With this post, this blog has turned from a tadpole for a Harvard journalism class assignment into a frog, I mean, blog, for the world.
What do I have to say? What can I add to the pile of media blitz out there? What can you tell me? Fran, come in, please. You tried to post a comment but I didn't receive it. Is this some science fiction weirdness?
I know people with thousands of Friends on Faceook. What is a friend these days?
I sort of like seeing people's eyeballs to call them friends, window to the soul and all that.
Why would anyone want to read this? I love me, Barney loves me too, but really, I gotta go out in the world and tell you what I see. That's worth my time at least.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
Sunday Night
Two trends in the news invite comment:
1. The almost naked volleyball women playing in the Olympics. I don't remember Olympic women playing in bikinis when I was younger. But my skittishness made me feel like a prude. Then I read in today's Boston Globe "Brainiac" column that advertisers decide what to broadcast based on probable audience numbers. And guess who gets the best numbers, women in the Winter Olympics in parkas and ski wear, or women in bikini-like volleyball uniforms? Right, it's the bikinis that get broadcast before many other events.
2. The "Weird Dude of Boston" story. I know the story of Clark Rockefeller, (aka a million other names) is not hard news. But it is fascinating from a human interest perspective. I wonder why I am so hooked into this one probably nutty guy?
a) Journalism angle - The Globe actually shipped someone over to Bergen, Germany to bug the old mother and the brother and the neighbors as to what little Christian was like. I know it had to be done, but that's a lot of money to spend.
b) Who wouldn't want to just disappear and start over some days? I once read a novel about a housewife who did this, but she just ended up collecting another family. I would like to take off about now, since the final paper is due Tuesday. "Paper? What paper?"
c) The wife. How is it that with so much income and book learning, she was such a poor judge of character? They were together for years. He had a sweet smile, though, and he was probably useful as a childcare giver. I've picked some doozies, but nothing near to this woman's mistake.
And so ends the class blog for me. I am lighting a mental candle to its future as an ongoing project. In the meantime, I can't help giving one last note of ol' fart advice to the young future journalists in the class. If you end up working in a university library for 25 years (ahem), it won't be the end of the world. You will find a way to have fun and be of use, if you've made it this far. For a summary of my career path, see the letter I wrote to the Boston University alumni magazine:
Back to the Future
“Boston Rocks,” along with the “Retro” piece (Summer 2007) about the Sanctuary at Marsh Chapel, sold me on reading Bostonia again. I am one of the Silber-era dropout alumni, but now a fresh breeze is blowing, given the new president, the new dean of CAS, and new general manager of WBUR, all fine people. I remember James Montgomery playing me some blues records (a suitcase full of them — did he pack any clothes?) in Myles, where all the musicians and painters lived amidst a fog of Jack Daniels, B.O., Galoises, oil paint, and more. I remember sitting in at Sanctuary as a freshman and fanning out in Brookline to discuss racism with the neighborhood when Martin Luther King, Jr., was shot. I remember meeting Father Jim (now Boston writer James Carroll), eating at the Hedge School, and organizing rallies with Howard Zinn. I even taught a course on Women’s Images in the Media one summer at the “Communiversity” (a free give-a-course, take-a-course radical school), noting that Lassie was the only positive show I could find, and even she was a boy dog.
Something irreversible happened to me at BU. I realized that I did not want to be a concert harpsichord player; I wanted to serve the people and ever since I have lived a rich, unpredictable life. Eventually, I got a master’s in feminist studies in folklore and helped form a local feminist band called the New Harmony Sisterhood Band. So BU did its job, whether it intended to or not. I am a citizen of my world, and although I have turned out to be a generalist, not a specialist, and a liberal arts library worker, not an academic, I realized there that history was in the streets as well as in the books.
Marcia Deihl (DGE’69, CAS’71)Cambridge, Massachusetts
See: http://www.bu/edu/alumni/bostonia/2007/fall/letters/index.html
Stay in touch. Let's comment on each others' ongoing blogs. I know, people always say that, but it will be good for us and I have to know how everyone's "Lois Lane" life turned out.
MD
1. The almost naked volleyball women playing in the Olympics. I don't remember Olympic women playing in bikinis when I was younger. But my skittishness made me feel like a prude. Then I read in today's Boston Globe "Brainiac" column that advertisers decide what to broadcast based on probable audience numbers. And guess who gets the best numbers, women in the Winter Olympics in parkas and ski wear, or women in bikini-like volleyball uniforms? Right, it's the bikinis that get broadcast before many other events.
2. The "Weird Dude of Boston" story. I know the story of Clark Rockefeller, (aka a million other names) is not hard news. But it is fascinating from a human interest perspective. I wonder why I am so hooked into this one probably nutty guy?
a) Journalism angle - The Globe actually shipped someone over to Bergen, Germany to bug the old mother and the brother and the neighbors as to what little Christian was like. I know it had to be done, but that's a lot of money to spend.
b) Who wouldn't want to just disappear and start over some days? I once read a novel about a housewife who did this, but she just ended up collecting another family. I would like to take off about now, since the final paper is due Tuesday. "Paper? What paper?"
c) The wife. How is it that with so much income and book learning, she was such a poor judge of character? They were together for years. He had a sweet smile, though, and he was probably useful as a childcare giver. I've picked some doozies, but nothing near to this woman's mistake.
And so ends the class blog for me. I am lighting a mental candle to its future as an ongoing project. In the meantime, I can't help giving one last note of ol' fart advice to the young future journalists in the class. If you end up working in a university library for 25 years (ahem), it won't be the end of the world. You will find a way to have fun and be of use, if you've made it this far. For a summary of my career path, see the letter I wrote to the Boston University alumni magazine:
Back to the Future
“Boston Rocks,” along with the “Retro” piece (Summer 2007) about the Sanctuary at Marsh Chapel, sold me on reading Bostonia again. I am one of the Silber-era dropout alumni, but now a fresh breeze is blowing, given the new president, the new dean of CAS, and new general manager of WBUR, all fine people. I remember James Montgomery playing me some blues records (a suitcase full of them — did he pack any clothes?) in Myles, where all the musicians and painters lived amidst a fog of Jack Daniels, B.O., Galoises, oil paint, and more. I remember sitting in at Sanctuary as a freshman and fanning out in Brookline to discuss racism with the neighborhood when Martin Luther King, Jr., was shot. I remember meeting Father Jim (now Boston writer James Carroll), eating at the Hedge School, and organizing rallies with Howard Zinn. I even taught a course on Women’s Images in the Media one summer at the “Communiversity” (a free give-a-course, take-a-course radical school), noting that Lassie was the only positive show I could find, and even she was a boy dog.
Something irreversible happened to me at BU. I realized that I did not want to be a concert harpsichord player; I wanted to serve the people and ever since I have lived a rich, unpredictable life. Eventually, I got a master’s in feminist studies in folklore and helped form a local feminist band called the New Harmony Sisterhood Band. So BU did its job, whether it intended to or not. I am a citizen of my world, and although I have turned out to be a generalist, not a specialist, and a liberal arts library worker, not an academic, I realized there that history was in the streets as well as in the books.
Marcia Deihl (DGE’69, CAS’71)Cambridge, Massachusetts
See: http://www.bu/edu/alumni/bostonia/2007/fall/letters/index.html
Stay in touch. Let's comment on each others' ongoing blogs. I know, people always say that, but it will be good for us and I have to know how everyone's "Lois Lane" life turned out.
MD
The Walter & Josh Shows
One thing I really enjoyed this summer was the array of visiting speakers via the Nieman Center (and the Globe tour, of course). The last two speakers, Walter Ray Watson of NPR and Josh Benton, Director of the Nieman Digital Journal Lab at Harvard, were a contrast in styles.
I once heard that in New York City, people are in such a hurry that if someone takes a while to make a point, they say, "Point? Point?" There are psychological studies of what it means to talk about, say, 20 ideas in five minutes versus one idea. I think it is supposed to reflect part of the IQ of the person. Anyway, Walter took ten minutes to make one point, but in his case, this deliberate nature might be mark of a good editor.
Josh, on the other hand, was making fast points, one after another, in an elegant power point speech (with ageist photos). It was the fast pace of the male young professional.
These observations mean nothing as far as content or professionalism, it's just something I always note. It's a sort of body language through talk. I like Southern accents, because I think so fast and they calm me down.
As for the content of their talks, Walter assured us that radio as a medium will be here for a while. As for newspapers, the prognosis is dimmer (except in Africa, as Claudia commented to me. Yes, don't assume everyone has a computer, Harvard folks!). Josh was implying that the grave is dug, and the public is slowly throwing metaphorical dirt on newspapers. I like newspapers. I like to get the Sunday Globe and flip through it, fold it, rip good stories out for friends and my mother, and put it under the cat's food dish. I mean, you can't put a computer under the cat's food dish. If we don't have newspapers, working class canaries all over the country will be pooping on Blackberries.
I look forward to "committing journalism as a retirement "hobby." I use quotes because I once filled out a computer dating profile by saying, "I don't have 'hobbies'--I have obsessions." I don't need to bring in as much money as before when I retire, which could be in three or four years. But I'd love to generate a bit of paid writing/editing work (someone said to try Craig's list). Also, I can promote my music. I want to keep the blog and opine about Cambridge news and arts and social justice. When I can spend the eight hours I formerly devoted to My Benevolent Plantation, I will have time for all sorts of projects. I hope that I have the courage to sign up at the city cable TV station to learn video to help with community journalism.
My heart goes out to those in the class who pictured themselves like Lois Lane, working side by side with Clark Kent (or perhaps Clark Rockefeller), saving the city via investigative jouralism. But if I had gotten a job in what I majored in, I'd be a professional harpsichordist now. What happened? The world changed in a thousand ways, and things I didn't expect, good and bad, came my way. I tried things I loved that either made no money or that compelled me to work with mean people. My 25 years at Harvard, sitting at a desk and ordering library paste have not been "fulfilling" per se, but they have been a good base of sanity and structure to fly from at times.
Ask a few grown ups what they majored in in college, and I predict there will be a very small percentage that ended up doing what they they pictured when they were in college. If you "row like you're the only one in the boat," don't forget to keep your eyes open for serendipity, fate, or (for "God's plan," if you will. It never ends until you're gone. May you live many lives.
I once heard that in New York City, people are in such a hurry that if someone takes a while to make a point, they say, "Point? Point?" There are psychological studies of what it means to talk about, say, 20 ideas in five minutes versus one idea. I think it is supposed to reflect part of the IQ of the person. Anyway, Walter took ten minutes to make one point, but in his case, this deliberate nature might be mark of a good editor.
Josh, on the other hand, was making fast points, one after another, in an elegant power point speech (with ageist photos). It was the fast pace of the male young professional.
These observations mean nothing as far as content or professionalism, it's just something I always note. It's a sort of body language through talk. I like Southern accents, because I think so fast and they calm me down.
As for the content of their talks, Walter assured us that radio as a medium will be here for a while. As for newspapers, the prognosis is dimmer (except in Africa, as Claudia commented to me. Yes, don't assume everyone has a computer, Harvard folks!). Josh was implying that the grave is dug, and the public is slowly throwing metaphorical dirt on newspapers. I like newspapers. I like to get the Sunday Globe and flip through it, fold it, rip good stories out for friends and my mother, and put it under the cat's food dish. I mean, you can't put a computer under the cat's food dish. If we don't have newspapers, working class canaries all over the country will be pooping on Blackberries.
I look forward to "committing journalism as a retirement "hobby." I use quotes because I once filled out a computer dating profile by saying, "I don't have 'hobbies'--I have obsessions." I don't need to bring in as much money as before when I retire, which could be in three or four years. But I'd love to generate a bit of paid writing/editing work (someone said to try Craig's list). Also, I can promote my music. I want to keep the blog and opine about Cambridge news and arts and social justice. When I can spend the eight hours I formerly devoted to My Benevolent Plantation, I will have time for all sorts of projects. I hope that I have the courage to sign up at the city cable TV station to learn video to help with community journalism.
My heart goes out to those in the class who pictured themselves like Lois Lane, working side by side with Clark Kent (or perhaps Clark Rockefeller), saving the city via investigative jouralism. But if I had gotten a job in what I majored in, I'd be a professional harpsichordist now. What happened? The world changed in a thousand ways, and things I didn't expect, good and bad, came my way. I tried things I loved that either made no money or that compelled me to work with mean people. My 25 years at Harvard, sitting at a desk and ordering library paste have not been "fulfilling" per se, but they have been a good base of sanity and structure to fly from at times.
Ask a few grown ups what they majored in in college, and I predict there will be a very small percentage that ended up doing what they they pictured when they were in college. If you "row like you're the only one in the boat," don't forget to keep your eyes open for serendipity, fate, or (for "God's plan," if you will. It never ends until you're gone. May you live many lives.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Stephen Glass, Markos Moulitas, and Bill Hummell
SHATTERED GLASS: Impressions
"Are you mad at me?" he kept saying, like a child. He seemed so young and unsure of himself that he invented his clever pieces, and they were clever, to get attention. This kid needed a good shrink since his family obviously did a number on him. That young woman had it right, "You're 24 years old! Just tell your parents you don't want to be a layer!" But I know the cultural and family bonds were strong and he just couldn't bust them.
I was confused when he was lecturing to empty chairs in a classroom--did he really end up talking in journalism schools to say "Don't do what I did" or was he once again imagining that he did? I mean to look up some of those pieces with clever titles, and in that way I will better understand why everyone tried to help him out and not throw the book at him.
The culture of the young writers, very tight, both genders, was impressive to me. They all had the fire and seemed very mature for their age (except for Glass). I like the explanation of how many editors and fact checkers go over a piece, and round in a circle again after its laid out. I always wanted to be a copy editor, and I bet those jobs are hard to find now, but I already get asked by friends who are writers and by my boss to do it.
KOS
A friend put me onto the Daily Kos but I dont' have the energy to read it daily. It's left of liberal and full of meaningful news that we don't get in mainstream media. I also get alternative news on Cambridge Cable Free Speech TV and Laura Flanders's show on that station, GritTV. I admire her and met her because she's the granddaughter of my best writing mentor, Hope Hale Davis, who published her novel (autobiographical, about being a commie in FDR's Agriculture Department) at age 96 and wrote right up to age 100.
A BRAVE MAN
The theme of the week seems to quality news vs. shareholders. These two entities seem to be opposing forces.
Locally, a reporter for a Rhode Island local news station named Jim Hummel quit because he didn't like the way the news biz was going (from hard news to sexy and cute "human interest" stories). This was echoed in the Frontline documentary we watched segments of in class.
When "60 Minutes" turned a profit, CBS took note. And it "begat" Dateline, Primetime, and other shows, but these shows now use more sexy and cute human interest stories instead of investigative reporting. Now with cable stations, on-demand news, and free internet news, local affiliates have had to cut back, please their sponsors, and turn a profit or die. I admire this guy. Problem is, he has to pay rent and eat (and or support a family). He shouldn't have to be a martyr to a cause. Will someone hire him? Will he end up on cable, keeping his ethics and taking a job as a grocery bagger? This is depressing, but it's real. Shareholders, not the public, are running the show. I'm beginning to think Karl Marx was right about capitalism bringing itself down. It's happening with gas and food, and culture as well.
JS Online: Reporter at Rhode Island TV station takes stand against ...
An investigative reporter for the ABC affiliate in Providence, R.I., took a stand this week against sensationalism. He quit. Jim Hummel, the reporter behind ...
http://www.jsonline.com/app/rssredir/?/columnists/timcuprisin.xml - 55k - Cached - Similar pages
INSIDE TV & RADIO Reporter at Rhode Island TV station takes stand ...
Aug 1, 2008 ... An investigative reporter for the ABC affiliate in Providence, R.I., took a stand this week against sensationalism. He quit. ...
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-16952259.html - 36k - Cached - Similar pages
AND IN VERY LOCAL NEWS
About to move on to my final project and I interviewed Sumbul yesterday for two hours. A very amazing young woman, but it must be news worthy. I hope it's more "60 Minutes" than "Dateline."
MD
"Are you mad at me?" he kept saying, like a child. He seemed so young and unsure of himself that he invented his clever pieces, and they were clever, to get attention. This kid needed a good shrink since his family obviously did a number on him. That young woman had it right, "You're 24 years old! Just tell your parents you don't want to be a layer!" But I know the cultural and family bonds were strong and he just couldn't bust them.
I was confused when he was lecturing to empty chairs in a classroom--did he really end up talking in journalism schools to say "Don't do what I did" or was he once again imagining that he did? I mean to look up some of those pieces with clever titles, and in that way I will better understand why everyone tried to help him out and not throw the book at him.
The culture of the young writers, very tight, both genders, was impressive to me. They all had the fire and seemed very mature for their age (except for Glass). I like the explanation of how many editors and fact checkers go over a piece, and round in a circle again after its laid out. I always wanted to be a copy editor, and I bet those jobs are hard to find now, but I already get asked by friends who are writers and by my boss to do it.
KOS
A friend put me onto the Daily Kos but I dont' have the energy to read it daily. It's left of liberal and full of meaningful news that we don't get in mainstream media. I also get alternative news on Cambridge Cable Free Speech TV and Laura Flanders's show on that station, GritTV. I admire her and met her because she's the granddaughter of my best writing mentor, Hope Hale Davis, who published her novel (autobiographical, about being a commie in FDR's Agriculture Department) at age 96 and wrote right up to age 100.
A BRAVE MAN
The theme of the week seems to quality news vs. shareholders. These two entities seem to be opposing forces.
Locally, a reporter for a Rhode Island local news station named Jim Hummel quit because he didn't like the way the news biz was going (from hard news to sexy and cute "human interest" stories). This was echoed in the Frontline documentary we watched segments of in class.
When "60 Minutes" turned a profit, CBS took note. And it "begat" Dateline, Primetime, and other shows, but these shows now use more sexy and cute human interest stories instead of investigative reporting. Now with cable stations, on-demand news, and free internet news, local affiliates have had to cut back, please their sponsors, and turn a profit or die. I admire this guy. Problem is, he has to pay rent and eat (and or support a family). He shouldn't have to be a martyr to a cause. Will someone hire him? Will he end up on cable, keeping his ethics and taking a job as a grocery bagger? This is depressing, but it's real. Shareholders, not the public, are running the show. I'm beginning to think Karl Marx was right about capitalism bringing itself down. It's happening with gas and food, and culture as well.
JS Online: Reporter at Rhode Island TV station takes stand against ...
An investigative reporter for the ABC affiliate in Providence, R.I., took a stand this week against sensationalism. He quit. Jim Hummel, the reporter behind ...
http://www.jsonline.com/app/rssredir/?/columnists/timcuprisin.xml - 55k - Cached - Similar pages
INSIDE TV & RADIO Reporter at Rhode Island TV station takes stand ...
Aug 1, 2008 ... An investigative reporter for the ABC affiliate in Providence, R.I., took a stand this week against sensationalism. He quit. ...
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-16952259.html - 36k - Cached - Similar pages
AND IN VERY LOCAL NEWS
About to move on to my final project and I interviewed Sumbul yesterday for two hours. A very amazing young woman, but it must be news worthy. I hope it's more "60 Minutes" than "Dateline."
MD
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
News Items, damamma, and links
Pentagon policy changes and Harvard's Green Initiative
Two news items caught my eye, although they may not seem related to most people. I could call them "doing well by doing good."
The Pentagon (Globe, July 28, page 1) has decided to change to "soft power" after having "learned the limits of force" in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan. OK. This is like having Machiavelli go on "Oprah" and decide to read "The New Earth" or some other new age book. Are they changing to humanitarian policies (which will be used "on a par with combat") like medical clinics because it's the right thing to do? No. They are doing it because killing civilians as they burst into homes and stop cars all over Iraq is not working. ("Gee, they don't seem to love us when we kill their grandmothers! How strange.")
I can snark onward, but the point is that the US went into these nations completely unprepared culturally. They did not study religious taboos, the language, the history of these countries, and therefore they easily saw these funnily dressed people as Other. Makes it easier to shoot them. I believe that most soldiers believe they are doing the right thing; my anger is at the policy makers. And now, after so many civilian deaths, they decide that being nice is better stragegy. Pardon me for not saying, "Awwwwwww."
Source: Boston GlobeDate: Jul 28, 2008By: Bryan Bender
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2008/07/28/pentagon_flexes_its_altruism_muscle
And then there's my benevolent plantation, Harvard, where President Drew Faust has emphasized that Harvard will reduce its carbon footprint and continue its "top green schools" status. Are we doing this because it's the right thing to do? No, we are doing this because kids today like green schools. If they all of a sudden up and decided to like purple buildings, would we paint all our buildings purple? Probably. Recruitment is always a concern, even for Harvard. Again, I won't snark on, but I do find it funny that the young capitalist entrepreneurs who believe they are doing well by doing good are motivated by other reasons than my contemporaries. If they stop doing well, they will do less good. As Brecht wrote in Kurt Weill's musical "Mahagonny": "First feed the face, and then talk right and wrong/For even honest folks may act like sinners/unless they've had their customary dinners!").
My generation had had our dinners and were "idealistic." But there was a difference between our motives and young entrepreneurs who are doing well and also doing good. Pampered and immature and idealistic as we were, we were concerned for the people who were left out. We did not do market surveys. We had empathy (a la Golden Rule) for those without power and who were not at fault. Many of us lived a bit above poverty level, but we felt useful and happy.
Let's just tell it like it is: Harvard is saying "Whatever the kids want today, we'll do it!"
Source: Boston GlobeDate: Jul 29, 2008By: Tracy Jan
www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/articles/2008/07/29/not_to_be_out_greened
Elizabeth Soutter's Visit
She was a bundle of energy! I enjoyed hearing how the nuts & bolts of blogs work. I was disappointed in two areas. I must admit some envy that someone "controls everything" because they can afford to not get income from her blog. I'm glad to have my baby blog (my "Blagh") for now and I hope I can expand it into a lean green PR machine. To be fair, she did and does work, selling her good writing to magazines and other sources.
I also admired her motives--to have fun and say something worth saying. But I disagreed with the "Fat Bastard" story simply because I was a fat kid and I was mercilessly taunted. "Genetic" or not, fat kids can't help eating. They have an itch that other kids don't have. And my family loved and accepted me, yes, but no one at school asked me to dance. I felt deep shame for years over something I could not help. I think she's off about this one and I was touched that she reconsidered it when it hurt her friend.
My downfall as a serious news journalist may be that I value others' feelings more than I value my writer ego. Doesn't mean I can't do profiles and features, but I will not hurt people (even my--uh--challenging family!) by my writing.
Some links: I co-published a book in 1976 and got 5,000 copies printed and probably $500 advance. We three authors chose Diana (a two woman feminist press) over Random House so we could "support women's culture." We sold them at concerts and I made a bit of money until women who ran Diana Press broke up. The company lost all its money, and although the 5,000 copies were sold and are out there somewhere, it's out of print. It is available on Amazon, used. I have the printers' plates in my basement, but no one seems to want to reprint an academic women's songbook of traditional and contemporary (meaning 1975!) feminist folk songs. And even if they did (or if I self published), it would take tons of work for permissions and updates and I'm not sure I am interested that much now.
http://www.sugartreebooks.com/si/706776.html
My friend is, however, Here's the link to my friend's memoir. If you want to hear our old band's music, it's on the site. Her book isn't awful, it's just not in a voice that I would want to use.
http://staging.anurja.com/radicalpassions/media.html
Two news items caught my eye, although they may not seem related to most people. I could call them "doing well by doing good."
The Pentagon (Globe, July 28, page 1) has decided to change to "soft power" after having "learned the limits of force" in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan. OK. This is like having Machiavelli go on "Oprah" and decide to read "The New Earth" or some other new age book. Are they changing to humanitarian policies (which will be used "on a par with combat") like medical clinics because it's the right thing to do? No. They are doing it because killing civilians as they burst into homes and stop cars all over Iraq is not working. ("Gee, they don't seem to love us when we kill their grandmothers! How strange.")
I can snark onward, but the point is that the US went into these nations completely unprepared culturally. They did not study religious taboos, the language, the history of these countries, and therefore they easily saw these funnily dressed people as Other. Makes it easier to shoot them. I believe that most soldiers believe they are doing the right thing; my anger is at the policy makers. And now, after so many civilian deaths, they decide that being nice is better stragegy. Pardon me for not saying, "Awwwwwww."
Source: Boston GlobeDate: Jul 28, 2008By: Bryan Bender
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2008/07/28/pentagon_flexes_its_altruism_muscle
And then there's my benevolent plantation, Harvard, where President Drew Faust has emphasized that Harvard will reduce its carbon footprint and continue its "top green schools" status. Are we doing this because it's the right thing to do? No, we are doing this because kids today like green schools. If they all of a sudden up and decided to like purple buildings, would we paint all our buildings purple? Probably. Recruitment is always a concern, even for Harvard. Again, I won't snark on, but I do find it funny that the young capitalist entrepreneurs who believe they are doing well by doing good are motivated by other reasons than my contemporaries. If they stop doing well, they will do less good. As Brecht wrote in Kurt Weill's musical "Mahagonny": "First feed the face, and then talk right and wrong/For even honest folks may act like sinners/unless they've had their customary dinners!").
My generation had had our dinners and were "idealistic." But there was a difference between our motives and young entrepreneurs who are doing well and also doing good. Pampered and immature and idealistic as we were, we were concerned for the people who were left out. We did not do market surveys. We had empathy (a la Golden Rule) for those without power and who were not at fault. Many of us lived a bit above poverty level, but we felt useful and happy.
Let's just tell it like it is: Harvard is saying "Whatever the kids want today, we'll do it!"
Source: Boston GlobeDate: Jul 29, 2008By: Tracy Jan
www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/articles/2008/07/29/not_to_be_out_greened
Elizabeth Soutter's Visit
She was a bundle of energy! I enjoyed hearing how the nuts & bolts of blogs work. I was disappointed in two areas. I must admit some envy that someone "controls everything" because they can afford to not get income from her blog. I'm glad to have my baby blog (my "Blagh") for now and I hope I can expand it into a lean green PR machine. To be fair, she did and does work, selling her good writing to magazines and other sources.
I also admired her motives--to have fun and say something worth saying. But I disagreed with the "Fat Bastard" story simply because I was a fat kid and I was mercilessly taunted. "Genetic" or not, fat kids can't help eating. They have an itch that other kids don't have. And my family loved and accepted me, yes, but no one at school asked me to dance. I felt deep shame for years over something I could not help. I think she's off about this one and I was touched that she reconsidered it when it hurt her friend.
My downfall as a serious news journalist may be that I value others' feelings more than I value my writer ego. Doesn't mean I can't do profiles and features, but I will not hurt people (even my--uh--challenging family!) by my writing.
Some links: I co-published a book in 1976 and got 5,000 copies printed and probably $500 advance. We three authors chose Diana (a two woman feminist press) over Random House so we could "support women's culture." We sold them at concerts and I made a bit of money until women who ran Diana Press broke up. The company lost all its money, and although the 5,000 copies were sold and are out there somewhere, it's out of print. It is available on Amazon, used. I have the printers' plates in my basement, but no one seems to want to reprint an academic women's songbook of traditional and contemporary (meaning 1975!) feminist folk songs. And even if they did (or if I self published), it would take tons of work for permissions and updates and I'm not sure I am interested that much now.
http://www.sugartreebooks.com/si/706776.html
My friend is, however, Here's the link to my friend's memoir. If you want to hear our old band's music, it's on the site. Her book isn't awful, it's just not in a voice that I would want to use.
http://staging.anurja.com/radicalpassions/media.html
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Saturday blogs
A blog from Peter D. Kinder, a friend of mine who told me years ago to read his blog. He writes about ethical investment. Not the most exciting concern for me, but I was curious to see what he writes about. If you are interested, see below:
http://ethisphere.com/be-ethical-and-you-can-pay-your-employees-less/
Loved the Capote and the Susan Orleans pieces. It's more lush writing than news writing, but even when it's florid, it's not self conscious or calling attention to the writer. The writer is in there, but as a very faint point of view. The subjects are insane and fascinating! The kinds of people I'd love to visit but not live with. And each profiled person is a sort of flawed genius in his own way. I like that there's no judgement; the reader can judge. Even with the Evel Knieval piece, the writers seem to have affection for the rascals they interview. If you hate your subject, it will not make for uplifting reading. I don't mean to not be critical, but a writer cannot be motivated by an agenda, especially revenge or subconscious jealousy. There have been lots of tell-alls full of revenge, but they doesn't reflect well on "soul" of the writer.
I guess that is an opinion. But when I read a book reviewer that I trust (Sven Bikerts here at Harvard is one), I find they are of this type who puts principles over personalities. Why read something? Do you learn something? Does it expand your mind in some way, whether scientifically or ethically or geographically? I find that I cannot watch television (except for NPR news) these days. I'm too aware that some advertiser is manipulating me and that most evening shows depend on "schedenfreude"--feeling better by making fun of someone else, especially some "out group." I watch for kitsch value with friends, but that's just a simple cheap escape, which we all need. It's just that I don't need it more than a few hours a week.
If one is a parent, ah, one gets to read children's books and watch children's shows. That's why I like the "damamma.com" blog. Being a mother eats up time and puts the children's needs ahead of the mother's most of the time. But spending time with kids is real, not a false world manipulated by advertisers. The kids, that's another story--my grand nieces have all the Disney princess parapehalia and it makes me gag.
Another erudite observation . . .
Marcia
http://ethisphere.com/be-ethical-and-you-can-pay-your-employees-less/
Loved the Capote and the Susan Orleans pieces. It's more lush writing than news writing, but even when it's florid, it's not self conscious or calling attention to the writer. The writer is in there, but as a very faint point of view. The subjects are insane and fascinating! The kinds of people I'd love to visit but not live with. And each profiled person is a sort of flawed genius in his own way. I like that there's no judgement; the reader can judge. Even with the Evel Knieval piece, the writers seem to have affection for the rascals they interview. If you hate your subject, it will not make for uplifting reading. I don't mean to not be critical, but a writer cannot be motivated by an agenda, especially revenge or subconscious jealousy. There have been lots of tell-alls full of revenge, but they doesn't reflect well on "soul" of the writer.
I guess that is an opinion. But when I read a book reviewer that I trust (Sven Bikerts here at Harvard is one), I find they are of this type who puts principles over personalities. Why read something? Do you learn something? Does it expand your mind in some way, whether scientifically or ethically or geographically? I find that I cannot watch television (except for NPR news) these days. I'm too aware that some advertiser is manipulating me and that most evening shows depend on "schedenfreude"--feeling better by making fun of someone else, especially some "out group." I watch for kitsch value with friends, but that's just a simple cheap escape, which we all need. It's just that I don't need it more than a few hours a week.
If one is a parent, ah, one gets to read children's books and watch children's shows. That's why I like the "damamma.com" blog. Being a mother eats up time and puts the children's needs ahead of the mother's most of the time. But spending time with kids is real, not a false world manipulated by advertisers. The kids, that's another story--my grand nieces have all the Disney princess parapehalia and it makes me gag.
Another erudite observation . . .
Marcia
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Blog for July 20
My birthday is today, and if the cat will get off the paper bag with a present in it, I'll see what a friend gave me. The order of the day is family and friends' cards and calls, a little work, and a picnic along the river with an old beau. Always stay friends with old loves who are nice people, young 'uns.
Report from last week:
1) Touring a dinosaur (ouch!)
2) Inspiring reading, or how not to be intimidated by prize winning journalism when you are beginning
3) profile - learn by doing
touring the dinosaur
We toured the Globe on Thursday, and I'd looked forward to it since I am a compulsive Globe reader. I usually read the bullet headlines, then the Metro, letters, editorials, Living/Arts, obits, and comics, then peek at the national and international news. That's a confession I guess, but I do look at all of it. Here's a rendering of what you get on a Globe tour.
Lori Canarie-McGrath, a publicity staff member who also leads the tours, introduced herself to us and a couple of women. She was what you'd call a "people person," and her stories were peppered with asides and giggles. But the sadness of the difficulty of putting out a daily newspaper in Boston also came through in her stories. We passed a huge marble map of Boston with silver markers at the entrance, took a left past the lino type machine (how did they ever get either of those monsters in the door?), and sat on soft couches for a little spiel about how the paper is made. She showed us "the book," the aluminum backing that gets laser projected from the computer desktop (as I believe she said), and talked about using one plate for black and white and four for color printing. Ads comes first, set up two days ahead of the night of the press run, then after several meetings throughout the day, the best and most important stories for that day are decided at the 7:30 p.m. editorial meeting. The paper is inked during the night, the we saw people cleaning the presses for that night's run during the day. Just last week, I got a big blob of black ink all over a photo and part of a story, so maybe Joe Schmoe was nodding off on the job.
We peeked below at a community room, and walked down long corridors filled with Globe photographs and awards in cases. After passing by Boston.com online writers on the left, news editors along a far window, and the friendly sports writers at the end of one large rooms of cubicles, we entered another room where others of the 150 reporters worked quietly. The oval shaped editorial desk was to our right, and far from deciding some scoop for the next, they were hosting "yet another" going away party. (More on that later.) Lori noted that in the old days, the language would be rough, there would be few women or black people, and the air would be choked with smoke, like in "All the President's Men." Yes, it's more healthy and fair today, but I join her in mourning some of that old lost eccentricity and character.
I also loved the rather charming robots with red beeping lights that that picked up the rolls of heavy paper for the press run. All I could think of was a giant's toilet paper roll on its side. We were told that if they bumped into us, they would stop, but that stepping in front of them was not advised. The mail room was so enormous, full of future Sunday paper inserts and comics, ready two weeks in advance.
I was impressed by the number of women and non white staff people I saw working there--not a lot but more than at Harvard. All ages and all levels, I would guess. The man who kidded Beth Daly (?) about leaving Afghanistan exuded a collegial respect that I noticed. Some young men of color may have been interns; since the building is located in Dorchester, I asked if it employed many Dorchester people, and the tour guide said, alas, not as many as in the old days.
There were many "alas"es, for paper newspapers are gasping for financial air in waters full of internet, cable and satellite television, and downloadable news. In order to stay solvent, there is a lot of contract work to other papers and a lot of synergy, with NECN and Boston.com. If you can't beat 'em (television and internet), join 'em. But there is a definite element of creeping morbidity about newspapers, given the public's desire for fast breaking visually stimulating information, 24 hours a day.
I do not fear for the death of paper or books and newspapers in my lifetime, but it doesn't look good for them. Being "green" is not the problem; paper is recycled and the old myth of killing trees is largely outdated. But the demographic is changing. At 59 (today), I am one who loves and needs the control and texture of paper. I like to pause and ponder, feel the ink and hear the crackle of the Sunday paper. There may be a few of us, but we will endure. How? I don't know--it all comes back to money. As for the Globe, it has gotten smaller and more ad-based. And who has the money for ads? The producers of goods and services for the well off. So the experience of reading it for me is to thumb by "rich people" homes and diamond ads and look for the local news, such as it is.
I wanted to pop into Kevin Cullen's office and thank him for his column of the day on gay marriage, but I didn't want to interrupt him in his office. I would have felt like a groupie.
The presses were the hugest conglomeration of machinery I had ever seen, several stories high, and they weren't even going. I enjoyed knowing how the paper was built thematically--ads first, then space left for most important stories, as decided in editorial meeting throughout the day. A late breaking story would have to bump a less important one, and the finished paper would need to be printed in the evening. Adrenalin rush number one, getting it done for that day's run, and adrenalin rush number two, seeing one's name in print. It is not easy, but the people I saw working there (and, unfortunately a going away party or two, ouch) seemed to feel lucky. I'm wishing Jenifer a good fit when she joins the staff. They said no one had been hired for a year, so mazeltov to Ms. McKim. (Sorry if you think I'm buttering up the teacher, but I'm old enough to know that it is years of hard work coupled with talent that could land such a position.)
great writing: aiming high
Reading the profiles by Barbara Brotman and Andrea Elliot was eye opening. The combination of work ethic and sensitivity to those profiled stands out. I would have read such a piece for my own enjoyment before this class, but now I see all the machinery behind it, and unused notes, the piles of drafts. It's daunting. I must remind myself that (here it comes) the longest journey starts with the first step. If I write today and do my best, tomorrow is another day and as Virginia Woolf said in "To the Lighthouse" I might get from "E" to "F" while others are way down near the "T" or even the "Z" in the alphabet of quality. The point is not to compare but to do one's personal best, given the time allotted. I wish I had more time.
profile of Susan Marine
I gave Susan Marine, Director of the Harvard Women's Center a set of questions and explained that this was a profile, not an interview. I asked about turning points, best and worst times in her two years on the job, family background, education, home life. She came through so clearly as perfect for her job as a mentor of undergraduate women and I hope I can convey the quality of assurance and caring that she seems to have. She was generous with her time, but I couldn't "shadow" her because her summer schedule does not involve teaching or doing what she usually does during the term.
Report from last week:
1) Touring a dinosaur (ouch!)
2) Inspiring reading, or how not to be intimidated by prize winning journalism when you are beginning
3) profile - learn by doing
touring the dinosaur
We toured the Globe on Thursday, and I'd looked forward to it since I am a compulsive Globe reader. I usually read the bullet headlines, then the Metro, letters, editorials, Living/Arts, obits, and comics, then peek at the national and international news. That's a confession I guess, but I do look at all of it. Here's a rendering of what you get on a Globe tour.
Lori Canarie-McGrath, a publicity staff member who also leads the tours, introduced herself to us and a couple of women. She was what you'd call a "people person," and her stories were peppered with asides and giggles. But the sadness of the difficulty of putting out a daily newspaper in Boston also came through in her stories. We passed a huge marble map of Boston with silver markers at the entrance, took a left past the lino type machine (how did they ever get either of those monsters in the door?), and sat on soft couches for a little spiel about how the paper is made. She showed us "the book," the aluminum backing that gets laser projected from the computer desktop (as I believe she said), and talked about using one plate for black and white and four for color printing. Ads comes first, set up two days ahead of the night of the press run, then after several meetings throughout the day, the best and most important stories for that day are decided at the 7:30 p.m. editorial meeting. The paper is inked during the night, the we saw people cleaning the presses for that night's run during the day. Just last week, I got a big blob of black ink all over a photo and part of a story, so maybe Joe Schmoe was nodding off on the job.
We peeked below at a community room, and walked down long corridors filled with Globe photographs and awards in cases. After passing by Boston.com online writers on the left, news editors along a far window, and the friendly sports writers at the end of one large rooms of cubicles, we entered another room where others of the 150 reporters worked quietly. The oval shaped editorial desk was to our right, and far from deciding some scoop for the next, they were hosting "yet another" going away party. (More on that later.) Lori noted that in the old days, the language would be rough, there would be few women or black people, and the air would be choked with smoke, like in "All the President's Men." Yes, it's more healthy and fair today, but I join her in mourning some of that old lost eccentricity and character.
I also loved the rather charming robots with red beeping lights that that picked up the rolls of heavy paper for the press run. All I could think of was a giant's toilet paper roll on its side. We were told that if they bumped into us, they would stop, but that stepping in front of them was not advised. The mail room was so enormous, full of future Sunday paper inserts and comics, ready two weeks in advance.
I was impressed by the number of women and non white staff people I saw working there--not a lot but more than at Harvard. All ages and all levels, I would guess. The man who kidded Beth Daly (?) about leaving Afghanistan exuded a collegial respect that I noticed. Some young men of color may have been interns; since the building is located in Dorchester, I asked if it employed many Dorchester people, and the tour guide said, alas, not as many as in the old days.
There were many "alas"es, for paper newspapers are gasping for financial air in waters full of internet, cable and satellite television, and downloadable news. In order to stay solvent, there is a lot of contract work to other papers and a lot of synergy, with NECN and Boston.com. If you can't beat 'em (television and internet), join 'em. But there is a definite element of creeping morbidity about newspapers, given the public's desire for fast breaking visually stimulating information, 24 hours a day.
I do not fear for the death of paper or books and newspapers in my lifetime, but it doesn't look good for them. Being "green" is not the problem; paper is recycled and the old myth of killing trees is largely outdated. But the demographic is changing. At 59 (today), I am one who loves and needs the control and texture of paper. I like to pause and ponder, feel the ink and hear the crackle of the Sunday paper. There may be a few of us, but we will endure. How? I don't know--it all comes back to money. As for the Globe, it has gotten smaller and more ad-based. And who has the money for ads? The producers of goods and services for the well off. So the experience of reading it for me is to thumb by "rich people" homes and diamond ads and look for the local news, such as it is.
I wanted to pop into Kevin Cullen's office and thank him for his column of the day on gay marriage, but I didn't want to interrupt him in his office. I would have felt like a groupie.
The presses were the hugest conglomeration of machinery I had ever seen, several stories high, and they weren't even going. I enjoyed knowing how the paper was built thematically--ads first, then space left for most important stories, as decided in editorial meeting throughout the day. A late breaking story would have to bump a less important one, and the finished paper would need to be printed in the evening. Adrenalin rush number one, getting it done for that day's run, and adrenalin rush number two, seeing one's name in print. It is not easy, but the people I saw working there (and, unfortunately a going away party or two, ouch) seemed to feel lucky. I'm wishing Jenifer a good fit when she joins the staff. They said no one had been hired for a year, so mazeltov to Ms. McKim. (Sorry if you think I'm buttering up the teacher, but I'm old enough to know that it is years of hard work coupled with talent that could land such a position.)
great writing: aiming high
Reading the profiles by Barbara Brotman and Andrea Elliot was eye opening. The combination of work ethic and sensitivity to those profiled stands out. I would have read such a piece for my own enjoyment before this class, but now I see all the machinery behind it, and unused notes, the piles of drafts. It's daunting. I must remind myself that (here it comes) the longest journey starts with the first step. If I write today and do my best, tomorrow is another day and as Virginia Woolf said in "To the Lighthouse" I might get from "E" to "F" while others are way down near the "T" or even the "Z" in the alphabet of quality. The point is not to compare but to do one's personal best, given the time allotted. I wish I had more time.
profile of Susan Marine
I gave Susan Marine, Director of the Harvard Women's Center a set of questions and explained that this was a profile, not an interview. I asked about turning points, best and worst times in her two years on the job, family background, education, home life. She came through so clearly as perfect for her job as a mentor of undergraduate women and I hope I can convey the quality of assurance and caring that she seems to have. She was generous with her time, but I couldn't "shadow" her because her summer schedule does not involve teaching or doing what she usually does during the term.
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