Sozzani is establishing herself as the Bono of the <em>Vogue</em> empire.</div><div></div><br /><div>The fashion industry has long been under fire for the lack of diversity on runways, so Sozzani took the gauntlet and released an all-black issue of Italian <em>Vogue</em> this July. The special issue was a global hit, even going into reprint. Now she's dedicating November's <em>L'Uomo Vogue</em>, the men's magazine which she is also editor, to the continent of Africa. </div><br /><div></div><div>Forest Whitaker and Bernard-Henri Lévy guest-edited the issue which will focus more on ideas rather than make an aesthetic statement about Africa. "Fashion is not only about clothes," Sozzani told the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/24/AR2008102400848.html?nav=rss_email/components">Washington Post</a>. According to her, it is about the notion of identity. </div><br /><div></div><div>Unlike a recent spread in India's <em>Vogue</em> that caused <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/2663349/Indian-Vogue-draws-fire-for-using-peasants-to-model-luxury-clothes.html">worldwide outrage</a> when real-life peasants were posed with thousand dollar handbags, Sozzani has avoided using models all together. "I think it's ridiculous to see a 16-year-old wearing clothes he'll never afford at his age," she said. Instead of models, Quincy Jones, John Legend, Matt Damon, and Michelle Obama among others will be photographed in their own clothes.</div><br /><div></div>The 40 year old <em>L'Uomo Vogue's</em> circulation is only 80,000, but those readers are the ones who make the big decisions in the fashion industry. Without having to pander to commercial whims, Sozzani has been able to take chances with her magazine that Anna Wintour has never done. And while some may be suspicious that Sozzani is simply trying to capitalize on the success of her All Black Issue, half of the November <em>L'Uomo Vogue</em>'s ad revenue will go to Africa-related charities. Who says fashion is only skin deep?Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-69538293331794967392008-10-28T14:53:00.000-04:002008-10-28T14:53:56.681-04:00Gossip Folks: i-D<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IUg5s2Hk9lM/SQdef2I3quI/AAAAAAAAACc/lrCPqFnofZE/s1600-h/chanel2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262278590807386850" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 218px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 290px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IUg5s2Hk9lM/SQdef2I3quI/AAAAAAAAACc/lrCPqFnofZE/s320/chanel2.jpg" border="0" /></a>A little birdie told me that <a href="http://www.i-dmagazine.com/">i-D</a> just shot a spread starring the adorable Chanel <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Iman</span> at the <a href="http://www.chanel-mobileart.com/">Chanel Mobile Museum </a>in New York. He says it won't hit <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">news stands</span> until May, when the installation, designed by architect <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Zaha</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Hadid</span>, hits London.Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-11970920876754244752008-10-28T00:46:00.003-04:002008-10-28T01:15:28.767-04:00Reinventing the News: Steve Garfield<a href="http://www.stevegarfield.com">Steve Garfield</a> is the classic example of the 21st century journalist--or should I say 21st century blogger? As he told my class last week, he calls himself a videoblogger, but more so, he is a business model for any average journo with a camera and a computer. Due to his aptitude for utilizing the latest technology, Garfield has reported for <a href="http://www.rocketboom.com">RocketBoom</a> and <a href="http://www.theuptake.org">The UpTake</a> as well as his own site, and in addition now teaches at Boston University.<br /><br />Garfield's videos are not technically impressive. They are rough and sometimes unedited, almost always amateur looking. But what makes Garfield special is that every opportunity is a possible video reporting opportunity for him--whether it be catching a politician on the street with his cell phone or documenting his wife making an unremarkable comment while watching TV. Is all of his content necessary? No. But blogging is often about quantity, not quality, and his openness to technology is a feat in itself.<br /><br />One of his most enviable techie tools is a Nokia cell phone with video camera that through <a href="http://www.qik.com">Qik.com</a> allows him to simultaneous upload live video from his phone for the world to see. It's amazing, really, to see a cell phone instantly connect you to an audience.<br /><br />Garfield, like many journalists, are hoping to creating a brand with his or her name. It's no longer about the institution of the newspaper you work for. Now it's all about <span style="font-style: italic;">you</span>. His main domain, <a href="http://www.stevegarfield.com">stevegarfield.com</a>, links to four of his different blogs as well as his work featured on other websites. Like a passable singer with the ability to chose the right producers to score a number one chart-topper, Garfield picks the right technology for his work through a new medium, and so far it's a hit.Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-1391535076327450182008-10-21T16:30:00.003-04:002008-10-21T17:14:54.444-04:00We Are a Part of the MagNationAustralian magazine megastore <a href="http://www.magnation.com/">Magnation</a> has created a test to help you find your next favorite magazine. <a href="http://www.magnation.com/online/index.php?do=magdentifier#r=">Take it here</a> and find your new monthly obsession!Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-70482056828682200512008-10-19T23:08:00.005-04:002008-10-19T23:53:42.921-04:00Reinventing the News: Fall Behind<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/31557200@N07/sets/72157608196233729/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3147/2956401801_508abaa688.jpg?v=0" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Click to view a gallery of the Arboretum<br /></span></span></div><br />New England's autumns have inspired countless artists and writers for their majestic beauty and rich colors. Robert Frost devoted an entire collection of poems to the season, so it's no surprise this time of year has locals taking part in regional traditions. Along with drinking apple cider and going apple picking, many Bostonites make a point to watch the leaves change at the Arnold Arboretum.<br /><br />The arboretum, located in Jamaica Plain, has hundreds of different trees in its collection. Designed by landscaper Frederick Olmsted, most famous for New York's Central Park, the arboretum has 15,441 individual plants belonging to 4,099 families in its collection. The arboretum is privately endowed as a department of Harvard University, but the City of Boston maintains responsibility for water fountains, boundaries and policing.<br /><br />"I grew up in Florida around palm trees, so it's really beautiful for me to see the leaves change," says 22-year-old Joan Dubinski. "I've heard a lot of people talk about the arboretum and how beautiful it is, but this is my first time here." She added, "Even though we're all cold, going to the arboretum and drinking a hot drink seems like the perfect way to spend a lazy Sunday."<br /><br />Cassandra Nicholson has spent a lot of time in the arboretum over the years. "I live in JP [Jamaica Plain], so I like to pretend like the arboretum is just my front yard. I've been coming every fall since I moved here four years ago."<br /><br />Mid-October is the best time to see the foliage in the park, so don't miss your opportunity to take part in a Boston tradition. The Arnold Arboretum is located off the Forest Hills stop off the Orange Line and open everyday from sunrise to sunset.Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-86495639436375334502008-10-18T18:23:00.000-04:002008-10-18T18:24:29.858-04:00A Rolling Stone Gathers No Profits<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IUg5s2Hk9lM/SPpfvkxpRJI/AAAAAAAAAB8/a5Je8KsaXqw/s1600-h/rollingstone.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258620785838867602" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_IUg5s2Hk9lM/SPpfvkxpRJI/AAAAAAAAAB8/a5Je8KsaXqw/s320/rollingstone.jpg" border="0" /></a>For my parent's generation, the ultimate culture-defining magazine will always be <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/"><em>Rolling Stone</em></a>. Even for my grandparents. When my Nana found out about my first magazine internship, she congratulated me, saying that she heard the publication "was just as good as <em>Rolling Stone</em>." But for me, <em>Rolling Stone</em> has long been irrelevant and irritable.<br /><div></div><br /><div>So as economic hardships increasingly face the magazine industry (<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/11/business/media/11cosmo.html?ref=media"><em><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">CosmoGirl</span></em> just folded!</a>), <em>Rolling Stone</em> has announced it would shrink the mag from its trademark large format to the typical Berliner size of most magazines. The reformat, which also includes thicker, glossy paper, debuts October 30 with Obama on the cover.</div><div></div><br /><div>This isn't the first time <em>RS</em> has changed formats. It first published as a tabloid-size newspaper in 1967 before printing on a four-color press in 1973. Finally, it switched to magazine-quality paper and its iconic 10-by-12 inch size in 1981. But that large-format has lent the magazine a sense of nostalgia that may have stood out to <em><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">certain</span></em> suburban teenagers at chain bookstores looking at other music magazine (but who cares about music anymore?)</div><br /><div></div><div>But in today's online era, it's arguable whether size of print may matter anymore. The <em>Rolling Stone</em> brand still holds prominence, with circulation remaining stable at nearly 1.45 million since 2006, and its website is still a popular destination for music news.</div>Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-40671090743615173192008-10-17T17:42:00.008-04:002008-10-18T17:37:30.230-04:00Stone Cold<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IUg5s2Hk9lM/SPkL4rcnwDI/AAAAAAAAABM/4RH__gc29_U/s1600-h/1207286909_orig_lara.xlarge.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258247108295114802" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_IUg5s2Hk9lM/SPkL4rcnwDI/AAAAAAAAABM/4RH__gc29_U/s320/1207286909_orig_lara.xlarge.jpg" border="0" /></a>Model Lara Stone first made an impact on me in <em>V Magazine's</em> "<a href="http://www.vmagazine.com/fashion_article.php?n=1296">Home Improvement</a>" shoot. Then I started noticing her as the girl with the horrific runway walk. Then I began to look out for the model with the gap in between her teeth. Soon I didn't stop seeing her nude in spreads, with her big boobs (compared to the average waif model). Lara Stone is not your typical model--in fact, she's the anti-model, and she's my favorite.<br /><br />Lara is the cover star for the November issue of <a href="http://www.i-dmagazine.com/primary_index.htm">i-D</a>, a perfect pairing for the fashion-forward magazine with attitude. As my good friend tells me, Lara Stone's sexiness could turn my friend gay, and turn gay men straight, so it's no surprise the tag line reads, "Yes, I think I'm sexy." The article explains her signature Frankenstein walk down runways ("her feet are a whole size smaller than the sample size") and her aptitude for body-baring shoots:<br /><em><blockquote><em>"Better naked than wearing really tight corsets. I don't put myself in situations that I feel uncomfortable with, you know, someday my children are going to see this. My tits are not really that big."</em></blockquote></em><br />Lara, who had a rebellious streak that got her kicked out of school, still listens to her parents:<br /><div><div><blockquote><em>"Everyday my mum looks at style.com and fashionspot.com to see my pictures. The first time she saw me naked she sent this whole long big email, that was sooo sweet. She had seen the pictures from</em> Purple <em>by Inez and Vinoodh of me, butt naked, stood in the studio. She was like 'Lara, if you don't want to do this, you can just say no, you can always move back home with us.' "</em></blockquote></div><div></div><div></div><div>On a sad note, the i-D editorial spread, "Between a Rock and a Hard Place," features the late male model Randy Johnston alongside Stone. Johnston, notably starring in the Dior Homme Fall 2007 campaign, died under unknown circumstances on October 11 at the age of 20. It's always sad to see someone young die, made more tragic when they are young <strong>and</strong> beautiful.</div><br /><div></div><div>And to keep your fashion taste buds going through October, be sure to check out this month's <a href="http://www.numero-magazine.com/index-en.html">Numero</a> with two incredible spreads: Siri Tollerod evoking a creepy doll-yielding Joan Crawford in "Mommie Dearest" and Edita Vilkeviciute in the best recent example of proper photoshop effects in "Interférence."</div></div>Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-69837445568500520702008-10-14T00:15:00.005-04:002008-10-14T00:51:52.731-04:00Reinventing the News: Radio's Bright FutureDown here on earth, print reporters, editors and lovers are in hysterics about the death of the printed word. <span style="font-style: italic;">Journalism is over as we know it</span>. But wait. Up above, in the airwaves, radio is doing better than ever.<br /><br />Last week, <a href="http://www.wbur.org/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">WBUR</span> Radio's</a> Director of New Media Robin Lubbock spoke to my class about radio's success in the face of new media. Since millions of people are still stuck in their cars during the daily commute, the audience for quality radio has not changed a bit. In fact, with stations like <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">WBUR</span> entering into online content, it's even possible radio's audience has grown from local to (selectively) worldwide.<br /><br />I once worked at a company that provided the website template and content for public radio stations nationwide. Some of the stations uploaded their own shows to the site, but the majority of them stuck to the bare-bones template and AP content. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">WBUR</span> is an exception. Their online content rivals that of the <a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/">Boston Globe's</a>, and it seems Lubbock doesn't stop thinking of new ways to expand with today's technology.<br /><br />What struck me as timely, given the radio station's successful online foray, is if <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">WBUR</span> will go from a popular news radio station with a great website to one day a legitimate online source that also happens to operate a local radio station. This question can also be raised about magazines: could magazines one day be a comprehensive website and blog that just happens to publish a round-up of its best content on a monthly, seasonal or even annual basis?Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-32041258136598512432008-10-13T23:47:00.003-04:002008-10-14T00:04:40.297-04:00I'm Just Like Nancy Pelosi!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IUg5s2Hk9lM/SPQaKvp5IoI/AAAAAAAAABE/dorzSDnbPsU/s1600-h/Nancy+Pelosi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 248px; height: 231px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_IUg5s2Hk9lM/SPQaKvp5IoI/AAAAAAAAABE/dorzSDnbPsU/s400/Nancy+Pelosi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5256855436941402754" border="0" /></a>It's official--Nancy Pelosi and I are total twins!<br /><br />The Speaker of the House opened the <a href="http://www.magazine.org/EVENTS/conferences/american_magazine_conference/index.aspx">2008 American Magazine Conference</a> on October 4 with a keynote speech and a brief Q&A. Pelosi confessed she's an "<a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/amc_2008/nancy_pelosi_im_an_addict_of_magazines_96570.asp">addict of magazines</a>"--just like me! She went on to thank the 400 magazine industry professionals in attendance, saying: "Thank you for the information. Thank you for the entertainment. Thank you for the diversion. Thank you for the strengthening of our democracy you all provide."<br /><br />The conference, which ended last week, unsurprisingly centered on the fears of print dying and speculation of how magazines should move into other media. The tone, however, was generally upbeat, with most of the speakers excited for the future. It seems fitting that <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/amc_2008/arnold_schwarzenegger_you_sometimes_end_up_talking_like_a_machine_96851.asp">Arnold Schwarzenegger</a>, the bridge between camera-ready celebrity and outspoken politician, also spoke at the conference. <strong><a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/Arnold-Schwarzenegger-profile.html"></a></strong>Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-12469584464392644262008-10-08T12:02:00.005-04:002008-10-08T15:32:07.071-04:00Reinventing the News: Wired Journalist<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://api.ning.com/files/lFg-2*UqyS5WSuLXQOOAO1xPQbqoXtTyDbN4OcecPMp30wFjoCvJyp14HZdONJF4Rtor0shXOHmJztw54YN-h0*29R0FovPQ/wj1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://api.ning.com/files/lFg-2*UqyS5WSuLXQOOAO1xPQbqoXtTyDbN4OcecPMp30wFjoCvJyp14HZdONJF4Rtor0shXOHmJztw54YN-h0*29R0FovPQ/wj1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Some view the online frontier with fear, an unknown entity that will surely threaten journalism as we know it. Others, though, view it with excitement. For those of us that fall in the latter, there's <a href="http://www.wiredjournalists.com/">Wired Journalist</a>, a new tool for online multimedia journalism and social networking. I was easily able to <a href="http://wiredjournalists.com/photo/photo/listForContributor?screenName=0dvvmwsus6ndc">share photos</a> of Boston shoppers spending money despite fears of an economic crisis. Along with joining my college's group, I joined a Blogging Group--imagine that! Wired Journalist has the potential to be a great tool for up-and-coming journalists using all the Internet has to offer, but it seems its membership is still low. I think for it to be successful, it needs to be an active community of people posting projects and giving critiques and spreading ideas.Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-19460924500199683802008-10-06T14:50:00.002-04:002008-10-08T14:48:01.754-04:00Evolution VS. Creationism<div align="center"><a href="http://www.spd.org/images/blog/final%20logo-thumb-480x326.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://www.spd.org/images/blog/final%20logo-thumb-480x326.jpg" border="0" /></a><em><span style="font-size:78%;">Blender's logo evolution</span></em> </div><br /><br /><div><div></div>I grew up in a Southern city with a raging debate a handful of years ago as to whether evolution or "creationism" should be taught in public school biology classes. The controversy gained national media attention and ended ignorantly with evolution being completely overlooked in classes and an unsightly sticker smacked in the front of each textbook stating that <i>"Evolution is just a theory."</i><br /><br />In the case of magazines, though, the term "evolution" is favored. Instead of citing a "redesign," magazines make the case that their product is simply evolving, as to retain readers and not scare off advertisers. Of course, magazines are constantly changing, but we can only hope that each change strengthens the magazine, not brings it one step closer to extinction.<br /><br />In an interview with the <a href="http://www.spd.org/">Society of Publication Directors </a>blog, <a href="http://www.blender.com/">Blender Magazine's </a>new creative director Dirk Barnett explained the sometimes politically-correct process of redesigning a magazine:</div><div></div><blockquote>At the beginning, then-CEO Kent Brownridge told me to never call the redesign a "redesign," but rather an "evolution" of the magazine. I had been hired to redesign the magazine, but when I got there, the terminology shifted slightly so we didn't scare advertisers into thinking we weren't happy with the product. I began by slowly leaking [the new typeface] Locator onto the pages, and within 2 issues had a soft "evolution" in place until the new logo was finished, at which point I would roll out a complete "evolution".</blockquote><div></div><div></div>But when all is said and done and when all the stars are in the right place, like it seems was the case for <em>Blender</em>, a new redesign can remake a magazine into something better, not new. You can read the rest of the interview with the award-winning Barnett <a href="http://www.spd.org/2008/08/blender-redesign.php">here</a>.<br /><div></div><div></div>Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-4642072199215678182008-10-04T19:24:00.000-04:002008-10-04T16:24:46.176-04:00New Magazine Alert: Tar Magazine<a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/unbeige/original/tar%20mag%20cover.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 219px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 258px" height="379" alt="" src="http://www.mediabistro.com/unbeige/original/tar%20mag%20cover.jpg" border="0" /></a>A new art and fashion biannual from <a href="http://www.tar-art.com/">Tar Art Media</a>, <em>Tar Magazine</em> is set to launch this month with a cover created by the one and only Julian Schnabel with a raised logo in his childish handwriting. Tar Art was formed in 2006 by <em>Blackbook Magazine</em> founder Evan Schindler and Diesel marketing man Maurizio Marchiori to be a "media company with a message."<br /><br />The magazine aims to be sustainable with--guess it--tar. It will be published on a combination of recycled and eco-paper (meaning a tree is planted for every one cut down). In the magazine's prototype, every page had a swatch of tar on it, creating a "visceral experience," says Schindler.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.purple.fr/"><em>Purple Magazine</em>'s </a>editor-at-large Bill Powers will act as editor-at-large of <em>Tar</em> as well, and October's contributors include Matthew Barney, Juergen Teller, and Terry Richardson. What might be most striking of all, the back cover of the 300-page debut issue is not an ad, but instead a "Vote Obama" drawing by artist Nate Lowman in the vein of Warhol's "Vote McGovern" silkscreen.Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-72520494374143052922008-10-04T15:14:00.000-04:002008-10-04T16:23:01.819-04:00Reinventing the News: Link JournalismSarah Palin is stressing me out. During what must be the most-watched VP debate in the last twenty years, Palin evaded the questions and put on downhome mannerisms, with winking and everything, AND YET the support she receives is still stronger than ever. Did they watch the same debate as I did? How do we make sense of Thursday's spectacle?<br /><br />There was no doubt a lot of pressure was on Palin to perform. Michael from <a href="http://www.bunkosquad.com/archives/2008/10/vp_debate.php">BunkoSquad</a> (Technorati authority: 11) gives "props to the McCain campaign for having the good sense to send that TalkingPointsBot" in her place but noticed that her " 'maverick' button got stuck in the 'on' position." Also recognizing Palin as a <em><a href="http://www.bluemassgroup.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=13345">fembot</a></em>, Sean at <a href="http://www.bluemassgroup.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=13357">BlueMassGroup</a> (Technorati authority: 195) thinks that the only thing impressive about Palin is her speaking abilities "given her short time on the national stage."<br /><br />Others find the debate an unfair playing field. Steven Jens, of <a href="http://stevenjens.blogspot.com/2008/10/i-assume-youve-heard-about-gwen-ifills.html">Jens 'n' Frens</a> (Technorati authority: 1), first finds Gwen Ifill's role as moderator as a "blatant conflict of interest," going on to say the media bias of this election cycle has been "pretty remarkable."<br /><br />"Palin had the last laugh," according to John from the <a href="http://www.beaconstreetjournal.com/?p=244">Beacon Street Journal</a> (Technorati authority: 9), who thinks the media has been out to end her electoral chances from the beginning. John thinks Palin won America's hearts "by her speech, her mannerisms, her temperament; by her accomplishments, her belief system, and her homespun charm."<br /><br />Susan at <a href="http://www.soapblox.net/belowboston/showDiary.do;jsessionid=D9945A2CF717EB65C27EC71F66AF0035?diaryId=1856">BelowBoston.com </a>(Technorati authority: 15) agrees she has charm, but thinks it's all manufactured. "She has certainly absorbed the language and spin of the past 3 decades that the conservative idealogy [sic] has cultivated so assiduously through it's vast array of 'Think Tanks'."Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7593073687672065273.post-76751650230669115192008-10-03T16:29:00.000-04:002008-10-03T17:02:43.831-04:00Conde's Grand AdditionOkay, so we're in an economic crisis and the last thing a logical publisher would do is put out a new fashion magazine, right?<br /><br /><div><strong>WRONG</strong>. <em>Pop Magazine</em> founder Katie Grand has been tapped by corporate magazine megahouse Condé Nast for a new biannual fashion mag, beginning in March. Still unnamed, the publication will be a larger format and provide Grand with Condé's big budgets for the first time. It's a shift for Condé Nast, known for straight-laced <em>Vogue</em>, but the publisher still promises the magazine will have Grand's "edgy and experimental" style.<br /><br />Grand was first recognized working on the launch of the never-disappointing <em>Dazed & Confused</em>, then moved on to the ever-influential <em>The Face</em> until 2001. She is most famous, though, for founding the fun and energetic <em>Pop</em> magazine in 2000. All of these are British glossies--will Grand be leaving Londontown for NYC?<br /><br>It's very exciting to combine Grand's grand ideas with Condé's grand finances, but I hope she won't be trading in a bit of her soul for this new job. Grand told the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/oct/01/condenast.pressandpublishing">Guardian</a>, "I'm really looking forward to building up a new magazine from scratch again - a fresh start is always fun, and we have lots of ideas we can't wait to start working on." <br /><br>Below is <em>Pop Magazine's</em> debut issue cover with her original Letter from the Editor. To read it at the Premiere Issue Project, <a href="http://www.01issue.pixelyn.com/mags/pop.html">click here</a>.<br /><a href="http://www.01issue.pixelyn.com/issues_b/pop_b.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 233px; CURSOR: hand" height="314" alt="" src="http://www.01issue.pixelyn.com/issues_b/pop_b.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.01issue.pixelyn.com/issues_b/pop_b2.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 254px; CURSOR: hand" height="320" alt="" src="http://www.01issue.pixelyn.com/issues_b/pop_b2.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div>Bobbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01706760172891643166noreply@blogger.com1