Writer’s Lifeguard: eBooks, ‘Skiing the Edge,’ Cyber Monday and All That
Posted on | November 29, 2011 | 1 Comment
Editor’s note: This Writer’s Lifeguard column should have been posted earlier, but I procrastinated. The columnist, Jules Older, still unrelated to me, makes an offer to give his eBook away free for Cyber Monday. I strongly believe he will extend that offer one more day. Why? A.) Jules in generous. B.) Jules is familiar with the art of procrastination. — Susan Older
By Jules Older, Editor at Large, Displaced Journalists
One month and a couple of weeks ago, I got an email from Lifeguard Gerry Wingenbach. Was he embarrassed! He’d just spent an
Jules Older
extremely uncomfortable night in the drunk-tank in beautiful Whistler, British Columbia. By the time he got to this:
The invitation for my night’s accommodation came from a uniformed young man; I’m guessing 22. He wasn’t comfortable until he had my hands cuffed behind my back. And I felt shame sitting alone in the backseat of his Ford sedan. It was like being in a hockey penalty box on wheels. A friend of mine at Whistler who watched this encounter told me later that the young man was “the kind of guy everyone picked on in high school, and now it was payback time.”
I was cursing the fact that the ski magazine I’d edited for lo those many years was no more. I was dying to publish Gerry’s confession.
As I was, another article by another skiing Lifeguard, Kristen Ulmer. Hers was on skiing like a man. It contained (if that’s the right word, and it isn’t), this riff:
I remember I used to be told, “You’re the best woman skier I’ve ever seen!” and I always thought, “%$#@ you!” I want to ski like a man. We all do. I want to frequency male power; be like a giant, veiny phallus thrusting down the mountain. Like a hairy, naked savage running out of the cave. Like an F-16 blasting through Jell-O.
And then it happened. I knew how to publish both these stories and more. I’d publish an eBook and call it SKIING THE EDGE: Humor, Humiliation, Holiness and Heart. Exactly one month later, I had 21 chapters by 20 leading ski and snowboard writers ready to roll. It should be available on a Kindle, iPad, Nook and Sony Reader (as well as your home computer) starting next week.
My first go as publisher. My first eBook. SKIING THE EDGE. How sweet it is. And how scary. And what extraordinary writing. But don’t take my word for it. Here’s writer and contributor Lisa Richardson, who was asked to judge a major competition for the year’s best ski writing:
Whatever is happening out there in Media Land is shriveling up the market for long form work, and the world of ski storytelling is no different. So what began as a full body immersion in the best ski writing of the year became a glimpse at the declining opportunities for ski writers to tell stories beyond schilling resorts in buffed up service pieces masquerading as features.
As it turned out, the best ski writing isn’t getting published.
Chapter Two. Fast forward to October. Another email pings into the in-box. Jules Older, my one-time editor of the now defunct Ski Press has an idea. (The four most thrilling and dangerous words in the English language: I have an idea.)
To read the rest of Lisa’s analysis of the decline of published ski writing and her take on the book, I urge you to go to the blog “Lisa Richardson Bylines.”
Which brings us to Cyber Monday, a.k.a. Today.
While the big-box store websites are offering great deals today, I think I can go one better.
SKIING THE EDGE will sell for $3.99.
But today — for you, gentle Lifeguard — it will sell for $0.00.
Let me know if you’d like an advance copy. No charge. And since it’s a PDF, you can read it just as you’re reading this.
Oh, and if you’re thinking, I don’t ski, so it’s not for me — not so fast. Though it includes occasional ski words — bullwheel, couloir, chairlift — I promise, this is a book for lovers of great writing, not just great ski writing.
eBook FAQs
SKIING THE EDGE is my first eBook, and the learning curve has been as steep as a double-black-diamond run at Vail.
If you’re thinking about publishing an eBook of your own, here’s what I’ve learned so far.
I’m no nerd, and I’m not digital savvy. Can I do this?
Yes. You’ve just described me, and I have.
I’ve heard that when you publish online, people can steal your stuff.
I’ve heard the same thing. Don’t let that stop you from doing it.
If I’m working with other writers, do they have to sign a contract with me?
Yes. That’s one piece of advice everybody agrees on.
Is it enough to offer the ebook for sale on Amazon’s Kindle?
No. That’s the biggest player, but don’t neglect Apple, Sony and Barnes & Noble. Or home computers.
How do I reach them?
Through either SmashWords or BookBaby. Both companies reformat your Word document so it uploads to Kindle, iPad, Sony Reader and Nook.
Which one is best?
They’re both good, and since they both have clarifying websites, see which one works best for you. In my case, partly because I thought the process would go faster and I’d get the book out by the opening of the ski season, I went with BookBaby. I’m happy with the choice.
How much should I charge for my travel ebook?
God, I wish I knew. I wish anybody knew. I went for $3.99, but only time will tell if that was smart or cripplingly wrong. We’re in the arena of mystery and magic. Ebook prices range from free to every bit as expensive as old-fashioned dead-tree books.
What’s the quality of eBooks?
The full range, from despicable to “I wish I’d written that.”
How bad is the e-competition?
It’s your worst nightmare. There are, by actual count, 34.5 gazillion eBooks already out there, all raising their hands and shouting, “Choose me! Choose me!” That’s your competition.
What can I do about it?
Write well. Edit well. Use a strong and appealing cover. Publicize the bejeezus out of your book. Tell everyone you know about it — and get them to tell everyone they know.
Are there other ways to publicize?
Your local radio and TV stations. Hometown paper. Alumni magazine. Websites, Twitter, blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, the works. Use ‘em all.
How about publicity opportunities to avoid?
Rule of thumb: If it costs more than $20, it’s more than likely a scam. Unless you’re shelling out big bucks for a publicist you know and trust, stick to the free stuff.
What about giving books away free to get the buzz going?
The practice has its advocates, but I’m not one of them. Long before the Digital Age, publishers were saying, “I can’t give you any, you know, money, but the exposure will be great for your career.” Didn’t believe it then; still don’t.
Anything else?
A little luck is always a good thing. Skill and persistence are even better.
– jules
– 30 –
Jules Older hangs out at http://julesolder.com. He opines about San Francisco restaurants and New Zealand life on the apps, San Francisco Restaurants and Auckland Insider. SKIING THE EDGE is available on every electronic and mobile platform, including computers.
Resilience is the Key to Surviving a Layoff
Posted on | November 29, 2011 | No Comments
By Eileen Briesch
For Displaced Journalists
Two years ago, I got the word: Your life is ending. The career for which you worked the past 30-plus years
Eileen Briesch
is over. It was a normal Friday night, and then it wasn’t. We were going to order pizza from my favorite pizza place, and I was going around asking who wanted in. Then my boss came in and said I needed to come with him. I felt my chest tighten, the throat constrict, the tears start to well up. I thought everyone was looking at me as I walked down the hall with my boss. Then Andy said, “It was nothing that you did.”
Then why was I losing my job, the only thing I’ve ever done in my life? Why was I losing my life?
Other people had husbands and families and kids. They had lives. I had nothing else but this career I had built. This was my life. And now it was gone. It was being pulled out from under me, like a rug, and I was falling down, tripping helplessly to the floor. I tried to stop the tears, but couldn’t. Why, why me, if I did nothing wrong? What was wrong with me?
It was like death, I realized. I left the office that night, went to commiserate with other coworkers who had been “killed” that night, who were losing their jobs. Then I was home by myself to cry, to contemplate my death, my new life after death.
Getting laid off is like a disease. The next day, I had to go back to work (it was part of the severance package; we had to work until our actual layoff date 60 days later). I felt like I had a disease, and everyone was afraid to get too close to me, afraid they’d catch the disease, too. The first two days were tough, because first, you cry. Then you want to fight back, you want revenge. And eventually, you say, “Ah, hell, the sun will come up and I’ll be stronger for this.”
And you know what? I am. There have been other layoffs at that company, and I feel like I’m going through it all over again, with every one of my former coworkers. I’m walking down that hall with them, feeling the tears well up again. I don’t know what the journey will be like for them. I know my journey has changed me so much. It has made me dig deep to dip into my reserves, some that I didn’t know were there.
I did land on my feet eventually. I got a new job. Maybe it’s not the world’s best one, but it’s a job and it pays the bills. Wherever life takes me now, I know this experience has changed me for the better. As my psychologist told me before I left Michigan for Louisiana, “You are an amazing woman.”
Yeah, I am.
Video Brings WWII Black Marines Story Alive
Posted on | November 8, 2011 | No Comments
Editor’s note: Joe Swickard wrote the story and Eric Seals created the stunning video for this Detroit Free Press package on the first African-American Marines. It’s a great example of how video enhances a news story. It also demonstrates the reason we as displaced journalists need to develop digital media skills. On Oct. 25 the U.S. House of Representatives voted unanimously to grant the Montford Point Marines our nation’s highest civilian honor, the congressional gold medal; the Senate takes up the measure Thursday of this week. — Susan Older
Now in their late 80s the 1st Black Marines known as Montford Marines talk about their experiences fighting in WWII while still being discriminated against. They are on the verge of getting Congressional Gold Medals. Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press
By Joe Swickard
Detroit Free Press Staff Writer
More than 16 million Americans answered the call to arms in World War II. Of those, 600,000 were the few, the proud, the Marines.
Then there were the Chosen Few, men such as metro Detroiters Calvin Moore, Robert Hassler, Earl Hood, William Cook, Edsel Stallings, Norfflette Mersier and about 20,000 other Montford Point Marines.
After years of discrimination, mistreatment and near invisibility postwar, these African-American Marines of World War II are on the verge of getting the Congressional Gold Medal, America’s highest civilian honor.
It’s about time, too, said Hassler, 86, who lied about his age to enlist 70 years ago. “It’s always bothered me — every year for Black History Month, they talk about the Tuskegee Airmen,” Hassler said. “Nobody knows about the Montford Point Marines.”
A Congressional Gold Medal could change that.
Pride still runs deep for Montford Point Marines
In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the armed forces to accept African Americans into their ranks, and the Marine Corps was the last to fall in line. Even then, segregation remained as the black recruits and draftees were trained in their own facility — a patch of land adjacent to Camp Lejeune, N.C., called Montford Point. They were forbidden from entering Camp Lejeune without special authorization.
These men endured top brass hostility, segregated training, scornful treatment and the demeaning belief that they didn’t have the guts, character and discipline to defend their country in combat.
Yet the Montford Point Marines, mainly relegated to service battalions, put their lives on the line: humping ammo and supplies under fire and bringing the wounded to safety while being strafed, sniped, bombed and blasted as the Marines island-hopped through the Pacific toward Japan.
And their pride endures today.
With probably fewer than 300 of them still alive…. Read the rest of the story at The Detroit Free Press.
Fund for Investigative Journalism Grant Renewed
Posted on | November 6, 2011 | 1 Comment
The Fund for Investigative Journalism is proud to announce continuing support from the Park
Foundation for the fund’s grant program for independent watchdog journalists.
The Park Foundation, based in Ithaca, New York, has awarded the Fund for Investigative Journalism a grant for $75,000; it will give critical assistance to reporters working on domestic reporting projects. This is the second year that the Park Foundation has awarded a grant to the fund.
The fund makes grants to reporters who have the ideas, sources, and know-how to produce groundbreaking investigative journalism, but need help paying the expenses of reporting.
“We are especially grateful that the Park Foundation has chosen to support the fund as part of its mission to promote public service journalism,” said Sandy Bergo, executive director of the fund. “In the past year the support from the Park Foundation launched many important investigations into environmental and government accountability issues.”
Examples of completed projects are an investigation of New York City firefighter fatalities and an investigation of unnecessarily hazardous conditions encountered by Gulf Spill clean-up workers. The grants from the Park Foundation produce more than a dozen investigative reporting projects each year.
“This grant will inspire and invigorate the kind of investigative reporting that is so deeply needed in the US at this time,” said Brant Houston, president of the board of the Fund for Investigative Journalism.
The Fund for Investigative Journalism is also supported by the Ethics and Excellence Foundation, the Green Park Foundation, and the Gannet Foundation.
This year, the fund was recognized as one of the Washington D.C. region’s best nonprofits, and will be featured in the 2011-12 Catalogue for Philanthropy. The Fund is the first journalism organization to be listed in the catalogue, which is distributed to local foundations and philanthropists.
The fund also depends on donations from individuals. Donations can be made online, www.fij.org, or by mail to the Fund for Investigative Journalism, 1023 15th Street NW, Suite 350, Washington DC 20005.
WRITER’S LIFEGUARD: Saving the Chron
Posted on | October 31, 2011 | No Comments
By Jules Older, independent columnist
For better and worse, I tend to work on inspiration, not preparation.
Jules Older
Better because I drop everything except deadlines and focus like a laser on the new project.
Worse because I drop everything except deadlines. When everyone around you is expecting a right turn, a sudden swerve to the left can be unnerving.
In the past month, I made a huge, careening, two-wheels-off-the-ground swerve: an ebook about skiing… a book with a self-imposed deadline — ready to roll before the lifts started turning.
And this week, in the midst of that mega-focus, I detoured to something else. I composed, then sent everyone I know in Greater San Francisco, the message below.
If you have a similar situation where you live, a really good paper in really serious trouble, feel free to borrow the inspiration, copy the words, recreate the idea. (Displaced Journalists will post it as well. S.O.)
— jules
The Chronicle: Ten reasons I hope you’ll subscribe
Like papers everywhere, the San Francisco Chronicle is in trouble. More and more of us are getting our news online; fewer and fewer are buying papers.
Here’s why I hope you’ll reverse that trend in your house, as we have in ours.
- PG&E. This company is blowing us up. Literally blowing us up. Without the Chronicle’s investigative team, we’d never know that it’s also ‘losing’ evidence, ‘misplacing’ documents, using shoddy materials, in a cozy relationship with the state’s ‘regulators’… and while the smoke was still hanging in the air over San Bruno, PG&E gave a big bonus to its ‘safety’ director.
- Jon Carroll.
- Ed Lee. I was right behind Ed for Mayor until the Chronicle began exposing shady practices, shady backers, shady money, even a shady instant biography/hagiography. When I saw Lee’s beautifully produced, ultra-hip, had-to-be wildly expensive YouTube video, that sealed it — I’m voting for somebody else. Wouldn’t have known to change my mind without theChronicle.
- Bad Reporter.
- UC. At a time when student fees are rising and entrance quotas shrinking, the University of California has been quietly upping pay and bennies for administrators. How do I know? Read all about it in theChronicle.
- Willy Brown.
- Local obsessions. Aside from sports teams (where Chronicle coverage also shines), what are the things that most interest Greater San Franciscans? Food. Wine. The digital world. Green technology. Nearby nature, beaches and mountains. I keep up on all of them through my morning paper.
- Doonesbury.
- Lively prose. If I have an addiction, it’s to great writing. I’m amazed at how often I look up from the paper and say, “Hey, listen to this.”
- Leah Garchik.
Two things you should know.
First, I’m not sentimental about paper vs. digital. I like and use both. But I am passionateabout knowing what’s really going on. Not all papers deliver that, but the Chronicle does… and if it’s going to continue, it needs the financial support of subscribers.
Second, I occasionally write for the Chronicle, and I occasionally fight with the Chronicle. Neither has influenced this message in the slightest.
In this house, we’re subscribers. I hope you’ll be one, too.
— jules
Jules Older (still no relation to Displaced Journalists Founder Susan Older) is a freelance travel writer, the author of children’s books, the creator of the iPhone app San Francisco Restaurants, a speaker, a broadcaster and a consultant. Learn more about Jules here. To become a Lifeguard, just drop Jules a line at jules@julesolder.com, saying, “I’m a writer. Sign me up!”
WRITER’S LIFEGUARD: Show Me the Money
Posted on | October 7, 2011 | 1 Comment
Editor’s note: Our most prolific Displaced Journalists member is definitely Jules Older, who shares my last name, but not my genes. We ran one of his Writer’s LifeGuard columns titled “Don’t Let the Bastards Rip You off” August 12, 2010. (Just check our archives.) These two columns deal with the same subject: what freelancers can do if they aren’t getting paid. The current (most recent) column is first, followed by “Making the Bastards Pay, II.”
Writer-Think and Lawyer-Think
By Jules Older
So here we go again (see below), only this time with a twist.
The twist is, the editor/publisher/owner of a magazine I’ve written for many times asks me, as a
Jules Older
favor, to delay sending my invoices for a while.
Magazines are in hard times, and I readily agree. I send him several articles over a number of months, and then I tell him it’s time to pay.
He’s shocked, shocked. “I— I didn’t know it would be this much. I just can’t afford to pay you all that now — I just don’t have the money.”
I say, “OK, then, how ‘bout this? You go on an automated payment plan, and on a regular basis, your bank transfers a set sum to mine.”
He agrees…though he’s a bit cagey about putting the terms in writing. He suggests $250 once a week until I’m paid in full. I cheerfully accept.
He misses the first payment. And the second. And the third. When I point this out, he sounds hurt… hurt and increasingly hostile.
Now I do what I should have done in the first place — I start contacting his old employees. “Ah,” they say, “Welcome to the club.”
Oh yeah, he’s done this before. Many times. I say to his ex-graphics guy, “I feel like I’ve been had.”
He says, “Mate, you have been had.” Both he and the ex-editor tell me, “You’ll never collect without a lawyer.” They each recommend a lawyer. It’s the same lawyer.
I’ve always taken a certain pride in the fact that I have no lawyer. I settle non-paying accounts with my wits, or, when I belonged to the National Writers Union, through their collections guy. But by now, my debtor has missed a fourth payment, and I know I won’t be able to crack this nut on my own.
So I become the third “ex-” to hire the same lawyer. I caution him that the editor/publisher/owner — let’s call him Milo — is about to leave the country for a month.
“Good,” says the lawyer. “That way when he gets my letter, he’ll be away from his support team, and it will cause maximum disruption.”
That’s the moment I begin to understand the difference between writer-think and lawyer-think.
Here’s another moment: At one point I’m explaining how “I’ve put Milo on a payment plan and—” and the lawyer interrupts. “Do you want to be a banker?”
“Uh, no. I want to be a writer.”
“Well, you’re acting like a banker, and if that’s what you want, bankers charge interest for their loans.”
“Oh.”
A third moment: “Do you want to get paid a little a week, which means that somebody else isn’t getting paid, and as soon as they put pressure on Milo, you won’t get paid? Or do you want to get your money in a lump sum?”
“In a lump sum, obviously, but he said he can’t afford __”
“We’ll see about that.”
Right. When it comes to collecting from welchers, lawyers think smart. Writers, not so much.
The lawyer — let’s call him Andrew — doesn’t threaten to sue. He doesn’t write an outraged letter. He hires a process server to serve the demand… which means deliver a court document that says, in lawyer-speak, Dude, unless you pay this debt, we are petitioning to dissolve your company.
That very day, Milo starts those automated transfers, as we’d agreed. I say, “He’s paying.” Andrew says, “He’ll stop as soon as he figures he can. Do you want the money or not?”
“Sure, but he can’t affor… yes, I fucking well do! I did the bastard a great favor, and he does me dirty.”
Next lawyer-letter says, we are in receipt of the payments, but we want the money. All of it. Without delay.
Now, Milo writes to me. Chummy letter, all hostility gone. Asks me to please withdraw the dissolve-the-company document. I’m tempted. Andrew isn’t. Says, “Don’t do it.”
I don’t.
Instead, Andrew writes to Milo’s lawyer — yes, he’s had to hire one — and says this: My client has generously agreed to waive the ever-accruing interest on the payment and to even offer a discount if said payment in full is in my hands by Thursday at 4 PM. After that, we’re going after his company.
Milo pays.
In full. At 3:30. I get all that’s owed me. My lawyer takes his fair and well-earned cut. And best of all, it’s cost Milo more to do the wrong thing than it would have if he’d done right in the first place.
Ask me how do I feel?
Like a million bucks.’
— jules
And in the Steve Jobs’ tradition… One more thing.
Andrew’s law:
The lesson you could pass on is that whenever you are in a situation of a non-payer, it is better to seek help earlier rather than later. If Milo had kept to the bargain you made with him, it still would have taken a long time to pay what was due. During that time, the risk increases that Milo gets further into debt, and the payments to you are claimed back by a liquidator. So better to get a payment in one sum, then bunker down and hope Milo keeps going for longer.
As for other suggestions – I always tell my clients, ”Ring me first before you sign or agree to anything – I can do far more for you beforehand than after you have signed”.
Your lawyer and accountant should be your most trusted business advisors, and you should not choose them on the basis of them being the cheapest or fastest. If you don’t feel the trust, then you should find someone who does give you that feeling – it will save you in the long run.
Making the Bastards Pay, II
First, welcome to the newest Lifeguards, Theresa Russell and Melinda Blau. Theresa’s a travel writer specializing in cruises. Melinda’s a faction (née, non-fiction) author whose books include the wildly popular Secrets of the Baby Whisperer and the newly released Consequential Strangers.
Welcome aboard. Now, let’s talk money.
Writers Lifeguard # 9 was called “Making the Bastards Pay” or in this publication, “Don’t Let the Bastards Rip You Off.” Finances are much worse now, which means more bastards aren’t paying.
I’ve got a new trick.
I learned it from a Lifeguard who wants to remain anonymous; so, assume that names, places, genders are all changed in what follows.
She lives in San Francisco. Her publisher’s in New York. She worked for his magazine for years, first as writer, then features editor, then editor-in-chief. But when money got tight, he wouldn’t pay. Though she’s caring for her sick mom, and he’s building a fancy new house, the bastard wouldn’t pay.
She tried everything. Pleading, arguing, threatening, appealing to his better side. No pay. He figured 3,000 miles and a bunch of state lines gave him a perfect safety net. If she were foolish enough to jump on a plane for a New York court appearance, he’d just stall until she ran out of time and funds. Besides, it’s only $5,000 — no lawyer would want to touch it.
But desperation can be a resource. She wrote to every agency she could think of, telling them of her plight… and one of them answered.
It was the Department of Industrial Relations for the Labor Board of the State of California (www.dir.ca.gov). Two months after she wrote, she received a letter to appear before them. The NY publisher got the same letter.
She appeared (it was all of 30 minutes from her home). He didn’t (now, those 3,000 miles were his problem, not hers). She told her tale to the Deputy Labor Commissioner. She brought copies of the magazine, emails, check-stubs, tax forms, everything.
Two weeks later she was given a court date for a formal hearing. She went. He didn’t. It took about an hour.
Let ‘her’ pick up the story here…
“Two weeks later I received a judgment: My full pay plus penalties. After that, the publisher finally did respond—but too late. The Labor Commissioner told me that his late response was typical—nobody ever does anything unless they are legally ordered to pay.”
The result? Said publisher sent a cashier’s check to the Department of Labor. Our Lifeguard got her hard-earned cash.
Now, in nearly identical circumstances, my ex-publisher is refusing to pay me for work I’ve done.
I’ve tried everything I know, and he still won’t pay. Told me if I wanted my money, to sue him.
I don’t sue. But I have a date to meet him at the Department of Industrial Relations for the Labor Board of the State of California. No problem — it’s only 20 minutes from home. About 3,000 miles for the publisher.
This little meeting is one of the things I’m looking forward to in the new year. And if you’re having trouble collecting money you’ve earned, consider this a New Year’s gift from the anonymous Lifeguard and…
— jules
Jules Older is a freelance travel writer, the author of children’s books, the creator of the iPhone app San Francisco Restaurants, a speaker, a broadcaster and a consultant. Learn more about Jules here. To become a Lifeguard, just drop Jules a line at jules@julesolder.com, saying, “I’m a writer. Sign me up!”
– 30 –
The Story of Prohibition… in Napa
Posted on | October 2, 2011 | No Comments
Editor’s note: Jules and Effin Older (no relation to me) are dedicated Displaced Journalists members. They have had successful careers as children’s book authors and travel writers. We all hope they will make substantial money doing those things again. For now, though, they have reinvented themselves as iPhone/iPad app creators (in the iTunes store: San Francisco Restaurants and Auckland Insider) and as videographers. Their video work is posted on their own YouTube Channel. This couple never gives up. They are constantly pushing the boundaries, absorbing and trying out new ways to tell stories using the latest technology. We should all be doing the same. — S.O.
And now their latest story:
As Americans get to see the effects of Prohibition through Ken Burns’ Prohibition documentary series on PBS, they can see the effects of Prohibition writ small.
On a trip to Napa, California, a region whose economy was nearly wiped out by Prohibition, Jules and Effin Older recorded historian-humorist George Webber regaling onlookers with the effects of a country gone dry on a county built around wine.
Their video, The Story of Prohibition… in Napa, isn’t on PBS — it’s on YouTube.
The speakeasy in the midst of government offices, the clean-ups before every leaked ‘secret raid,’ the puzzled disbelief of European-born winemakers that their new country would “outlaw life itself” — they’re all in the six-minute 43-second video.
The Story of Prohibition… In Napa is viewable, without corkage fee or cover charge below or at www.youtube.com/user/julesolder#p/u/0/aZVRorl0twM
It may be viewed over a nice Riesling day and night.
Video credits: Jules Older
Photo credits: Effin Older
– 30 –
Gloating and the War in the World of Local
Posted on | September 21, 2011 | No Comments
Schadenfreude, Part Two: I Apologize
By Debbie Galant, Baristanet
Posted September 8, 2011 on Authentically Local
Schadenfreude, or gloating over another’s misfortune, is not a pretty thing. By definition.
And though I’m used to being scolded by readers, my upbraiding by some of the Patch rank-and-file over my last post here has left me unexpectedly chastened.
I meant my rant for AOL’s corporate overlords, for Tim Armstrong and Arianna Huffington in particular, but I managed to offend and hurt other local journalists who, just like me, spent the last week bailing basements and working furiously to keep up with the news.
That’s bad, and that’s not pretty, and I apologize.
We live in a time of great economic disruption and everything in the world of media — everything in the world — is up for grabs. Read the rest of the story on Authentically Local.
Schadenfreude Time: Watching AOL Circling the Drain
By Debbie Galant, Baristanet
Posted September 2, 2011 on Authentically Local
Those of us who are the proprietors of small, independent hyperlocal news blogs have been watching the headlines with glee.
Tim Armstrong’s AOL dream may be ending
What Happens When AOL Finally Decides to Go Private
What an AOL Garage Sale Would Look Like
“Patch is worthless,” wrote Dana Blackenhorn in Seeking Alpha. ”Close it. Think a company like Gannett (GCI) or The New York Times (NYT) or News Corp. (NWS) might want it? If you find a sucker like that, call me. I have a bridge to sell.” Music to our ears.
It may be too early to dance on Patch’s grave, but boy are we ready. We all know how expensive and hard it is to do hyperlocal — but, unlike Patch, we haven’t had $160 million pockets to dig into. We’ve had to do it with our own sweat. Read the rest of the story on Authentically Local.
Job Opening: Communications Specialist
Posted on | September 17, 2011 | No Comments
JOB DESCRIPTION
Our client, a global factory certification and training organization focused on the consumer products industry, seeks a Communications Specialist for its Arlington, VA headquarters. The incumbent will help develop and execute strategic programs involving a wide spectrum of communications, including press releases, blogs and other forms of social media. The candidate will work closely with headquarters and field staff, must demonstrate excellent written and interpersonal communications skills, understand global markets, and be able to work independently and within a team environment on demanding issues.
Minimum Requirements:
Education:
B.A. or M.A. in Journalism, Communications or related field
Experience:
- At least 3 years of related experience in a for-profit or
- non-profit environment
- Experience in global trade, association trade shows, global
- markets, corporate social responsibility and multi-cultural environments a plus
Specific Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
- Strong written, interpersonal and organizational skills
- Experience in strategic planning, advocacy writing and media relations
- Knowledgeable of communications software, updating websites and graphic design
- Fluency in additional languages a significant plus
- Travel Required: 10%
If you’re interested in this job, contact: Jim Gentry, Gentry Executive Search, Greensboro, NC, jfgentry@bellsouth.net, 336-312-2555
D.C. PBS station looking for web producer
Posted on | September 8, 2011 | 1 Comment
Web Producer, Washington Week
WETA, Arlington, VA
Come be a part of WETA’s dynamic Washington Week team. WETA,
Washington DC’s public broadcasting station has an exciting
opportunity as a Web Producer for its production, Washington Week with Gwen Ifill. Washington Week is PBS’ longest-running public affairs
series and features Washington’s top journalists analyzing the week’s
top news stories and their effect on the lives of all Americans.
Incumbent will maintain and support Washington Week website; and
develop, manage and implement digital media strategy and social media
activities.
Primary responsibilities include producing new content
(including video and text) for Washington Week website; supporting
development and implementation of a digital media strategy; and
developing social media strategy and manage and implement social media
activity for Washington Week. Must have knowledge of current events,
U.S. politics, geopolitics, history, and government/political process
and national news periodicals; knowledge of and proven ability and
success in web production and producing web content with digital media
technologies; and knowledge of social media sites/usage, Drupal or
similar and Final Cut Pro or other editing software. College degree
in Journalism, or equivalent combination of education and experience
in relevant field.
Minimum three years of experience in news
reporting/producing either online, print or television. Experience
should include two years of experience in web production, including
social media activities.
This position is currently funded through June 2012.
For consideration, please send letter of interest, salary
requirements, and resume to hr@weta.com or visit our website at
www.weta.org for the full job description and on-line application.
WETA is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
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