Good news everyone! (said like Professor Farnsworth) The Atlantic, one of the best magazines in print, is finally tearing down its paywall. Presumably they did the math and figured they’d get more out of advertising than they would from charging people to read the site, but no matter what the reason for the change, I’m happy to report their excellent articles are now free for the reading.
A former NBC journalist breaks down exactly how network news works, or doesn’t, in an article for the MIT Technology Review all about working at Dateline NBC, the program behind “To Catch a Predator,” the circus-like takedown of online pedophiles that has become the raison d’etre for the show. It’s an interesting article covering the differing perspectives of old and new media, the future of journalism, and how the news business has gone off the rails in the last decade.
This January I’ll be going to Macworld for the first time ever, and I’ll finally get to see Uncle Steve’s medicine show in person. Macworld is traditionally when the biggest announcement of the year comes from Apple, though how they’ll top last year’s iPhone roll-out, I have no idea. However, that hasn’t stopped mad internet speculation from frothing up in in anticipation of new Apple goodies. The top contender is a sub-notebook, or possibly a tablet, built around the same technology as the iPhone. We’ll see…now that I’m doing a lot of video work, I’m more interested in upgrades to the Mac Pro than anything else.
Also, keep an eye on Techvibes while I’m at Macworld, because I’ll be blogging for them throughout the week.
Check out my exciting, engaging and quite frankly awesome articles in today’s Metro.
I’ve got a couple of short movie reviews in the Westender today. Scroll down to check out my thoughts on Amal and Breaking the Ice, both of which will be at the Whistler Film Festival.
The Guardian certainly thinks it’s a possibility. Citizen journalism, hyper-local reporting and other net-driven trends are making investigative journalists an increasingly rare breed. I’m a little conflicted on this, as I’ve got toes dipped in both the old and new media…..but newspapers, television and radio will have to adapt one way or the other.
so feel free to check them out on page six of the newspaper, found in this here pdf file.
As I make the transition from cubicle monkey to freelance writer (attractive rates, enquire within!), I’ve decided it makes sense to showcase some of my published work when it shows up online. Here’s a story I wrote for the Journal of Commerce last week about the push and pull between developers, city planners and urban advocates regarding the height of skyscrapers in downtown Vancouver.