We Want Media

As if video games didn't attract enough attention as a possible source of violence for the incident at Virginia Tech, Sony decapitated a live goat (head still dangling) and encouraged guests to reach into the innards of the animal and eat its warm offals.

I got my coffee at Weinstein the day after the Virginia Tech shooting. “He was Chinese,” the barista said, pointing at the newspaper, “here on a student visa from China,” she said summarizing the article to her fellow co-worker.

YouChoose ’08 on YouTube has kicked off its presidential-video campaigns with Gov. Mitt Romney’s question, “What is America’s Single Greatest Challenge?”

“The strangest thing I’ve tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father,” the Rolling Stones rocker, Keith Ricards, was quoted saying.

I happen to photograph a lot of restaurants and food products often, and I'm asked who I'm shooting for. The wrong response: "For myself." "For my blog!" "For fun."

Yes, I know it's incredibly high-school..err.. or middle-schoolish, but I have, manage, and update a Xanga account.

Hillary Clinton -- the drone leader? The political power of the web and social networking sites such as MySpace has yet again asserted itself the political realm.

The Syracuse Post-Standard’s Jeff Kramer is sick of threats that the era of the newsboy is over. He double-dog dared the media – “One day without newspapers."

Paper-thin profit margins has Time Magazine editors rethinking their marketing strategies. Heralded as a news-based magazine with serious articles, Time recognizes its stagnant readership and a need to change.

Bob Swanson, also known as the Singing Weatherman, is the assistant weather editor for USA Today. He also contributes to USA Today's weather blog, The Weather Guys.

Since my last YouTube post, I stumbled on FarsiTube! I’m curious if it will develop the same celebrity-driven culture or an American-celebrity focus.

Corporate monster Viacom demanded that YouTube remove all videos under Viacom property that supposedly violate copyright laws. Other large media entities, such as CBS and NBC, support Viacom’s iron-fist policy against YouTube.

Although the book title “Confessions of an American Media Man” isn’t quite as enticing the juicy tell-alls of a dangerous mind, that’s an American journalist for you (an Amherst and Princeton one at that).

I’m not sure the last time a middle-aged man with fuchsia pink hair, an inane sense of fashion, an alter-ego, and a blog following in the millions was a remote definition of "normal," average or routine – but hey – this is America.

Pierre Bayard’s book “How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read” helps non-readers to do just that. His book is already so popular that it’s already a candidate for translation.

Jim Buckmaster, CEO of Craigslist.org, said newspapers set their own downfall. The free-classifieds listing site operates on a comparable scale – a listing for at least every U.S. state, 10 Canadian provinces, 14 international cities, and 54 countries.

A magazine (titled “Good Magazine” believe it or not) released an article about none other than the 51 Best Magazines ranked by magazine editors.

I'll admit that celebrity news is extremely entertaining, and anything Britney Spears related is even more so. However, how appropriate or newsworthy is Spear's shaved head?

When blogs turn corporate, it's nothing too new. But recently 1010Wins reported on fashion blogs disguised as blogs that are new marketing tools for the industry.

That's the $475 Million Question.