tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42504997607826501542024-03-13T13:56:32.702-04:00Geo's LogicGeohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-33715933147689187532016-10-02T23:39:00.005-04:002016-10-02T23:56:59.111-04:00You Can Go Home Again. At Least, I Hope I Can.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When <a href="http://geoslogic.blogspot.com/2010/10/jump-london-undersound-2010-is-done.html" target="_blank">I taught in London during the summer of 2010</a>, I fell in love with the place.<br />
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When I returned home, I watched <a href="http://www.channel4.com/programmes/skins" target="_blank">every British show</a> available on Netflix, I read dozens of <a href="http://geoslogic.blogspot.com/2010/07/our-minds-are-richer-and-wider-than-we.html" target="_blank">books</a> set in London and I told everybody what a life-changing experience it was. And it was, in so many ways.<br />
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Well, I went to Japan last month and now I have a new obsession.<br />
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It wasn't the same kind of life-altering experience - I've had a major life change in mind for a while now. But this trip made me realize that that major life change would be doable and maybe even super fun.<br />
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Ostensibly, I went to Japan for my friend Tatsuya's wedding in Nagoya (pictured above).<br />
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We met in 1998, I believe, when I was traveling through Europe. I ran into Tatsuya when he was drinking beer from a huge stein at the <a href="http://www.hofbraeuhaus.de/en/index_en.html" target="_blank">Hofbräuhaus</a> in Munich. A few years later, he stayed with me in Philly and later, I went to see him and his family in Japan. Our parents became friends and his family visited my mother in Delaware.<br />
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When my Japanese cousin passed away in the early 2000s, I asked Tatsuya to call my uncle to translate a message for me because my Japanese wasn't sufficient enough to express my feelings. It was a huge favor, so I'll always owe him.<br />
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After the wedding, Katherine and I went to Tokyo for a few days. </div>
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For years, my mother had been telling me how expensive everything is there. But we found a really nice hotel for about $100 per night. We took cabs and Ubers, we rode the subway and we walked everywhere. We had great meals, saw rockabilly guys dancing, played with cats at a <a href="http://catmocha.jp/harajuku/" target="_blank">cat cafe</a>, watched <a href="http://www.shinjuku-robot.com/pc/" target="_blank">robots battle</a>, went dancing at <a href="http://www.v2tokyo.com.e.qa.hp.transer.com/nightclub/" target="_blank">a Tokyo hotspot</a> and we generally explored an incredibly foreign place.</div>
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And we survived just fine. In fact, it was really fantastic. </div>
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Culturally, we managed. Financially, it wasn't bad at all. And we got by with my meager Japanese.</div>
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It was pretty magical, to tell you the truth. It helped having a travel companion who was easy to get along with. I'm not a planner and that can make some people freak out. We just did whatever we felt like doing, whenever stuff popped up.</div>
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We then traveled by <a href="http://english.jr-central.co.jp/shinkansen/" target="_blank">bullet train</a> and spent the next five days in <a href="https://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/regional/nagasaki/sasebo.html" target="_blank">Sasebo</a>, visiting my family.</div>
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In Philly, I feel at home. I have a love of <a href="http://www2.comune.cagli.ps.it/guide/guide.htm" target="_blank">Cagli</a>, in Italy. And <a href="http://geoslogic.blogspot.com/2010/08/theres-only-one-way-to-learn-about.html" target="_blank">London just intrigues me </a>to no end. </div>
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But there is nowhere in the world where I feel a stronger connection to the land than in Sasebo. My ancestors and family have lived there, in the same spot, for hundreds of years. I've been visiting there for 45 years. It just feels right.</div>
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And now, all I can think about is returning. </div>
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When I was in my 20s, I did a lot of traveling. You know, bouncing around from city to city, seeing the sights. In my 30s, I began spending extended periods in the same town - Cagli, <a href="http://picturearmagh.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Armagh</a>, London, really absorbing the local culture. It was all an effort to find a place to land, I think.</div>
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I think I'd like to land in Japan for a while.</div>
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I'm hoping to <a href="http://www.tuj.ac.jp/" target="_blank">teach in Tokyo</a>, which would allow me to visit Sasebo much more frequently. I'm putting plans together to get there before the <a href="https://www.olympic.org/tokyo-2020" target="_blank">Tokyo Olympics in 2020</a>. Not sure it will all fall into place but I feel like this is something I have to do.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5Z_fXh5PMQQ/V_HLsOgAPnI/AAAAAAAAD_k/2dUSxhGJ4LgD2IUjlaWghpDNA9JWVxqLwCLcB/s1600/JapanFood02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5Z_fXh5PMQQ/V_HLsOgAPnI/AAAAAAAAD_k/2dUSxhGJ4LgD2IUjlaWghpDNA9JWVxqLwCLcB/s400/JapanFood02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Not sure how long I'd go for. Maybe a few years. Maybe the rest of my life. I have no idea. I'd love to return to London, however. And I could see myself retiring in Cagli.</div>
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Or I could switch cities and countries every few years? The world is a huge place.</div>
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I have no idea what the future holds. But I'm hoping it involves at least a few years in Japan.</div>
Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-44228548287556945082015-11-04T20:26:00.000-05:002015-11-04T22:42:08.929-05:00You Don't Kill a Brand in 2015. You Adapt.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5kwO2QwbJHQ/Vjqu_dz8YSI/AAAAAAAAD04/8Sn8kheu3Lg/s1600/westphillyhighcarOnline1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5kwO2QwbJHQ/Vjqu_dz8YSI/AAAAAAAAD04/8Sn8kheu3Lg/s400/westphillyhighcarOnline1.jpg" width="345" /></a></div>
The Philadelphia Daily News has lived under threat of extinction for as long as I can remember, largely in part because the newspaper is owned by the same company that owns The Philadelphia Inquirer.<br />
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As the company struggles financially with their legacy media products in an increasingly digital world, calls to shutter the Daily News have increased. Today, <a href="http://www.phillymag.com/news/2015/11/04/layoffs-slam-philly-com-daily-news-hardest/" target="_blank">the parent company reportedly axed 46 journalists</a>, though management has said they will continue publishing the Daily News for now.<br />
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I clearly have many conflicts of interest in this discussion, having spent nearly 12 years in the Daily News newsroom. I still have many friends there and I send students to intern there all the time.<br />
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But I am also a person who runs <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/" target="_blank">a small business</a>. I think about money in and money out, and how to be sustainable. I recognize opportunities and I see potential pitfalls.<br />
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Simply put, eliminating the Daily News is just not good business. Here's why:<br />
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<b><i>Closing the Daily News will not help The Inquirer.</i></b><br />
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The Inquirer continues to try to cover too wide of an area, even though the staff is much smaller than it was during the glory years. The Inquirer can no longer comprehensively cover the Jersey shore to Harrisburg, from Trenton down to Wilmington. By attempting to do so, the newspaper seems to scantily cover anything with any authority. And people want the information that pertains to their lives, not briefs about the entire region.<br />
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Because the Inquirer's coverage has become so scattered, more and more of the affluent readers in the area are choosing The New York Times instead. And why not? Half of what you find in The Inquirer's A section is from the New York Times wire service anyway.<br />
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The Inquirer needs to tighten their focus. They can no longer be one of the world's great newspapers, as they once were. They do have the ability to <i>own their coverage area</i> though - Philadelphia and the counties immediately surrounding the city. They can effectively document this metropolitan area and actually become a force here.<br />
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The Daily News has had a much tighter focus for years. It should be seen as a model to replicate, not shutter.<br />
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Oh, and the audience at the Daily News will not go to The Inquirer if the Daily News no longer exists. They are two completely different products with different audiences.<br />
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<b><i>Closing the Daily News does not make financial sense. It's a stop-gap measure.</i></b><br />
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There is very little infrastructure behind the business of the Daily News. Ads are sold for The Inquirer and then tacked on to the Daily News, which means the Daily News actually generates additional revenue that would be lost if the paper were gone. Very few people - if any - sell ads specifically for the Daily News.<br />
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Even before today's cuts, there were very few people left creating the actual news product at the Daily News. With their content also being used in The Inquirer and on philly.com, they were rather efficient.<br />
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Eliminating the Daily News would not make The Inquirer's bottom line any stronger. It might appear to save some money at first but the problems with The Inquirer - and with philly.com's inability to generate more revenue - will continue.<br />
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We've already seen this with other stop-gap measures, like shrinking the size of the physical newspaper, ending The Inquirer Sunday Magazine, newsroom cuts and other cost-cutting steps.<br />
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Rather than chop, the company needs to think about how to maximize their talent and brands.<br />
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<b><i>Digital does not pay the bills.</i></b><br />
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You might argue that print in 2015 is a waste. The reality is that the company generates more than $150 million per year in ad revenue, around $135 million of which is generated via print.<br />
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Digital only draws around $15 million per year and that number is reportedly flat. It has not increased in recent years, signifying that their online ad revenue potential is pretty well capped.<br />
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You can argue that eliminating print would save printing and distribution costs. Of course. But instead of focusing on that, the company should be thinking about how to keep that $135 million of print revenue in the company.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<b><i>You don't kill a brand in 2015. You adapt.</i></b><br />
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Do you have any idea how hard it is to create a new brand and make an impact in 2015? There are literally millions upon millions of options for everyone to get everything, from medical advice to news information to free music. Competition is fierce.<br />
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The Daily News has been around since 1925. The paper has long had a reputation for being a bulldog that fights for the citizens of the city. The sports section, historically, has been one of the best in the country.<br />
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You don't throw that away. You take advantage of it. You adapt.<br />
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Maybe it becomes the daily magazine that the staffers have talked about for years (but are not given the time to create), focusing on enterprise stories every day. Hammer the sports coverage in the back and up front, present analysis of the big stories that no one else is covering.<br />
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Or make the newspaper a weekly magazine with really strong, daily online coverage. Have the sportswriters focus on ideas rather than events, essentially making them all columnists. The best Daily News sportswriters already do this, and have for decades. Capitalize on it.<br />
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At bare minimum, the Daily News should be the online home for everyone interested in sports in the Greater Philadelphia region. The fact that the company did not effectively integrate the Internet with the newspapers 20 years ago allowed places like Comcast SportsNet, The 700 Level and Crossing Broad to exist, thrive and dominate sports coverage.<br />
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The Daily News has an identity. In a sports-crazed town, a decent business person should be able to make that work. Adapt the product and continue. That's what businesses do.<br />
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<b><i>It's probably too late.</i></b><br />
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I write this now knowing that the cuts are too severe. Decisions have already been made, mostly by people who do not have a real connection to these newspapers or this city.<br />
<br />
The demise of the Daily News seems rather imminent.<br />
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The Newspaper Guild has offered to buy the Daily News from the current owners in the past but those offers seem to have been rejected (or not taken seriously, as the ownership has put forth ridiculously high sales prices).<br />
<br />
That's a shame.<br />
<br />
What will we lose when the Daily News disappears?<br />
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Honestly, not a lot. The operation has been so stripped down over the years that little remains. The remaining folks have been kicking ass every day but there are fewer and fewer people, forced to do more and more work. And now, the place will be nearly empty.<br />
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That leaves us with a newspaper of record that is already spread too thin to be effective, superficial coverage on television, super quick stories on news radio, a bunch of random, local websites and an overall uninformed citizenry.<br />
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We need more journalists doing good work, not fewer.Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-90251996542759759212015-03-03T09:20:00.000-05:002015-03-03T09:23:56.876-05:00The Year in Review: Bachelorhood and The Art of Living.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WbManmmooLA/VPOZKGkqVyI/AAAAAAAADro/eUaK24eZgBs/s1600/tumblr_n1w2uu0GVX1qagr2ko1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WbManmmooLA/VPOZKGkqVyI/AAAAAAAADro/eUaK24eZgBs/s1600/tumblr_n1w2uu0GVX1qagr2ko1_1280.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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On this day, <a href="http://gwmiller3.tumblr.com/post/78500810260/eyeball-philadelphia-pa-march-3-2014" target="_blank">one year ago</a>, I became a bachelor. </div>
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It was a miserable day. There was a massive snowstorm and the movers taking my ex's stuff out of the house tracked snow and rock salt everywhere. They left the front door open for hours, making it beyond freezing inside.</div>
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When they left, my home felt cold and empty, for sure, and wicked dirty. So I cleaned. I scrubbed the floors, dusted the remaining furniture and arranged stuff to make the house livable. By the end of the day, my home was cleaner than it had been in years.</div>
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And I was alone.</div>
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<a name='more'></a>After 14 years of cohabitating and more than 17 years together, it was strange. But my ex and I had not actually spent much time together in years, so it wasn't that bad. I had <a href="http://gwmiller3.tumblr.com/search/mookie" target="_blank">Mookie</a>, who really is what I live for anyway. And I welcomed <a href="http://gwmiller3.tumblr.com/search/lucy" target="_blank">Lucy</a>, who had been living in the backyard for eight years, into the house.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rLNcD70hQXE/VPOa7yZg_-I/AAAAAAAADr0/YBmyJ7DWgME/s1600/tumblr_n3a4a2kSps1qagr2ko1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rLNcD70hQXE/VPOa7yZg_-I/AAAAAAAADr0/YBmyJ7DWgME/s1600/tumblr_n3a4a2kSps1qagr2ko1_1280.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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The past year has been so very interesting. I traveled to <a href="http://gwmiller3.tumblr.com/post/102068987506/rocky-and-the-champ-los-angeles-ca-november-5" target="_blank">Los Angeles</a>, <a href="http://gwmiller3.tumblr.com/post/98837579341/millenium-park-chicago-il-september-25-2014" target="_blank">Chicago</a> and <a href="http://gwmiller3.tumblr.com/post/112200659706/at-the-top-of-aspen-snowmass-mountain-aspen" target="_blank">Aspen, Colorado</a>. I threw three <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2014/04/28/plastic-little-spank-rock-sweatheart-needle-points-and-gun-garcia-underground-arts/" target="_blank">killer parties</a> (and four smaller ones). I played a lot of baseball. I read a lot of books. I pulled at least three all-nighters. I met some amazing people, reconnected with old friends, had some ridiculously fun nights and generally acted like the invincible 25-year-old I wish I was when I was 25.</div>
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On one hand, I'm getting too old for this shit. On the other hand, life has been a fucking riot. </div>
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Take last week, for example. I was jammed with school work because I had been in Colorado the previous week. But my buddy texted me on Wednesday, said he was in town for a meeting. I caught up with him at Fergie's at 4 and we wound up at Ortlieb's until midnight. On Saturday, I went to a show with a beautiful young lady and we had a drunken blast all night. I woke up at 6 am in a panic, having realized I sent her <a href="https://www.facebook.com/gwmiller3/posts/10100248417291752" target="_blank">a fairly pathetic text</a> in the wee hours of the morning. </div>
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It's not just the partying. When I was with my ex, I was constantly thinking there was something wrong with me. Things with us were not good and I knew she blamed me. I walked on eggshells when I was home, hoping not to further anger her. It eroded my confidence, making me feel like I was a bad person. I was fairly miserable and I let that impact my life beyond the relationship. </div>
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But I'm not an asshole. Neither is she. We just didn't work well together anymore. I get that now.</div>
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Over the past year, I think I've become much more comfortable in my own skin. It's not confidence. I'm just not stressing out, trying to make every single person in the world happy. I'm just doing me.</div>
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I like being impetuous, sarcastic and <a href="http://geoslogic.blogspot.com/2014/09/why-fk-are-you-so-happy.html" target="_blank">constantly happy</a>. I'm OK professing my adoration to some girl via drunken text in the middle of the night. I don't care that I'm a 43-year-old guy playing third base with a bunch of punk ass 20-year-olds. And I'm going to buy drinks all night for everyone because I have absolutely no interest in money. That's going to happen.</div>
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Here's the thing: I like where I am in life. I love teaching. Running <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/" target="_blank">the magazine</a> has been one of the most exciting things in my life. I have no desire to make more money, get a better job title or become famous or anything. </div>
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There have been difficulties - my step-father died and my dog went blind in one eye, plus I get lonely every once in a while. Dating has more lows than highs (though almost everything about dating is absolutely hilarious). I'm fairly certain I'll never find that ultimate connection. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMGVA4HiQ_0" target="_blank">The world is just too large a place</a>. Too many factors have to fall into alignment before romance blooms. And I am nothing if not a hopeless romantic, waiting for perfection.</div>
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Oh, and life is just plain exhausting. I could use a few days of vacation.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kZDjm3LUTuI/VPOqZsCTh1I/AAAAAAAADsE/MuHKoaybo8g/s1600/tumblr_nkezqvZkuz1qagr2ko1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kZDjm3LUTuI/VPOqZsCTh1I/AAAAAAAADsE/MuHKoaybo8g/s1600/tumblr_nkezqvZkuz1qagr2ko1_1280.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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Amazingly, things can only get better. </div>
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The possibilities are endless. Really. I'm financially comfortable, in good health and of relatively sound mind. I have few anchors keeping me anywhere.</div>
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Here are a few things I'm considering:</div>
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• Teach in Japan for a few years. </div>
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• Move to California, New York or New Orleans for a year during a sabbatical.</div>
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• Write a book. It's in me.</div>
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• Become a stand-up comic. That's in me, too.</div>
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• Learn to play guitar. </div>
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• Become a real estate magnate.</div>
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• Run for political office. And fix the system from the inside.</div>
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• Wander aimlessly across Europe.</div>
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• Stay at home but disconnect from the world and read a bunch of books. For months. Maybe years. Just me, Mookie and Lucy, chilling. Without the Internet.</div>
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In the meantime, I'm hoping to just find a few minutes somewhere along the way when I can just sit in the dark and listen to <a href="http://boomphilly.com/" target="_blank">Boom 107.9</a>. That'd be nice. </div>
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I used to have an idea of what my future looked like. Now, I barely know what tomorrow looks like. And that's not a bad thing.</div>
Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-20794688585223864542014-09-10T23:19:00.000-04:002014-11-09T01:38:41.810-05:00Why the F**k Are You So Happy?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0UwUWe2GxSM/U24njuF4xAI/AAAAAAAADi0/I2-faWEqXHc/s1600/GeoPlasticLittle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0UwUWe2GxSM/U24njuF4xAI/AAAAAAAADi0/I2-faWEqXHc/s1600/GeoPlasticLittle.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
Seven months ago, I went through a life altering situation. The person I thought I'd spend the rest of my life with moved out. At 42 (and weeks away from being 43-years old), I was alone.<br />
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It was rather shocking, though at first, it was liberating. The tension in the household during the preceding few years had been thick. Living alone allowed me to be myself unabashedly.<br />
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A month or two after after the break-up, a friend expressed surprise that I could be so positive about life. Tonight, my friend reiterated her disbelief and added that she thought there had to be a darkness looming in the distance (or beyond public view).<br />
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I'm an open book, so I told her the truth: I'm wicked lonely but otherwise very happy in my life. Honest.<br />
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I don't think she believed me, which made me doubt myself. So I spent the long bike ride home contemplating my happiness.<br />
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<i>Here is my rationale for why I'm a happy dude (and you should be too):</i><br />
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<a name='more'></a>1. LIFE IS TOO FUCKING SHORT TO BE MISERABLE.<br />
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No duh. But sometimes it takes a knock on the head to appreciate that.<br />
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I lost <a href="http://www.gautamsundaram.org/" target="_blank">a dear friend</a> in October 2001 and that changed my life. I renounced ambition and decided to appreciate every single day. I decided I didn't need money, awards, a job title or whatever. I just wanted to enjoy everything around me. Every day.<br />
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In January 2012, my dog was diagnosed with a heart condition. The veterinarian said <a href="http://geoslogic.blogspot.com/2012/01/theres-only-thing-that-matters.html" target="_blank">Mookie had maybe six months to live</a>. My grandmother, who was always the moral compass of my life, started going to the hospital a lot that same month. She eventually passed away on October 28 that year.<br />
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The fear of losing my dog and the reality of losing my grandmother really, really hit me. I had also turned 40 by then, an age I didn't think I would live to see (reckless youth, blah, blah, blah).<br />
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All of the sudden, every single moment of my life felt like bonus overtime.<br />
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2. Dude, life is pretty great.<br />
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My life is ridiculous. I have no regular sleep pattern, or really any patterns in my life. Every day is different and marvelous.<br />
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I've had so many funny moments randomly happen to me ... as we all probably do. I bet most people let those spontaneous episodes pass by (like I did, and probably still do quite frequently). I've been trying to share the stupid little moments with people (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/gwmiller3/posts/10100169563944492?comment_id=10100170405522962&offset=0&total_comments=16&notif_t=feed_comment" target="_blank">virtually</a> and otherwise). They are magic in a bottle.<br />
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I run a music magazine. I experience so much talent for free (and sometimes I get a stage view of life, as in the photo at the top of this post). I teach 200 students at once - making jokes, cursing and sometimes even educating along the way. I fucking take my dog to school. That's a great deal. And I'm on a baseball team. Baseball! Not softball. I mean, damn! I love playing baseball.<br />
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3. Sometimes, change is good.<br />
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Don't get me wrong. I am beyond bitter about the breakup. I harbor some really, really deep, dark emotions. I am wicked angry. I don't understand what happened and likely never will. I've had some awful nightmares over the past few months.<br />
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I've spent the past seven months thinking about when/where things went wrong. Man, that is a chain of dominoes you don't want to nudge. All of the sudden, the little fissures from when we first started dating 17 years ago seem like the beginnings of the massive gully we existed in at the end. The more I dug into the past, the more I felt like an idiot for not seeing the end coming, and not stemming it.<br />
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But freaking out over that stuff is pointless. Whatever happened can't be reversed. It's over.<br />
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I accept it. It's better that we moved on rather than continue to live in pain.<br />
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I have a job and a house and good friends, whom I very much enjoy. I'm lucky as all hell. Someday, I hope to not be lonely but <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMGVA4HiQ_0" target="_blank">finding that life partner is not easy</a>. It takes time. And if it doesn't happen, well, I'll figure something out.<br />
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Until then, I'll be over here smiling, taking it all in.Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-30914277937980988522013-06-20T00:42:00.000-04:002013-06-20T00:58:47.397-04:00Advice For Young Folks, From a Middle-Aged Man-Child.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y7u0e9-N4n0/UcJxjjGrcYI/AAAAAAAADWk/mYBvvtFm0cE/s1600/061413bow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y7u0e9-N4n0/UcJxjjGrcYI/AAAAAAAADWk/mYBvvtFm0cE/s400/061413bow.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I've been teaching journalism full-time for more than six years now, which means many of my former students are now real adults, some of whom are in the working world. For some reason, I've been inundated recently with emails from former students who are now unhappy in their worlds, mostly because they hate their jobs.<br />
<br />
Now, I'm no expert on anything. As I've grown older (which happened surprisingly fast), I've realized that I have absolutely no answers to any of life's questions. And my life is by no means anything that should be emulated by anyone.<br />
<br />
But in responding to the kids, I've come across some commonalities.<br />
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<b><i>Complaint #1: My job is not fulfilling.</i></b></div>
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Well, that sucks. But so what?<br />
<br />
Your job shouldn't be what fulfills you. Your job is, well, your job. I know that everyone wants to feel valued and that their work is important and relevant. We all want to make an impact, to be recognized for our good work and to have people come up to us and say, "Thank you."<br />
<br />
The reality is that jobs are how you make money to get through/enjoy your life away from work. That's what is really important. Your life should be devoted to living, not working.<br />
<br />
Some people will say that they don't want to waste 40 hours per week while working crappy jobs they hate. Then do something about it. Start looking for other jobs. Look for ways to make your job better.<br />
<br />
I started as a photojournalist. I got bored. So I moved into writing features and
then news. Then I became a magazine writer and photographer. Then a
teacher. Then a freelance multimedia journalist. Then <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/" target="_blank">a magazine publisher</a>. Who knows what's next?<br />
<br />
I have had at least six or seven mid-life crises over the
years. I get an itch every few years to try new stuff. I
don't think it's a bad thing.<br />
<br />
I love being a college professor but it's not my whole world. I've filled my life with other stuff I enjoy: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mookie.miller16" target="_blank">Mookie</a>, baseball, music, reading books, family, etc. It's exhausting, but I'll get to that later.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uuFlqfMGWtA/UcJ7JhOCVYI/AAAAAAAADXU/UYwNiSa17QA/s1600/Summer2013CoverSTSsmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uuFlqfMGWtA/UcJ7JhOCVYI/AAAAAAAADXU/UYwNiSa17QA/s320/Summer2013CoverSTSsmall.jpg" width="245" /></a><b><i>Complaint #2: I don't know if journalism is for me.</i></b><br />
<br />
Journalism is in an awful state. Everyone is scrambling for an audience, for relevancy, for financial sustainability, for a sign of hope. Because of the desperation, journalism outlets are doing some pretty ridiculous things: laying off staff, making those who remain do more work (and often humiliating work), cutting wages and benefits and lots of other terrible things.<br />
<br />
But just because the industry is suffering, it doesn't mean it isn't important. Journalists are needed to keep a check on government (hello NSA!). Journalists are needed to rally communities around important issues (hello Philadelphia School District!). Journalists are needed for basic information that lets everyone know what's going on in the world.<br />
<br />
If you have a journalism job and you are miserable, suggest changes. Be a rabble-rouser in the newsroom. Go beyond what is asked of you and show them how you think things should be done. And don't get frustrated when they ignore you (because they will). Fuck them. The industry is suffering because for too long, people refused to innovate and adapt.<br />
<br />
It won't be easy. But guess what? It's not easy in any business these days. The Internet/digital world has changed the way everyone does their jobs - whether you are talking about lawyers or plumbers or wait staff. There are no digital norms yet, which means that everyone is trying to figure what will be the standard of their industry. When I was a kid, there were VHS and Beta videotape players. Some people gambled on Beta decks. A few years later, Beta decks were obsolete.<br />
<br />
Most of what we see in the digital world will be obsolete very quickly (facebook seems to be losing relevancy already). Until we develop standards within our industries, journalism included, we will continue to stumble along.<br />
<br />
Bottom line - they way journalism is today isn't what it will look like forever. You have the ability to change it and establish the future standards.<br />
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<b><i>Complaint #3: I'm exhausted.</i></b></div>
<br />
Yeah. I hear you.<br />
<br />
I launched <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/" target="_blank">the music magazine</a> in January 2011 and I haven't had a decent night's sleep since. I needed a new challenge and it's eaten my life. Literally. This year alone, I pulled at least four all-nighters working on the mag.<br />
<br />
So what? It's fun and rewarding. It makes me absolutely zero money (and sometimes I lose money) but I love it. It forces me to go out, see the world and learn about stuff.<br />
<br />
By the way, I usually have around 250 to 300 students every semester and they call, email, text, tweet and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jumpphilly" target="_blank">facebook</a> me constantly, at all hours of the day, every day, even after the semester is over, after they graduate and beyond (I actually enjoy staying in touch with former students).<br />
<br />
It's not like I have a lot of free time to do the magazine.<br />
<br />
I have other obligations away from the mag and school, and I also try to have fun (baseball, basketball, hanging with friends, etc). I have a very full life, which is different from having a fulfilled life.<br />
<br />
I know <i>exhausted</i>. But I'd rather go out and have fun with friends, then stay up all night reading a book, then wake up early to play baseball, then go to a concert, then wake up early the next day to play basketball, then visit family and then go to work the next day ... than sleep. I'll sleep when I'm dead. Life is too short.<br />
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<b><i>Prologue.</i></b><br />
<br />
After my baseball game the other day, we had beers with the other team and a guy told me I was among the oldest players in the league (turns out I'm tied for second oldest).<br />
<br />
I always forget how old I am. In my mind, I am still the invincible 25-year-old who can accomplish anything. I am hopelessly idealistic, defiant to the bone, anti-authority and I still think I can change the world. I wear red shoes, I obsess over <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mookie.miller16" target="_blank">my dog</a> and I hang out with people nearly half my age.<br />
<br />
I am a 42-year-old man-child. Am I really a person who should be giving advice to anyone?<br />
<br />
I don't know. But here goes:<br />
<br />
• Run into burning buildings to rescue people and/or their pets. Don't think. Go.<br />
• If anyone ever says, "Let's go grab a drink," go. Always. Whatever time of day. Life is too short to not make time for friends.<br />
• Hug your dog/cat/rabbit/whatever. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mookie.miller16" target="_blank">They bring joy to life</a> and they are only around for a short time. Enjoy every moment.<br />
• Don't let work get you down. It's just work. It's not life. Life comes after work.<br />
• Don't take no for an answer. If someone shoots you down, rework your proposal and come back again. And again.<br />
• Never be embarrassed. Who cares what other people think? They'll forget soon enough anyway.<br />
• Fuck people's crappy advice. They're all full of shit and really just talking about themselves, trying to convince themselves that they are fine. Instead, go experience life and learn your own lessons.Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-87016657506978937732012-11-18T16:57:00.000-05:002012-11-18T17:02:13.551-05:00Start-Up Journal: Two Years of JUMP Mag.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We drop our newest issue officially on Tuesday, and that completes two full years of quarterly magazines. I realized that the other day when I looked at the wall outside my office where I hang the covers (above). Looking at the collection, I feel pretty good. We've covered some really fun stuff and each issue has been different (the Moosh & Twist cover is similar to the Chiddy Bang cover, but otherwise, we're solid).<br />
<br />
It seems like a good time to assess what we've done and think about where we're going.<br />
<br />
I'll break things down in four categories: editorial content, business/financial, operations and audience. All are equally important but let's start with what we do ...<br />
<br />
<b>EDITORIAL</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jwBjMbgNpGE/UKlNEim3gWI/AAAAAAAADSc/lRMVbejDzw4/s1600/JUMPwinter2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jwBjMbgNpGE/UKlNEim3gWI/AAAAAAAADSc/lRMVbejDzw4/s200/JUMPwinter2012.jpg" width="156" /></a><a href="http://jumpphilly.com/" target="_blank">JUMP</a> only covers Philadelphia in the mag, and we define Philadelphia as what is within the official city borders. That has generated some tension, as many people have suggested we cover the surrounding suburbs. Even staffers want to cover the 'burbs.<br />
<br />
As recently as last week, I have had to convince people that our mission is to cover the city and the diversity of music that exists here. There is plenty to cover. We can do around 100 to 110 stories per year in the mag. There are thousands more for us to uncover in town.<br />
<br />
When you start covering the 'burbs, it opens up a can of worms - where do you stop covering? West Chester? Lancaster? Harrisburg? Atlantic City?<br />
<br />
We are already way to all-over-the-place with our content in the mag. In the new issue, for instance, we have hip-hoppers on the cover and inside, we have everything from garage punk to R&B and everything in between. The city unifies the content in the magazine, I think. It defines our niche.<br />
<br />
Plus, there are logistical things about covering the suburbs. if we extend our reach, we'd need to distribute out there. That's a pain in the ass considering that distributing means loading up my Toyota and hitting the road. It's difficult enough hitting all the drop spots in the city and immediate areas.<br />
<br />
Part of the reason we cover such a diverse array of music in the city is because my mission for the mag goes well beyond music. I want to promote the city as a place where creative people need to be. There is talent here that I want people to know about, and I want to draw more talent here.<br />
<br />
Have we been successful with our editorial coverage? I don't know. I feel like what we have covered in terms of ideas has been unbelievably awesome. Pick up any issue and Philadelphia looks like an incredible place.<br />
<br />
Have we reached and satisfied our audience? With a print product, it's hard to tell.<br />
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<b>AUDIENCE</b><br />
<br />
We print 10,000 magazines every three months and they disappear pretty quickly after we distribute. When we drop off subsequent issues, I find very few past copies leftover (over the last seven issues, I've honed our distribution so we don't drop stacks at places where there is little traffic). Presumably, people are taking the mags.<br />
<br />
Our online readership is fairly low, on average around 400 hits per day. Some days we spike and top 1,000 per day but that is rare. On weekends, we generally slip below 200 hits per day. The problems with our online stuff generally reside around the fact that we don't post enough (and our website is a crappy Wordpress template). We'll drop one post per day usually, and everyday it's something different - a story about a punk show or an indie rock concert review, followed by a profile of a hip-hop crew or something else. We are too diverse too generate a steady following, I think. The bulk of our hits are via links, not the home page. That's fine for now. We generate around 2,000 to 3,000 hits per week.<br />
<br />
We have a pretty engaged <a href="http://twitter.com/jumpphilly" target="_blank">twitter</a> following and I get dozens of emails every day from folks requesting coverage. I think music people and artists know about us, for sure.<br />
<br />
Whenever we have a new issue, our <a href="http://facebook.com/jumpphilly" target="_blank">facebook</a> activity spikes. Some of this is due to the people we cover generating buzz via their own social networks. But I think it has more to do with the fact that we are producing in bulk again. There is literally something for everyone.<br />
<br />
Some people have suggested we cater to one specific audience (hipsters or hip-hoppers or the indie rock crowd, etc) rather than being so diverse. We will not do that. JUMP will never be a lifestyle magazine. We don't suggest that anything is cool. We simply introduce people to people doing interesting stuff, or interesting places, or anything else folks should know about.<br />
<br />
We are journalists not trendsetters. I want to puke in my hat anytime someone says they are tastemakers because that ultimately means they are trying to sell you something. We are providing information.<br />
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<b>OPERATIONS</b><br />
<br />
I still get questions from people who think that JUMP is a Temple product. With the exception of an advertisement, Temple has no involvement with the magazine. I teach there and my students get involved (in the new issue, students wrote 9 of the 31 stories). But Temple does not finance the magazine nor pay me for my time in working on it.<br />
<br />
Which means we have no money.<br />
<br />
So, we've bootstrapped 8 issues. That is pretty impressive, I think. Without a paid staffers, without any previous experience, without logistical support from anyone, we have delivered nearly 80,000 copies and covered more than 200 stories in print (online, we run around 500 posts per year).<br />
<br />
I've dealt with personal issues this year and that has halted my interaction with staff (and it hindered my ability to sell ads). Ideally, we meet at the beginning of the three month cycle several times. The second month is for content production. The third month is for packaging the book. In theory, this works (and in reality, we've never missed a deadline). But we need more regular engagement with staffers so that they feel ownership on the product. This has to be a team effort.<br />
<br />
I'm hoping to start paying folks with the next issue. During my winter break, I intend to develop a system in which we'll have paid editors and a cadre of freelance writers and photographers. This will increase our costs by about $2,500 but it will also force a layer of professionalism that we currently do not have (partially because I think the chaotic nature is good for a music magazine). I am reluctant to give up editorial control but I intend to so that I can raise the money to keep the mag going.<br />
<br />
<b>BUSINESS</b><br />
<br />
I simply did not have time to sell ads this issue and we fell way short of covering our print run costs. In the previous five issues, we did, so I'm fine with this.<br />
<br />
We had one regular advertiser pull out $2,000 worth just days before publication because they have their own financial difficulties. Two other potential advertisers locked in early and then pulled out at the last minute (one because of hurricane damage and the other because they are assholes). I will never rely upon them as I did with this issue - I had counted on that money and did not push ad sales. In the future, I will continue selling ads until I have enough cash in hand (rather than pledges).<br />
<br />
I think if I had more time, I could sell plenty of ads to print the mag and pay the staffers. Currently, I sell ads when I'm not editing the 500 posts per year or dealing with my 315 students at school. I really have no time to build the relationships needed to generate ad sales. But I've done it for two years, and I'm confident that by relinquishing editing to paid staffers, I'll be able to devote time to selling. I'm not looking forward to it but I'll make it happen.<br />
<br />
I'll need to generate $5,200 for printing and $2,500 for content generation. Basically, I need to sell five more pages of ads per issue. This will happen.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MrGRo5OlGhU/UKlW3b-Mf-I/AAAAAAAADS0/oBW26DGUF6U/s1600/RP12ChillMoody03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MrGRo5OlGhU/UKlW3b-Mf-I/AAAAAAAADS0/oBW26DGUF6U/s400/RP12ChillMoody03.jpg" width="400" /></a><b>OVERALL</b><br />
<br />
I started delivering mags this week. At a few locations, people literally grabbed copies out of my hand. They were excited to see the new issue. I've handed the mags to people who have no idea what the mag is and then I watch them thumb through the edition. I watch them go from skeptical to intrigued to content. It is a wonderful feeling.<br />
<br />
We have our problems - after every issue, people complain about the basic/poor design; writers want to be able to show more attitude; bands complain that they weren't covered; we get things wrong every now and then, etc. I am well aware of our flaws. Some, we will try to remedy. Others are more difficult and require money we do not have.<br />
<br />
In the end, however, I think we have built something special. It is a community project - created by people invested in the music community, about people in the music community, prepared to teach others about the music community. It is a financially sustainable business model and we don't rely upon the gimmicks that most traditional media employ (salacious headlines/stories, using big names on the cover, top ten lists, fake controversies, etc).<br />
<br />
I'm proud of what we have done, especially given our humble beginnings.Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-57374483318384720012012-08-14T17:04:00.000-04:002012-08-14T22:46:07.394-04:00Start-up Journal: Entrepreneurial Journalism Is Exhausting.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There are few things I enjoy more than taking the mound and pitching. I'm a control freak, so it's only fitting that I like to control the tempo of the game. Plus, there is the ultimate responsibility for what happens - hits, walks, runs scored, whatever. It's really not the competition that drives me, either. I don't care if the batter gets a solid hit (getting on base because of errors burns my ass though). It's about things being done properly. I want to see a well-played game.<br />
<br />
I am a responsible person, which is why I never wanted children. I would constantly be worried about their safety and satisfaction with the world. People who are parents tell me that that feeling passes. But if you've ever seen me with my dog, you'd know that doting is not strong enough of a word. I am obsessed with Mookie.<br />
<br />
Which brings me to JUMP.<br />
<br />
The responsibility of running this magazine is killing me. Here is a list of what I do for the magazine:<br />
<br />
Hold meetings and assign stories, art and photo. Edit stories and handle images. Take a lot of photos for every issue. Usually write one story per. Design the 48-page magazine. Proof the magazine at the printer's office in Jersey. Borrow my step-father's pick-up truck so I can pick up 5,000 copies of the magazine. Then do that again (as 5,000 copies weighs about 1,000 pounds, the max the truck will hold). Then deliver all 10,000 copies around the tri-state region, a process that takes about three weeks. Post all stories from every issue online. Post daily stories on the JUMP website, facebook page and twitter. Arrange for access for staffers at shows. Sell advertising (which usually requires me visiting people numerous times before getting an ad for $250). Build ads (I've had to design two ads for the upcoming issue). Promote the magazine by attending events and stuff. Arrange launch parties. Make sure staff, advertisers, story subjects and everyone else is happy.<br />
<br />
I'm exhausted. I'm behind in my work for my real job. I don't earn a penny from the mag; in fact, I lost around $11,000 the first year we ran the mag (it's currently covering printing costs with ad dollars). I haven't seen some of my friends in two years, since we started the magazine.<br />
<br />
Staffers contribute stories, photos and art and sometimes, they are fantastic. But since we don't pay anyone, the quality of work can be sketchy. I've had dozens of people agree to do stories, design, art and/or photos and then I never hear from them again. And some of them are folks I've known for years. They disappear, as though our meetings, discussions and email conversations never occurred. And at the past few meetings, staff attendance has been, well, thin. At the last one, there were two people ... and one was our intern<br />
<br />
This magazine, I believe, is pretty awesome. The stuff we cover and the presentation we give it is something needed, and not otherwise found in Philly.<br />
<br />
If the magazine will reach year three, a few things will need to change:<br />
<br />
1. I'd like to partner with an existing website. That way, we don't have to worry about the everyday stuff and we can focus on our primary task - producing a magazine with long-form, narrative style journalism and large, engaging images. Plus, partnering with an existing website will provide us with a database of ideas for forthcoming issues, and maybe even a labor force. Depending upon who we partner with, it might even help draw an audience and lend credibility.<br />
<br />
2. Rather than have a giant staff of 50+ people, we operate with just the 12 to 15 people who are truly involved. We can have a few others submit work but there needs to be a reliable crew. The challenge here is getting the right 12 or 15 people to buy into the idea, and then keep them around a while.<br />
<br />
3. We need to begin paying contributors. A contract for work will force stories, art and images to be submitted on deadline. We need a layer of professionalism.<br />
<br />
4. We'll need to raise an additional $2000 in advertising per issue in order to pay folks. I think that's doable. It's only four more pages of ads.<br />
<br />
5. I never want to throw another launch party ever again.<br />
<br />
If those things occur, we'll be golden. I don't mind the heavy load I carry. I enjoy this stuff. And someday, someone will come along whom I trust enough to let them share the load.<br />
<br />
The reality is that I think the magazine could actually grow, become a bi-monthly and financially support a staff of two, plus freelancers. That's the dream (if I ever lose my teaching gig). And this model could be replicated with other niches - food, sports, whatever.<br />
<br />
Of course, the other reality is that I may just burn out completely. As much as I like responsibility, I hate being in charge. I hate asking people to do stuff, especially for free. And I hate disappointing anyone.<br />
<br />
We could shut down the mag. That would allow me to join one of those adult baseball leagues and I could pitch twice per week. I might enjoy that.Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-1987396483366437962012-07-05T10:48:00.000-04:002012-07-05T11:26:56.294-04:00Goodbye Ivory Tower.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HESOCw6efhk/T_IQMPaImKI/AAAAAAAADMo/Wqd2GvELHFs/s1600/070212dn.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HESOCw6efhk/T_IQMPaImKI/AAAAAAAADMo/Wqd2GvELHFs/s400/070212dn.jpg" title="journalismgeorge@gmail.com" width="400" /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I once wrote a story about a major event happening
in Philly. The city solicitor, Romy Diaz, held a press conference and
afterward, I interviewed him at length.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The next day in the <a href="http://www.philly.com/" target="_blank">Daily News</a>, my story said that
the interview had been with Nelson Diaz, who had held positions within local
government. I was outraged. Someone (I know exactly who) changed my story
because they assumed I had goofed up the names, which I had not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Romy Diaz's people called and complained, even
suggesting that I needed cultural sensitivity training because clearly, I
thought all Latino men were the same.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Daily News butchered many of my stories and
photos over the years and honestly, I butchered a fair share of my own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There were days when I absolutely hated working at
the Daily News. I punched holes in numerous walls there between 1994 and 2005,
when I was a staff photographer and staff writer. But there were also days when
I couldn't believe that that was actually my job. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And nearly everyday I was there, it was like graduate
studies in journalism (as well as Ph.D research on life in the big city),
especially when I was a photographer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I watched the reporters and listened to how they
interviewed people. I was there when <a href="http://www.pulitzer.org/biography/2010-Investigative-Reporting-Group1" target="_blank">Barbara Laker</a> asked then-governor Mark
Schweiker how he responded to people who accused him of being an empty suit.
That was masterful. I stalked alleged gangsters with Jim Nolan. I watched <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/nweisenseeegan" target="_blank">Nicki Weisensee</a> schmooze cops. I listened as Scott Flander explained how important it
is for journalists to observe everything and make notes because you never know
what may be important as you gather. I watched <a href="http://tedsilary.com/" target="_blank">Ted Silary</a> turn high school
athletes into superstars, mining seemingly everyday kids for interesting
stories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I entered the homes of the richest and poorest
Philadelphians. I met powerful people, actors, musicians and countless other
folks of various ranks in life. I witnessed tragedies and celebrations. </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zAVoUVX3n4s/T_WwFKPuvwI/AAAAAAAADOU/f0vYMaFkt-M/s1600/070212dn03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zAVoUVX3n4s/T_WwFKPuvwI/AAAAAAAADOU/f0vYMaFkt-M/s200/070212dn03.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As a sentimental person, I'm saddened to see the
Inquirer and Daily News vacate their iconic building on Broad Street (above)
for a smaller, shared office space on Market Street. But it's more than
sentimentality at play here. Their move represents something larger, and I'm
not sure the majority of the people in the region realizes or cares about
what's happening.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d_xALp9pWbM/T_WwEeF1U1I/AAAAAAAADOM/xlCEReGQNjQ/s1600/070212dn01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d_xALp9pWbM/T_WwEeF1U1I/AAAAAAAADOM/xlCEReGQNjQ/s200/070212dn01.jpg" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The two papers have shrunk in staff and reach, and
their overall reputations have been diminished - not because of lack of
quality, per se, but because fewer and fewer people read them. And while the
rise of the Internet is fantastic, there remains a massive gap in communication
within society. Things are happening that many people do not/will not know
about - even though they should. Individuals can find information they want at
any time thanks to technology. But what about the information they didn't know
they needed? They may never find that now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Newspapers, while old-fashioned and completely not
interactive, have historically been watchdogs for society and the
shelf-stockers of the marketplace of ideas. If newspapers - and I'm speaking
specifically of the DN and Inky - continue to contract and not connect with the
local constituency, who will monitor power? Who will inform the public about
anything other than death and destruction in the city? Who will help shape the
conversation about Philadelphia and its future?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As a journalism professor, I am saddened that fewer
and fewer of my students will get the experiences I had. Journalism is a
magical profession - my job was (and still is) to learn about people, to
experience their lives, and then tell people about that. With the exception of
having a set schedule, going to work never felt like going to work. It was fun.
Even when I was a reporter covering crime, seeing the impact of the awful
violence, it didn't feel like a job. I felt like a person speaking with another
person, who happened to be in pain. It certainly put my trivial problems into
perspective.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I don't romanticize my time at the Daily News. It
was (and <a href="http://geoslogic.blogspot.com/2012/02/and-now-end-is-near.html" target="_blank">probably still is</a>) a fucked up place. I know reporters who routinely
arrived at work an hour or two late. People left mid-shift to play softball or
golf. Some folks would travel and eat at the most expensive restaurants because
they were on the company dime. The nightside photo guys would watch porn all
night. And when their shift ended, overnight reporter Leon "The Fly"
Taylor would sleep on the photo office couches. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I regularly took long lunches and frequently went
home between assignments rather than go back to the office. It seemed that
everybody at the paper had their little scams they got away with. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The place was alive with colorful characters. I had
some wonderful times there, and the friends I made there will be friends for
life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D7fpRuqBLrQ/T_Wv7pgms0I/AAAAAAAADOE/LqQ_Sd-X0pE/s1600/070212DN2005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D7fpRuqBLrQ/T_Wv7pgms0I/AAAAAAAADOE/LqQ_Sd-X0pE/s200/070212DN2005.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The fact that I got paid so well was a bonus. Then
in December 2005, they gave me more than a year's pay to leave as part of my
buyout package (biggest check I ever received in my life ... so I took a
picture, at right). I can't imagine that happens too often anymore.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I stopped at the Daily News the other day and saw
the boxes packed up and the world of trash everywhere. It was sad. But the
newsroom was also full of staffers doing their work, cranking out the next
day's paper. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That seemed symbolic to me as well. </span></div>Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-11342493626803723602012-04-06T12:32:00.008-04:002012-04-06T13:52:21.475-04:00Journalism & The Law.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KuczpNnbR7o/T38fvK7MiKI/AAAAAAAADLY/ajRU_aB-K3w/s1600/JimmyBinns02.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KuczpNnbR7o/T38fvK7MiKI/AAAAAAAADLY/ajRU_aB-K3w/s400/JimmyBinns02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728332146285512866" /></a>Several people have warned me that I will be sued for defamation by the character I outed on Wednesday <a href="http://geoslogic.blogspot.com/2012/04/there-ought-to-be-law-oh-wait.html">who dresses like a cop, rides a cop-like motorcycle</a> and <a href="http://geoslogic.blogspot.com/2012/02/city-that-loves-you-back-if-you-have.html">displays official police business placards as though he was an actual police officer</a>.<br /><br />Relax, folks. Here is why a defamation lawsuit, which would actually be a libel case, would not hold up in court:<br /><br />First of all, journalists and all people are protected by the <a href="http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org">First Amendment to the United States Constitution</a>, which allows for the freedom of the press, among other valuable rights.<br /><br />The First Amendment, however, is not a license to spout out anything. People being portrayed in the media have rights as well.<br /><br />A person claiming to be defamed in print could sue for <a href="http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/criminal-libel">libel</a>. According to the <a href="http://www.pa-newspaper.org/legal/publications/newspaperhandbook/libel">Pennsylvania Newspaper Association's Handbook</a>: <span style="font-style:italic;">Libel occurs when a false and defamatory statement is published which tends to harm a person's reputation or expose him or her to public hatred, contempt or ridicule.</span><br /><br />Pennsylvania law (<a href="http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/42/42.HTM">42 Pa. C.S.A. § 8343</a>) says that the plaintiff in a libel case has the burden of proving the following:<br /><br /> 1. The defamatory character of the communication (including printed statements).<br /> 2. Its publication by the defendant.<br /> 3. Its application to the plaintiff.<br /> 4. The understanding by the recipient (such as a reader) of its defamatory meaning.<br /> 5. The understanding by the recipient of it as intended to be applied to the plaintiff.<br /> 6. Special harm resulting to the plaintiff because of its publication (such as impairment of reputation and standing in community, personal humiliation, mental anguish and suffering, and any other injury of which libel is legal cause).<br /> 7. Abuse of a conditionally privileged occasion (for example, if a newspaper publishes an article that creates the impression that the plaintiff's actions were worse than what a complaint about the plaintiff implies, Pennsylvania's "fair report" privilege will be forfeited).<br /><br />The judicial procedure continues:<br /><br />In an action for defamation, the defendant has the burden of proving, when the issue is properly raised:<br /><br />1. The truth of the defamatory communication.<br />2. The privileged character of the occasion on which it was published.<br />3. The character of the subject matter of defamatory comment as of public concern.<br /><br />The procedure concludes:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">In all civil actions for libel, no damages shall be recovered unless it is established to the satisfaction of the jury, under the direction of the court as in other cases, that the publication has been maliciously or negligently made, but where malice or negligence appears such damages may be awarded as the jury shall deem proper.</span><br /><br />Simply put, the truth is the ultimate defense in a libel case.<br /><br />So, was my <a href="http://geoslogic.blogspot.com/2012/04/there-ought-to-be-law-oh-wait.html">blog post</a> the truth? Yes.<br /><br />It might be argued that calling the guy a "delusional jackass" was malicious. I would argue that that is the truth, regardless of intent.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GxH4tnwKQmk/T38mYrwZjuI/AAAAAAAADLk/9rVqygAHCIE/s1600/BinnsBike02.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 110px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GxH4tnwKQmk/T38mYrwZjuI/AAAAAAAADLk/9rVqygAHCIE/s200/BinnsBike02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728339456543002338" /></a><a href=""></a>I would argue that the man is delusional - he actually believes he has the rights afforded to a law enforcement officer, including wearing a replica uniform and riding a police-like vehicle that is an exact copy except for the logos (and one of the logos on his motorcycle was actually a Highway Patrol drill team logo). He <a href="http://geoslogic.blogspot.com/2012/02/city-that-loves-you-back-if-you-have.html">parks illegally</a> and throws up a police issued "official business" placard. He thinks he is one of them.<br /><br />Is he a jackass? The guys from the TV show by the same name pull stupid stunts all the time. This guy is pulling stupid stunts (like riding a police-like motorcycle in costume) as well. By common, accepted definition, I'm thinking he's a jackass. Plus, he abuses his connections. That makes him a jackass.<br /><br />Regardless of the truth here, calling him a delusional jackass is a statement of opinion, and opinions are protected by the First Amendment.<br /><br />Any libel suit filed under this circumstance would be deemed frivolous in a court of law. <a href="http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/42/42.HTM">Pennsylvania defines frivolous</a> as "lacking an arguable basis either in law or in fact."<br /><br />It is against the law, <a href="http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/051/chapter25/s25.1.html">according to the Pennsylvania code</a>, to file a frivolous lawsuit. <br /><br />Generally speaking, attorney's fees are not recoverable. But in cases of <a href="www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/98D1232P.pdf">frivolous lawsuits</a>, <a href="http://library.findlaw.com/1997/May/1/127706.html">fees can be recovered</a>.Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-35822434859009484942012-04-04T09:52:00.008-04:002012-04-04T10:37:58.927-04:00There Ought To Be A Law. Oh, Wait ...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gd3DzY1-KZM/T3xS0J3uzvI/AAAAAAAADLM/vO6JECZ2SW0/s1600/040412binns04.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gd3DzY1-KZM/T3xS0J3uzvI/AAAAAAAADLM/vO6JECZ2SW0/s400/040412binns04.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5727543882064776946" /></a>This morning, I ran into <a href="http://geoslogic.blogspot.com/2012/02/city-that-loves-you-back-if-you-have.html">Jimmy Binns</a>, the lawyer/philanthropist, dressed in full police-like uniform and riding a 1450cc Harley Davidson with police markings (though the insignia was not official).<br /><br />I have absolutely no problems with police. And there could be no more worthy cause than the <a href="http://www.herothrillshow.org/">Hero Thrill Show</a>, the fund raiser Binns supports which assists the children of slain officers. But this is out of control.<br /><br />Binns' costume - because, yes, it is a costume, not a uniform - was the exact same as the actual police officer Binns was hanging with at the coffee shop on 4th Street. The only exception was that Binns sported a white shirt, which I believe is usually reserved for police of a higher rank. The motorcycle Binns was riding was the exact same as well, except that in place of a police logo, there was a Hero Thrill Show logo.<br /><br />Isn't this impersonating a police officer?<br /><br />Here is <a href="http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/18/00.049.012.000..HTM">the Pennsylvania law pertaining to the situation</a>:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">§ 4912. Impersonating a public servant.<br /> A person commits a misdemeanor of the second degree if he falsely pretends to hold a position in the public service with intent to induce another to submit to such pretended official authority or otherwise to act in reliance upon that pretense to his prejudice.</span><br /><br />Now, being in fake uniform alone doesn't seem to qualify - unless he starts ordering people around, which he wasn't. But <a href="http://geoslogic.blogspot.com/2012/02/city-that-loves-you-back-if-you-have.html">Binns has abused his connections to police in the past</a>. I've heard from sources that Binns has even shown up at events brandishing a sidearm.<br /><br />As I've said before, this isn't the worst thing happening in the city. But this is clearly a delusional jackass who gets away with stuff because he has money. And that isn't the way the system is supposed to work. <br /><br />Frankly, he devalues the uniform by buying his way into it. And if he had any respect for the officers he purports to appreciate, he would let them do their work without trying to act like he's one of them.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YXvozcp78-M/T3xSt4HxcbI/AAAAAAAADLA/mO0S6zDa0O8/s1600/040412binns01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YXvozcp78-M/T3xSt4HxcbI/AAAAAAAADLA/mO0S6zDa0O8/s400/040412binns01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5727543774221005234" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2lktxZv4s8E/T3xSmd0pPaI/AAAAAAAADK0/fH7aVHNtR34/s1600/040412binns02.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2lktxZv4s8E/T3xSmd0pPaI/AAAAAAAADK0/fH7aVHNtR34/s400/040412binns02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5727543646902369698" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ljsgGy34AzU/T3xSPAweW4I/AAAAAAAADKQ/FYVxlh35k0c/s1600/040412binns03.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ljsgGy34AzU/T3xSPAweW4I/AAAAAAAADKQ/FYVxlh35k0c/s400/040412binns03.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5727543243963259778" /></a>Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-88992867658072566372012-03-28T10:18:00.005-04:002012-03-28T10:44:02.298-04:00If I Ran an Alt Weekly ...<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KmgP-XhjnLw/T3Mhk1g7qcI/AAAAAAAADJ4/tkxppo7SW1Y/s1600/pw.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 173px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KmgP-XhjnLw/T3Mhk1g7qcI/AAAAAAAADJ4/tkxppo7SW1Y/s200/pw.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5724956468042246594" /></a>A few weeks ago, I was asked to come up with a list of things I would do if I were the editor of a local alt weekly. It seemed to me that there are five areas that need consideration:<br /><br />1. An alt weekly needs an identity.<br />2. It needs to justify why it is in print.<br />3. The business-side and the editorial folks need to work together.<br />4. Recognize the strengths and weaknesses of online, and staff accordingly.<br />5. Develop partnerships, as the alt weekly staff alone cannot be comprehensive.<br /><br />When you get right down to it, these are not concepts that are unique to alt weeklies. So, I'm posting my full notes here as I think they apply to all print media and possibly all media in general. (Specific names have been removed).<br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />1. The paper needs an identity.</span></span><br /><br />• Who is the audience? The target audience should be young, educated and cultured people. And the people who wish they were young, educated and cultured.<br />• It might even be wise to focus on a tight geographic coverage area. Because of limited resources (i.e. staff and print space), decisions must be made about what and where gets covered. The paper should focus on city life, appealing to those who live here and those interested in city living.<br />• The paper should champion the city and its citizens. Always.<br />• There needs to be something that draws readers back every week. <br />• I suggest a regular columnist who crafts first-person, Philadelphia narratives that revolve around being a 20-something involved in stuff.<br />• My initial thought is (name removed). He’s intelligent, artistic and connected in the youth culture scenes (dance parties, art shows, squat houses, etc). <br />• This is not a reactionary-type of opinion story. These are scenes from the life of a young Philadelphian.<br />• The writers and top editors need to be in front of people constantly. Deals need to be made with local TV stations so that staff are on air regularly (every week at minimum). <br />• The editor needs to be everywhere, talking to everyone.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">2. You need to justify why the paper is in print.</span></span><br /><br />• This is not a newspaper, and the small staff will never compete in the realm of breaking news. Rather than focusing on breaking news or timely events, the paper should think about ideas, trends and in-depth, long-form reporting. What (or who) is the next big thing? Stories should be well-written, with characters developed and crazy plotlines. There must be scenes and action. <br />• Emphasis on engaging writing. <br />• (name removed)’s column should be every week but shorter (750-words) and less-timely. The writer should be using individuals to tell stories about relevant issues. They do this now at times.<br />• The staff writers should concentrate on cover stories. If you are going to employ or contract writers, you need to get the most out of them. They would be on the hook for one long story (3,000-words) every five weeks, on average. And it’s fine if the columnist's weekly pieces intersect with the longer stories – that is part of the continuum from week to week. <br />• I think the long stories should be three pages, with large images or art. Open with two, facing pages, then go to an ad page (or two), followed by the remainder of the story. <br />• The long stories are not always the cover. Think of this like a weekly magazine. The cover is the best, most intriguing art. Sometimes that will be the longer story. But sometimes the longer story is a think piece that is not especially visual. No need to force this.<br />• The paper should be visually striking.<br />• Theater, music, movies and art should focus on previews, not reviews. Reviews of things that have passed are irrelevant. Negative reviews or previews are also irrelevant. With limited space, focus instead on what people should be doing/ listening to/ seeing/ whatever … not what they should avoid. It is essentially a negative review/ preview when people/ places are ignored.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">3. The business side and the editorial side should work side-by-side, but remain independent.</span></span><br /><br />• There are currently 14 or so pages of editorial content every week. The ratio for ad to editorial is dismal but let’s work within that frame for now.<br />• There needs to be an awareness of juxtaposition. Right now, the paper has massive ad clutter. It looks like a shopper. I would suggest a better blend of ads and content (for instance, make the calendar pull across the double-truck). Design matters.<br />• Local advertisers are absolutely essential. But they will get lost in the clutter. How about this deal: if an advertiser locks into a long-term, multiple issue deal (say 5 issues), they get a larger ad every fifth issue. <br />• The paper needs national ads. Clothing brands. Beer companies. Sneaker makers. While the overall product may not be intended to be a lifestyle magazine, the reality is that the target audience is marketable.<br />• I would move that youth/ city life columnist to page 46, and run it alongside (name removed)'s current column. That way, readers will flow from the arts & entertainments sections through the ads, to the back of the issue.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">4. The Web is a marketing tool, a place for bundled ads and a place for reviews and breaking news.</span></span><br /><br />• There are no ads on the three primary blogs. If you aren’t making money there, don’t waste time generating content (leave it to the interns, as much of it is now). <br />• Start generating money on those blogs.<br />• Review every album that comes in the door, especially from Philly bands. That will draw web traffic.<br />• Re-post band’s YouTube videos constantly. <br />• Make the website an aggregator of content the readership might be interested in. But forget original reporting until there is enough revenue to fund multiple staffers who concentrate primarily on web stuff.<br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5. Partnerships.</span></span><br /><br />• It might be wise to contract or partner with an existing blogger (or two) who can supply content for online.<br />• Maybe the paper's stories can be connected to HuffPo?<br />• There must be a TV partnership. That exposure is invaluable.<br />• It might be good to partner with local colleges. Drexel, for instance, now covers the art scene for the Daily News. And they received foundation money to do the deal.<br />• I think it’s important for people to think of the paper as being a part of the community. That idea must be fostered. And people must feel as though they are part of the process (we should solicit story ideas, hold town hall meetings, invite reader stories and comments, etc).Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-4882517804219684842012-02-27T11:49:00.006-05:002012-02-27T12:49:09.199-05:00And Now, The End is Near.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lnJNZEqfteo/T0u0Cvrpb3I/AAAAAAAADIU/pQ-mjUn1z68/s1600/PlattGawker.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lnJNZEqfteo/T0u0Cvrpb3I/AAAAAAAADIU/pQ-mjUn1z68/s400/PlattGawker.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5713858511501881202" /></a>Larry Platt announced that <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/20120227_Larry_Platt__A_better_way_to_bring_you_the_news.html">the Daily News and Inquirer officially begin sharing content</a> today. Sports, news and other stories/ photos/ graphics/ art you see in one paper may wind up in the other. <br /><br />Of course, this has been happening now for a while. The two newspapers, which are owned by the same company, merged their photo staffs about a year ago. Images you see in the Inquirer have been winding up in the Daily News, and vice versa.<br /><br />From a journalistic standpoint, this is concerning. Competition drives people to work harder, to uncover more and to just plain be more aggressive.<br /><br />From a business standpoint, this is outright stupid. Rather than have two competing papers - serving two differing audiences, with different content and different identities - we now have one news operation trying to serve a geographic region that runs from Atlantic City to Harrisburg, from Trenton to Dover. They can't cover that comprehensively, even with the merged staffs. <br /><br />Thus, the operation will merely offer the facade of documenting the region. Communities will be ignored except when bad stuff happens. Readers will not feel a connection to the papers as they aren't represented in those pages. They'll quit buying them, and maybe opt for a local alternative or nothing at all.<br /><br />Worse, this massively opens the door for the New York Times to sweep in and absorb the rest of the reading public (especially the wealthy and educated) in the region. Good for the Times but who will document the Greater Philadelphia region?<br /><br />Not only is the merging of the Daily News and Inquirer staffs the beginning of the end of the Daily News, it is likely the death knell for both newspapers. <a href="http://geoslogic.blogspot.com/2012/02/hey-philly-i-think-whitney-houston-died.html">They have sufficiently rendered themselves obsolete</a>.<br /><br />And that is so sad.<br /><br />It's not too late! Rather than spiral downward, here are my suggestions:<br /><br />1. Identify your audiences. The Daily News, for instance, was the city paper, speaking to the blue collar workers and interested parties. There is a niche that can be capitalized upon. The proposed direction is far too broad. Figure out who you want to reach and what content they need/ want.<br /><br />2. Make the Inquirer and Daily News massively different, top to bottom. Then, you have two distinct products that you can sell and different markets you can reach.<br /><br />3. Don't put everything from the newspapers online. Only post teasers, breaking news, updates and multimedia stuff. Make people want to buy the papers, especially if that is your primary revenue source. Recognize the strengths of the Internet and use it accordingly (otherwise, why be in print at all?).<br /><br />4. Recognize that journalism matters. Competition isn't "<a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/20120227_Larry_Platt__A_better_way_to_bring_you_the_news.html">needless duplication</a>." Competition is the catalyst behind good reporting, better art, innovation, creativity, etc. Competition should force staff to think, "What can we do differently from the other guys?" Competition should force you to think, "How can the newspaper story be different from the online content?"<br /><br />Frankly, calling it "<a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/20120227_Larry_Platt__A_better_way_to_bring_you_the_news.html">needless duplication</a>" is a cop out. It's hedge fund speak for, "We're eliminating jobs because the profit margins aren't high enough." <br /><br />And the fact that Larry Platt (<a href="http://gawker.com/5736770/testicle+exhibiting-editor-also-liked-to-take-his-pants-off">seen above in images from Gawker</a>) announces these changes as though <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/20120227_Larry_Platt__A_better_way_to_bring_you_the_news.html">he's doing the public a favor</a>? I've lost any respect I ever had for the man.Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-50544606467273731032012-02-13T10:49:00.004-05:002012-02-13T11:09:24.744-05:00Hey Philly, I Think Whitney Houston Died?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vJ7PdwRFhaQ/TzkxR481wdI/AAAAAAAADGs/MsCnEEhcFes/s1600/DNWhitney.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 196px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vJ7PdwRFhaQ/TzkxR481wdI/AAAAAAAADGs/MsCnEEhcFes/s200/DNWhitney.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708648186083918290" /></a>Back in the early 1990s, the Philadelphia Inquirer embarked on a new venture - television news. Their one-hour long 10 pm broadcast featured longer packages that were, in theory, more thoughtful and beyond the reactionary news typical of local newscasts. There would be newspaper reporters working with the broadcast folks to develop this more cerebral news.<br /><br />It didn't work. Fraught with union issues and tensions between the print and broadcast sides, the experiment folded quickly. After a few months of longer stories, the newscast devolved into the typical run-and-gun newscast. They burst through the hour with a load of stories, few with any thought, mostly reacting to events rather than being proactive.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-557gmfTZjfE/Tzk1OpsxX-I/AAAAAAAADHQ/SSmoprFxUiY/s1600/INQwhitney.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 164px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-557gmfTZjfE/Tzk1OpsxX-I/AAAAAAAADHQ/SSmoprFxUiY/s320/INQwhitney.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708652528496893922" /></a>The Inquirer bailed from the project after about a year or so. The newscast continues today but is now fueled by one of the other local newscasts (the local NBC affiliate). The news you find there is nearly exactly the same as you would find on any of the other newscasts. It barely draws an audience.<br /><br />So why does it need to exist?<br /><br />I think of this today, when the covers of all three daily Philadelphia newspapers feature stories and art of Whitney Houston, the Newark, NJ native who died on Saturday in California. She has no connections to Philadelphia, except that she recorded her first album here. Beyond that, she was an international celebrity, meaning you will find news about her everywhere today (not to mention yesterday, and two days ago).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ng2TzRv2pRY/Tzk0KU9oP9I/AAAAAAAADG4/JWGOJyuolJE/s1600/MetroWhitney.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 183px; height: 200px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ng2TzRv2pRY/Tzk0KU9oP9I/AAAAAAAADG4/JWGOJyuolJE/s200/MetroWhitney.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5708651354699349970" /></a>To me, this is a massive waste of resources. People already know Whitney died and that the Grammy's honored her. The Internet spread that information quickly. This is redundancy on the grandest scale. <br /><br />If you are only going to do the same thing that everyone else is doing, you are competing with the world. There is no reason for you to exist, really. If you focus on what you can do that no one else does, however, you create value in your product.<br /><br />Focus on local. Focus on what you can do that is different from everyone else.Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-26988111709182817542012-02-10T10:34:00.005-05:002012-02-10T14:44:15.199-05:00Start-up Journal: A Few Things We've Done Right.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9YKhX-TFS_8/TzU5LOG36iI/AAAAAAAADGI/81bGjatSjmg/s1600/020612VeryHappy01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9YKhX-TFS_8/TzU5LOG36iI/AAAAAAAADGI/81bGjatSjmg/s400/020612VeryHappy01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5707530967690242594" /></a>We're in production with issue five and things are lining up quite nicely. We have some really strong content and financially, we are hitting our goals.<br /><br />This is all a huge relief, as in the past around this time (three weeks before going to press), I've been freaking out. Here's why I'm feeling good now:<br /><br />• We established a partnership with the <a href="http://philadelphia.schoolofrock.com/">School of Rock</a>. They're building a magazine that will run in the inside eight pages of JUMP. This is such a smart partnership - they have a similar mission (music is awesome) and their content is in line with ours (all local and all music). They pay us a modest sum for the space. We get content. They get distribution and a wider audience. <br /><br />We've done other partnerships in the previous issues but the synergy has never quite lined up. I think we finally found a balance where both parties mutually benefit.<br /><br />• Because of what we've done in the previous issues, people want to be in the mag. They want to work with us. The <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2012/01/25/spring-issue-preview-purling-hiss-chiddy-bang-swift-technique-young-werewolves-and-pierre-robert/">spring issue</a> features a cover package with Chiddy Bang. These guys are about to blow up in a HUGE way. Their PR people, who also represent <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/11/16/jill-scott-takes-care-of-philly/">Jill Scott</a>, reached out to us after they saw the Jill cover in November.<br /><br />• In every issue, different people step up and do awesome, massive amounts of work. <a href="http://onlygoodlooks.wordpress.com/">Rick Kauffman</a> photographed everything in the winter 2011/2012 issue and because of his work, that issue popped. <a href="http://colinphotodiary.tumblr.com/">Colin Kerrigan</a> shot both cover stories for the upcoming issue, and he wrote the Chiddy bang story. <br /><br />• I still blow at selling ads but my humble approach seems to be working on folks. Rather than sell people on the notion that advertising with us will help their business explode, I explain our mission. We want musicians to stay or come to Philly, and then thrive here. We want Philly to be known as a music town (rather than a place rife with violence and corruption). Our pro-Philly, "support local music" agenda resonates with people.<br /><br />• I've been meeting with musicians and music industry folks who have all spoken kindly about the magazine. They read it, and then they keep it around.<br /><br />In addition to all of this, we'll begin streamlining the production process with the summer issue. We would have worked the better process into this issue but I've been dealing with a world of crap (<a href="http://geoslogic.blogspot.com/2012/01/theres-only-thing-that-matters.html">sick puppy</a>, <a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_ly8j38mONb1qagr2ko1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ6IHWSU3BX3X7X3Q&Expires=1328976230&Signature=HPTjf5pFG8CrBwbUWkkuK9hl0fs%3D">sprained ankle</a>, <a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_l4do02FBgM1qagr2ko1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJ6IHWSU3BX3X7X3Q&Expires=1328976324&Signature=BheX4LOKELEfwpjqQZchMYAwyjc%3D">root canal</a>, etc). <br /><br />We've developed a sustainable product and it didn't break the bank. There are many other journalism start-ups in the region that are burning through obscene amounts of money (while producing little or nothing) and several that have folded recently. JUMP reaches an engaged audience and covers topics that get scant coverage elsewhere. Our business model has us building upon these successes.<br /><br />Here are our next goals:<br /><br />1. Begin paying staff for content creation in 2012. This is doable if we get a few more advertisers (basically need to sell four more pages per issue).<br />2. Bump to six times per year in 2013. This is only doable if Governor Tom Corbett has his way with the state budget and my job disappears. That's very possible. We could also do six issues per year if I seriously neglected my dog, girlfriend, job and friends. That's not likely to happen though.Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-52604177353646560332012-02-01T10:06:00.005-05:002012-02-01T10:19:33.840-05:00The City That Loves You Back (If You Have Money and Know the Right People).<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NeuVDaGrU_s/TylVFdw6TsI/AAAAAAAADE0/wYR-VQ_eCz8/s1600/JimmyBinns01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NeuVDaGrU_s/TylVFdw6TsI/AAAAAAAADE0/wYR-VQ_eCz8/s400/JimmyBinns01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5704183955418926786" /></a>I DON'T KNOW <a href="http://www.jamesbinns.net/">JIMMY BINNS</a>, the local lawyer who sports pin-striped suits and drives a Jaguar. I know that he gives a ton of money to the local police department (which seems like an odd practice for a lawyer, a potential conflict of interest somewhere, no?).<br /><br />I also know that Jimmy Binns is not a member of the police department. I know that when I saw his vehicle, parked illegally on the sidewalk, in front of my neighbor's garage door, he was not on official duty (he was at a coffee shop with a police sergeant, as he is on many mornings). And despite his honorary police commissioner status the city designated upon him (again, how is this not a conflict of interest?), he is never actually on official police duty.<br /><br />So why is he rocking the "Official Business" placard from the commissioner's office?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g9JO-Qs0unM/TylVAO-FyVI/AAAAAAAADEo/7oIaOTjMoQ8/s1600/JimmyBinns02.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g9JO-Qs0unM/TylVAO-FyVI/AAAAAAAADEo/7oIaOTjMoQ8/s400/JimmyBinns02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5704183865548327250" /></a>This is clearly not the greatest sin in a city with many evils. But it is a clear sign that people with access to power receive special treatment. <br /><br />The fact that this guy donates money and supplies to our police officers (and firefighters) should not allow him the privilege to be an asshole. And that parking job, which is blocking the entrance to an active business, is the move of an asshole. He knows he's in the wrong - that's why he threw his placard up there.Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-52697754447527863912012-01-17T19:00:00.006-05:002012-01-17T19:21:23.967-05:00There's Only One Thing That Matters.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fTFteEtEz40/TxYLuIE5rRI/AAAAAAAADD0/sW01Z3zFlaw/s1600/010112mook.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fTFteEtEz40/TxYLuIE5rRI/AAAAAAAADD0/sW01Z3zFlaw/s400/010112mook.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5698755265553870098" /></a>Today I learned that my dog has early signs of congestive heart failure, and that his health is quickly diminishing. <br /><br />For anyone who knows me, you can only imagine how devastated I am. Mookie is my absolute best friend, my constant companion. The thought of losing him paralyzes me.<br /><br />I always knew he had a shorter lifespan than me, and that someday I'd lose him. But he is only 9-years old. It's too soon.<br /><br />If life is so fragile and unpredictable, why do some people get so angry? Why do people bother with trivial arguments, competing with people, jockeying for money and power? Why do people steal and lie and become greedy? Don't they realize that none of that matters?<br /><br />All I want in life is more time with my best friend.<br /><br />On proper medications, Mook may live several more years. But he could also pass away at any moment - with or without the meds.<br /><br />For now, I will enjoy our time together as much as I can.Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-51345601483367245292012-01-02T23:56:00.018-05:002012-01-03T17:36:41.304-05:00Giving Thanks to Those Who Helped Me.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VIsUHu4WD-g/TwKKjKvAEfI/AAAAAAAADDQ/9S9aW_bDXw8/s1600/CiofaloHarper2006.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VIsUHu4WD-g/TwKKjKvAEfI/AAAAAAAADDQ/9S9aW_bDXw8/s400/CiofaloHarper2006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693265215731274226" border="0" /></a>I hate new year's resolutions, almost as much as I hate end of the year lists. Both are ridiculous (lists are just lazy and resolutions are for the weak). I'm also not a fan of declaring goals for yourself at the start of the new year.<br /><br />Rather, I'm a fan of appreciating everything you have, at all times. And since I've been feeling pretty fortunate about my life lately, I wanted to take a minute to publicly acknowledge a few folks who've gone out of their way to help me with stuff over the years. Without them, I probably wouldn't be sitting so pretty.<br /><br />I'm not talking family - they're supposed to be there for you. I'm talking about folks who believed in me enough to lend their support. Three people come to mind immediately.<br /><br />1. The fellow in the snazzy hat in the above picture was my college journalism professor, <a href="http://ieimedia.com/faculty#ciofalo">Andrew Ciofalo</a>. I was in a few of his classes at Loyola College and I enjoyed his teaching style - hands-off, relying upon experiential learning. Rather than preaching ideas or simply lecturing, he gave us goals and asked us to reach (or surpass) them. He instilled a sense of pride and ownership of the projects that made us want to do a good job.<br /><br />Of course, many people skated through such classes. And a few people accused him of not actually teaching. But for me, it was effective. I didn't know what I could do and he forced us to experiment and push our boundaries.<br /><br />When I was an undergrad, Ciofalo said to me, "If you go to Columbia for grad school, I'll bring you along on this study abroad program I'm planning for Rome."<br /><br />So, naturally, I went to Columbia. A few years after graduating from J-school, I stopped by Ciofalo's office at Loyola. It was the first time I'd seen him in nearly a decade and I reminded him of his promise. He responded, "We just started <a href="http://ieimedia.com/">a summer program in Italy</a> last summer. You should do it with us next summer."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C62u0hFD6g8/TwKOgtsY2DI/AAAAAAAADDc/Lrufei093jU/s1600/Cagli2005.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 132px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C62u0hFD6g8/TwKOgtsY2DI/AAAAAAAADDc/Lrufei093jU/s200/Cagli2005.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693269571622459442" border="0" /></a>And I did. In the summer of 2003, I spent <a href="http://www.loyola.edu/cagliweb/2003/2003.htm">seven weeks teaching photojournalism in Cagli</a> (right), possibly the most charming place on Earth. I returned three more summers (<a href="http://www.incamerano.net/">twice</a> in 2006), and then taught in Ciofalo's program in <a href="http://www.inarmagh.net/2007/">Northern Ireland in 2007</a>.<br /><br />The programs were wonderful experiences - hanging in the piazza, drinking wine with students as we discussed photo ideas and journalism concepts. I bet the students didn't even realize they were learning. It was immersion in the local culture as well as immersion in education. I met so many great people who I still maintain friendships with, students and Italians alike.<br /><br />Ciofalo also hired me as an adjunct at Loyola, starting in 2004. I taught all sorts of writing classes over the next three years. That experience, along with the summer abroad stuff, led me to the job I hold today.<br /><br />I owe Ciofalo big time, and I would do just about anything for the guy (as well as for his ex-wife, <a href="http://www.loyola.edu/academics/writing/faculty/dobler.html">Judy Dobler</a>, who was also one of my favorite and most influential teachers when I was at Loyola).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-56ZPS47DLXk/TwKPnevstpI/AAAAAAAADDo/P0vUP3c358M/s1600/MightyWriters2010.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-56ZPS47DLXk/TwKPnevstpI/AAAAAAAADDo/P0vUP3c358M/s400/MightyWriters2010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5693270787380524690" border="0" /></a>2. I contacted <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/timwhitaker30">Tim Whitaker</a> during the fall of 2005 and told him that I wanted to write for the Philadelphia Weekly. I had not written anything longer than 1,500 words during my time at the Daily News but Tim was totally into it. He started assigning me stuff in January 2006, a few weeks after I took a buyout from the Daily News.<br /><br />He gave me a chance to write long - 3,000 to 5,000 words. It was great. I experimented with style and voice, and Tim (along with editor Sara Kelly) gave me room to breath. I wrote several cover stories that year and more the next. Until Tim's time at PW ended in 2008, I wrote <a href="http://www.mookieland.org/pw2.html">dozens of stories</a> for him, including a column.<br /><br />But it was more than just the freedom that he offered. He invited me to be a part of the process, something that I never experienced during nearly 12 years at the Daily News. He asked me to come speak to the young writers and interns, and he had me sit in on a few staff meetings. He actually valued my input and ideas.<br /><br />When Tim launched <a href="http://www.mightywriters.org/">Mighty Writers</a> (above), a free writing program for Philly kids, during the fall of 2009, I offered my assistance. I taught a workshop that fall. I wasn't good - teaching little kids is way different and much harder than teaching college kids (which, by the way, isn't easy either). But I was invited back the following fall, and later, Tim invited me to be on the <a href="http://www.mightywriters.org/timwhitaker-about-us/advisory-board/">advisory board</a>. They don't ask much of me but they seem to appreciate every little thing I can do for them.<br /><br />3. I don't remember how it came about but <a href="http://www.wilmu.edu/directory/facultybios.aspx?employid=WU11080&department=C6">Susan Gregg</a> invited me to meet with her at Wilmington College back in 2001. Despite my never having taught anything, she invited me to be an adjunct at the university. She gave me a world of leeway, a little bit of advice and then sent me into the classroom. And it was amazing. I loved it from day one.<br /><br />Not all of the students did. I was a rookie and I made some mistakes. But I would sit with Susan and talk about stuff and she guided me to become a better instructor.<br /><br />The basics that I learned from her are really the foundation of my teaching skills. And if she had not given me an opportunity, I might not be a full-time professor today.<br /><br />Speaking of teaching ... I had a few really, really great professors over the years and I've stolen from their teaching styles: <a href="http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2006-10-05/news/0610050082_1_loyola-college-joseph-ross-fine-arts-department">Ed Ross</a> at Loyola, <a href="http://www.journalism.columbia.edu/profile/63-michael-shapiro/10">Michael Shapiro</a> at Columbia, <a href="http://www.peterrockproject.com/">Pete Rock</a> and <a href="http://www.english.upenn.edu/People/ValerieRoss">Valerie Ross</a> at Penn, <a href="http://astro.temple.edu/%7Escbrug/">Seth Bruggeman</a> at Temple.<br /><br />I never took a class with <a href="https://sctportal.temple.edu/sctweb/directory.asp?Detail=38">Tom Eveslage</a> but he asked me a question when I was speaking to one of his classes at Temple and it changed my entire pedagogy: "What is the process you use to determine whether to do the story?" Process? I had never consciously had one. Now I have a process for everything, and I preach them all to my students.<br /><br />I am the person I am largely because of these people. I try to emulate their best traits - when I deal with students, when I write stories or shoot photos, when I see people out and about.<br /><br />Of course there are others: <a href="http://www.mookieland.org/mookie.html">Mookie</a>. The Daily News photo gang. The <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/8th-and-Poplar-Baseball-League/116447694881">8th & Poplar baseballers</a>. My roommates from Loyola. <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/rcc3nc">Russ Campbell</a>. My Uncle Noriyuki (yeah, he's family but I don't see him that often, and there is no one else in the world whose principles I respect more).<br /><br />For these folks, as well as Wendy and the rest of my family, I would do anything. I owe them so much.Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-13621558954979752192011-12-04T23:12:00.014-05:002011-12-05T00:37:59.751-05:00Start-up Journal: Jill Scott is Too Glamorous for Hipsters?<div><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" style="width:400px;height:274px" id="33d59ac2-0953-0ff7-621a-02c7b6a70d46" ><param name="movie" value="http://static.issuu.com/webembed/viewers/style1/v2/IssuuReader.swf?mode=mini&shareMenuEnabled=false&backgroundColor=%23222222&documentId=111108014450-d0ea5ae5c64c4ae7a87c89afeb90e396" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"/><param name="menu" value="false"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"/><embed src="http://static.issuu.com/webembed/viewers/style1/v2/IssuuReader.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" menu="false" wmode="transparent" style="width:400px;height:274px" flashvars="mode=mini&shareMenuEnabled=false&backgroundColor=%23222222&documentId=111108014450-d0ea5ae5c64c4ae7a87c89afeb90e396" /></object><div style="width:400px;text-align:left;"><a href="http://issuu.com/gwmiller3/docs/winter2011jump?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://issuu.com" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://issuu.com/search?q=jill%20scott" target="_blank"></a></div></div>Just realized that I had not posted the <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/winter-2011-2012/">winter 2011/2012 issue</a> of JUMP featuring <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/11/16/jill-scott-takes-care-of-philly/">Jill Scott</a>.<br /><br />Lot's of stuff to talk about with this issue. The most interesting thing, to me, has been the reaction to the Jill Scott cover. The mag moved slowly in whiter, hipster areas - guessing the trendy white kids weren't drawn in by the glamorous looking Philly native in the shiny dress. I flipped the mag after a week or so at a few hipsier joints, fronting the artwork by <a href="http://www.facebook.com/andymolholt">Andy Molholt</a> (below), and the mag flew from drop spots.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2YGZqFqDJhs/TtxHZvSVBfI/AAAAAAAADC0/F2o7Qy1MkII/s1600/AndyMoholt01aSmall.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 311px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2YGZqFqDJhs/TtxHZvSVBfI/AAAAAAAADC0/F2o7Qy1MkII/s400/AndyMoholt01aSmall.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682495337350366706" /></a>That said, I dropped stacks of 50 mags at the FYE at Broad and Chestnut at least five times, each time fronting Jill Scott. On Friday, two days ago, I dropped off another stack at around 4:00 pm. By the time the store opened Sunday morning, there were only three copies left. I've also hit Reading Terminal Market three times with stacks of 50. <br /><br />Not sure what to make of that. The mag clearly has appeal with certain people. I don't know how we capitalize on that - financially or with future <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/find-the-mag/">distribution</a>. My thought is that every issue should always have two covers (rather than selling the back as ad space). That way, we can front the side that is more likely to draw readers at different locations.<br /><br />I can tell you that we will not cover any genre of music with greater emphasis. The goal is to show off the musical talents of the city and our folks are awesome in a <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/winter-2011-2012/">variety of genres</a>. We'll use a cover to draw them in but once inside the mag, they will find a world of awesome stuff (not just their genre).<br /><br />We held three launch events - at Temple University, the Hard Rock Cafe and The Blockley. They were all great fun but I never want to host another event again. I know that events are good for marketing and promotion, and even possibly good for generating revenue, but I am not a promoter. I have no interest in doing that kind of stuff. It's nerve-racking and not worth the stress.<br /><br />We appeared on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/XPN2music">XPN2</a> with John Vettese. We set the playlist for an hour-long broadcast, featuring music we've documented in the magazine. That was cool.<br /><br />I despise <a href="http://www.crismanphoto.com/blog/?p=1739">lists in journalism</a> (first of all, they aren't journalism - they are <a href="http://www.phillymag.com/issues/index.html?year=2011&month=12">pure marketing</a>; second, they are lazy). We will never run a top ten list or anything even close. We will not present awards of any sort. They are meaningless. That said, we are up for city publication of the year in the third annual <a href="http://www.philebrity.com/awards/">Philebrity</a> awards. It's a bullshit, meaningless award but I want to win. As a new publication, we need any validation (and recognition) we can get.<br /><br />We have other cool stuff on the horizon. For instance, we started a partnership with Philly Beer Scene magazine in which we'll do a regular column about beer and music (<a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/12/02/derek-dorsey-the-talent-finder-on-two-wheels/">the first story is in the newest issue of Philly Beer Scene</a>). <br /><br />That relationship was born out of a magazine collective we created with <a href="http://www.phillybeerscene.com">Philly Beer Scene</a>, <a href="http://www.gridphilly.com/">Grid</a>, <a href="http://www.origivation.com">Origivation</a>, <a href="http://motivosmag.com/">Motivos</a> and <a href="http://www.twoonefivemagazine.com/">two.one.five</a> (if they ever print again). Not sure how the collective will work together but we're thinking there are commonalities with advertising, printing, content-creation, distribution and other back-end services. <br /><br />This is very exciting to me as I really enjoy the people in this collective. They are bright and innovative - recognizing that print isn't dying. It's big media that is in trouble. We have all created publications that are primarily print and loved by their respective audiences (JUMP may not be beloved yet but when people see the mag, they become <a href="http://www.facebook.com/jumpphilly">instant fans</a>). Innovation doesn't always mean digital. Innovation is recognizing niches that can be served and building business models that can be sustainable (and profitable).<br /><br />Other interesting JUMP stuff: got a few more major advertisers and I have been talking with another music organization about running their publication as an insert in JUMP. Things are lining up nicely for 2012.Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-89010034225001620022011-11-05T11:32:00.006-04:002011-11-05T12:32:47.705-04:00Start-up Journal: JUMP Year in Review.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ctj2fJV6TVs/TrVXK7oQwtI/AAAAAAAADAc/YNJr3fkL20Y/s1600/102811lushlife.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ctj2fJV6TVs/TrVXK7oQwtI/AAAAAAAADAc/YNJr3fkL20Y/s400/102811lushlife.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671535151059878610" /></a>I'm the guy in the front row at concerts, usually with a big, stupid grin and bouncing up and down. I love to see talented people performing. I think it's part jealousy - I wish I was up on stage, and part admiration. <br /><br />One of the greatest things about running <a href="http://jumpphilly.com">this magazine</a> is that it is an excuse to go out, have fun and listen to live music. Not that I needed an excuse but my life is pretty jammed and it can be exhausting. Given the option, I will fall asleep on the couch. But now that I <span style="font-style:italic;">have</span> to attend concerts, I throw down some espresso and hit the town. It's pretty awesome.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U9khAO2MpNI/TrVXRKAOHQI/AAAAAAAADAo/K7g59iVCqd8/s1600/Winter2011CoverSmall.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 246px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U9khAO2MpNI/TrVXRKAOHQI/AAAAAAAADAo/K7g59iVCqd8/s320/Winter2011CoverSmall.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5671535257997679874" /></a>Speaking of awesome, I have to say that our latest issue (issue #4), which officially hits the streets on 11/11/11 (though I pick them up from the printer on Monday), is probably the most awesome pop culture, truly Philadelphia magazine in many years. It looks good, it reads well and it covers so much diverse information that it is almost overwhelming. <br /><br />In this issue, we have Jill Scott, but the story doesn't hinge on her music. Rather, we talk about her dedication to Philly via her foundation. She provides scholarships and training to young people from her neighborhood who otherwise might not have the means nor ambition to do positive things in their lives. She gives them hope.<br /><br />We have stories about the Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus, an opera-singing pizza maker, artists who make music posters, hard rock bands, dubstep DJs, hoop dancing, politics, education and so much more. <br /><br />After printing four issues, I've discovered a few things:<br /><br />• This is a doable project. Even with my regular, full-time job (I'm teaching around 350 students this semester), I can do this magazine on the side. It eats my life but it is doable. For the month of October, while I was editing and doing layout, I worked on the magazine non-stop from Thursday evening until Sunday evening. I did not sleep. I did not party. I quit playing baseball (that sucked). I ignored my friends. But we got the mag done.<br />• If I had more time, I could sell more ads and make the mag financially sustainable very easily. There is interest in the product and loyalty from the readership. Our ads are cheap enough that businesses can afford to advertise. <br />• For this issue, we nearly covered our costs - though that includes a credit from the printer because they goofed up the printing in the previous issue. With winter break coming up soon, I will dedicate four weeks to getting advertisers. I'm feeling pretty good about it.<br />• Selling ads blows. I take every rejection personally, and there is a lot of rejection. I can't even tell you how many people have blown me off over the last ten months. There are so many more people on my permanent shit list than ever imaginable.<br /><br />• There is a pattern to production. Story deadline passes and I have few story submissions. Then I freak out and think about shutting down the mag. A few weeks later, I have more than enough content to fill the mag, and I feel like king of the world. This has happened with every issue.<br />• This is my fault. I am an easy going guy so I don't yell at people when they miss deadlines. I coddle people too much. Now that we have a good core staff and a ton of people interested in contributing, the bullshit is over. You miss deadline and you will never, ever contribute to the mag. There is no reason I should have to stress about that.<br /><br />• I love the magazine and everything in it. It is far more than just music. We use music as an excuse to talk about Philadelphia. When you read the mag, you experience the city, and you see way more than you would ever find in other regional publications. That's not a slam on them. It's a product of our lack of advertising, abundance of content and my determination to be diverse. <br /><br />The mag will continue to exist and that's pretty amazing. People like the product - it's print and real, as opposed to the ephemeral nature of the Internet. Our costs are minimal, so the money situation is not out of reach.<br /><br />Plus, I like attending shows. Being an adult can suck - the realities of work and bills and bullshit obligations can be a real downer. It would be very easy to sit around watching Netflix all day. Instead, I go out all the time (except during production months) and have fun, experiencing so much. <br /><br />Here are some of my favorite things I've gotten to do because of the magazine:<br /><br />• Interviewed <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/06/03/mayor-michael-nutter-i-could-make-a-party-happen/">Mayor Nutter</a>.<br />• Hung out with <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/03/10/cover-story-the-evolution-of-the-philly-freezer/">Freeway</a>.<br />• Saw a ton of bands at the <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/tag/philly-fm-fest/">Philly FM Fest</a>.<br />• Spent 12 hours at <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/06/06/loads-of-stars-but-the-roots-stole-the-show/">The Roots Picnic</a>.<br /><br />I've spent so much time with bands and artists away from the stage, learning about them and their inspirations. I've had the pleasure of learning about talented people who are passionate enough to push onward despite the chances of making a bigtime career out of music being slim. <br /><br />Running the magazine has been <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/09/05/four-words-of-advice/">a real treat</a> and I look forward to next year.Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-64688176327911460152011-09-17T10:27:00.007-04:002011-09-17T13:36:10.302-04:00Start-up Journal: Where Do Hits Come From?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BV3cyv9ZY28/TnSufPtXQjI/AAAAAAAAC7k/NsB2yewFOLA/s1600/JUMPheader.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 95px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BV3cyv9ZY28/TnSufPtXQjI/AAAAAAAAC7k/NsB2yewFOLA/s400/JUMPheader.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653335284072792626" /></a>I attended an event at WHYY the other day where they discussed their new operation, <a href="http://newsworks.org/">Newsworks</a>. It's a collaborative effort that brings together around 20 different regional journalistic outlets under one umbrella.<br /><br />Over the first year of operation, they say they've had many successes and failures. The one thing that stood out to me most was that only 13 percent of their audience found content on Newsworks by going through the home page. The rest of the hits came from people who were led to the site via facebook, twitter, search engines and other links.<br /><br />I just went through our numbers from <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/">JUMP</a>. Since the March launch, we have 34,586 total hits. Only 10,655 went through the home page. That means the actual website draws only about 31 percent of the audience. We've had 7,767 hits (22 percent of our total hits) through <a href="http://www.facebook.com/jumpphilly">facebook</a>. Our <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/jumpphilly">twitter</a> hits are only at 973.<br /><br />What are the ramifications of this?<br /><br />• Well, it makes me realize that I probably don't need to worry about updating the website every day. Two-thirds of our audience aren't even seeing the home page. <br />• This makes me think that I should be taking advantage of all our online content, not just the newest stuff. I should post and re-post all the old stories all over the place (especially on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/jumpphilly">facebook</a>), as the website really is just a marketing tool for the print magazine.<br />• <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/jumpphilly">Twitter</a> blows as an audience generator. It's fine for getting our name out there, so we'll continue with it. But <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/jumpphilly">twitter</a> followers don't seem that interested in info beyond 140 characters.<br /><br />• Most importantly, all of this makes me realize that the web is not a content-generator friendly medium. It is fantastic for users - they can find whatever info they want, whenever they want. But the content-producers are working in a void (and not making money online).<br /><br />• This reaffirms my commitment to print. The Internet, I think, actually devalues content by nature of requiring so much of it. Print is permanent (or at least lasting) and therefore valuable.Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-57739761341373390142011-09-16T17:10:00.009-04:002011-09-16T18:16:43.389-04:00Start-up Journal: The Mission of Journalists.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-akmzAlgusjk/TnO9PLK-pEI/AAAAAAAAC7U/JTDWjuVkvNQ/s1600/fastfood1small.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 276px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-akmzAlgusjk/TnO9PLK-pEI/AAAAAAAAC7U/JTDWjuVkvNQ/s320/fastfood1small.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653070025674630210" /></a>When buyouts were announced by the company that owns the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, <a href="http://www.citypaper.net/news/2011-09-15-a-million-stories-2.html">a City Paper reporter contacted me for insight</a>. This is what I told him:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">This scares the shit out of me. Losing more journalists hurts the city. Really. As more and more reporters disappear, less and less gets covered. That means the bulk of journalists in the city wind up reacting to events like fires, murders and other tragedies.<br /><br />That means the reputation of the city, which is very much influenced by the news media, will be as a place where people get killed on the streets constantly, our sports fans are disgusting people who barf on little kids and our politicians are all corrupt. Some of that is true but there is so much more in Philadelphia that 95 percent of the viewing/ listening/ reading audiences will never know about.<br /><br />Fewer and fewer journalists have the time to go in depth into stories, or even be proactive about stuff. We don't have a lot of professional reporters roaming the streets, learning about folks in neighborhoods.<br /><br />There are people here in Philadelphia doing amazing things, who never get any coverage because there aren't enough reporters with audiences finding those people.<br /><br />The Internet has been great for developing grassroots info systems. But those operations reach small audiences, and they are usually under-funded. They can only do so much.<br /><br />Our large, mainstream media rely upon celebrities, tragedies/ controversies and sports to draw audiences. And it's only going to get worse now.<br /></span><br />He wrote back and asked about the future of the local media landscape. I said:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The two newspapers are at the bone now. They've been losing staff for a long time (I took the buyout from the DN in December 2005). Their ability to be anything near comprehensive has been compromised for more than a decade. Probably a lot longer.<br /><br />Regional newspapers are in tough spots. They try to speak in a familiar voice to a wide range of people - from the Jersey shore to the western suburbs, in the Inquirer's case. But the Inquirer can't cover that much range in a satisfactory way.<br /><br />So there is a disconnect between the audience and the journalists.<br /><br />These days, people want information that directly impacts them.<br /><br />The future of the local media landscape? Honestly, I think the Inquirer and DN will continue to drop in circulation and ad revenue. I think local TV will continue with coverage of reactionary stuff, with emphasis on sports, crime and weather (ugh). And audiences will continue to drift away.<br /><br />They'll find info online, or in random publications. But they'll have to seek it on their own. And that means many people will never learn about important issues that could have a direct impact on their lives.<br /><a href="http://sct.temple.edu/blogs/news-events/2011/03/sct-to-promote-public-affairs-journalism-with-support-of-william-penn-foundation/"><br />The William Penn/ Temple deal</a> is tasked with helping journalists dig for that "important" journalism. I'm not involved with the process anymore but think about it - they first threw out their intentions with the program nearly two years ago. They could do great things with all that money but it could take a year before that operation is functional. Probably more.<br /></span><br />He then asked whether the Daily News (where I worked for nearly 12 years; the image above was my last front page story for the paper, I think) was in better shape than the Inquirer. I said:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">I think the DN covers a more specific region and has a more loyal readership (largely because of their sports coverage). I think that leaves the DN in better shape than the Inky.<br /><br />When Amanda Bennett arrived at the Inquirer a while back, she said that she wanted to make the Inquirer the best regional newspaper in the country. She said she wanted the paper to back off national and international stories in favor of covering local stuff, developing news that people couldn't find anywhere else.<br /><br />But the Inquirer was only a decade removed from their Pulitzer era, and conceding stuff to the wire services felt like defeat.<br /><br />The future of journalism, for better or worse, is small and personal to the audience. There will always be a handful of national/ international operations - the NYTimes, Wash Post, etc. The Internet will continue to fragment audiences. And local newspapers, like the Inquirer, will need to figure out what their niche is in this demassified world. </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bz7I_DiibQc/TnPAD-dR3uI/AAAAAAAAC7c/rKkJMkzskWw/s1600/JUMPcoverFall2011small.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 246px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bz7I_DiibQc/TnPAD-dR3uI/AAAAAAAAC7c/rKkJMkzskWw/s320/JUMPcoverFall2011small.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5653073131818049250" /></a>This all connects to our <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/">magazine efforts</a>, I think. We are building a financially sustainable journalistic product, one that informs as well as entertains. We are flashy enough to get attention but deep enough to be smart advocates for the city. <br /><br />Even when we begin paying staff next year (fingers crossed), we won't be muckrakers. We don't have the time nor inclination to do that kind of work. Rather than document corporate or governmental malfeasance, we're doing a public service by highlighting local talent. We're trying to change the reputation of this great place: rather than make people think the city is a shithole where people are raped, killed and robbed constantly, we are showing that there is hope and talent in the city.<br /><br />I'm not saying we are the future of journalism. But we are a part of it. Our mission is noble, our business is responsible and our product is solid.Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-38461866316716991952011-09-14T22:17:00.009-04:002011-09-14T23:55:04.418-04:00Start-up Journal: Follow Your Passion.<div><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" style="width:420px;height:274px" id="2ce303c3-df24-4668-8ad5-4e6303b4976a" ><param name="movie" value="http://static.issuu.com/webembed/viewers/style1/v2/IssuuReader.swf?mode=mini&backgroundColor=%23222222&documentId=110830233121-e7928c1b40fb40e9bb870535079437eb" /><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"/><param name="menu" value="false"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"/><embed src="http://static.issuu.com/webembed/viewers/style1/v2/IssuuReader.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" menu="false" wmode="transparent" style="width:420px;height:274px" flashvars="mode=mini&backgroundColor=%23222222&documentId=110830233121-e7928c1b40fb40e9bb870535079437eb" /></object><div style="width:400px;text-align:left;"><a href="http://issuu.com/gwmiller3/docs/fall2011jump?mode=window" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://issuu.com" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://issuu.com/search?q=jump" target="_blank"></a></div></div>The <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/fall-2011/">latest issue of JUMP</a> hit the <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/find-the-mag/">streets</a> last week and I think we have made a world of progress. The design is cleaner and more interesting, the stories are tighter and more random, and we have reader service stuff that makes the mag valuable.<br /><br />In my publisher's note, I suggested everyone "<a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/09/05/four-words-of-advice/">start a fucking band</a>." Since we started the magazine, I've had numerous people tell me they were in bands during high school or college. And now, they have crappy jobs. In an era when money is tight, jobs are scarce and Philadelphia has few jobs where people actually produce anything, the arts, I think, may be the only hope for the future of the city.<br /><br />That sounds awful but it's meant to be a positive. We have an awesome and burgeoning music scene. Rather than be known as a place with high crime or political corruption or crappy schools or shitty sports fans, we should be known as a music town.<br /><br />My young friend <a href="http://rhythmandmelody.wordpress.com/2011/09/03/no-better-time/">Kevin Brosky took issue with my suggestion</a> that everyone start a band. He says that I make it sound so easy, when it's really not. Of course, he is right. But I can't help wonder whether he was troubled by my suggestion because he knows that he's working a job that isn't where his passion rests.<br /><br />I hope I pissed off a lot of people in a similar fashion. I want people to recognize that as the country deepens into the financial shithole we're digging, we really should be retreating to what makes us most happy (for me, it's <a href="http://gwmiller3.tumblr.com/search/baseball">baseball</a>, <a href="http://gwmiller3.tumblr.com/search/mookie">Mookie</a> and <a href="http://jumpphilly.com">music</a>). Quit focusing on the miserable stuff you have to do to pay the bills. Focus your energy on your passions.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IpKopXgwOrM/TnFpGf9bF9I/AAAAAAAAC7M/_181cJglwRM/s1600/Drum01small.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IpKopXgwOrM/TnFpGf9bF9I/AAAAAAAAC7M/_181cJglwRM/s400/Drum01small.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652414567705941970" /></a>Anyway ... here are a few things I learned during the production of this issue:<br /><br />• Selling ads during the summer is dreadful. When businesses are slow, the last thing anyone wants to talk about is spending money (even while they know that they want to be a part of the fall issue, as it will reach a large audience).<br />• I need to sell ads for multiple issues well before summer.<br />• Free labor is unreliable labor. We had a lot of stories fall through for this issue and many of them were for random reasons. We need to get to the point when people are paid for their work. I'm hoping to begin paying for content creation starting in 2012.<br /><br />• When people look through the magazine, they are impressed. But we still have a branding issue. Some people still don't know what we are. <br />• We are getting there, though. Today I spoke to a club owner who, eight months ago, told me that he wouldn't advertise in print anymore. But today, he said he liked the mag (he didn't say he'd advertise but I think it's coming).<br />• I've spoken about the mag at various events and afterward, I'm flooded by people interested in the project. Clearly, we are tapping into something.<br /><br />• I'm unbelievably proud of the product we've created. Our content in this issue ranges from stories about <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/09/01/toy-soldiers-ron-gallo-and-the-texas-tornado-match/">popular bands</a> to <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/09/03/banging-drums-and-dancing-around-a-bonfire-in-the-heart-of-philly/">urban bonfires</a>, from <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/09/02/the-sound-and-the-fury-the-legacy-of-black-radio-in-philadelphia/">black radio</a> to <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/08/31/josh-landow-radio-survivor-and-champion/">Internet radio</a>, from <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/09/05/the-r6-cypher-the-hip-hop-revolution/">hip hop</a> and <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/08/29/the-mystery-of-bella-vistas-little-bar/">jazz</a> to <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/09/04/upenn-glee-club-the-brotherhood-of-song-and-dance/">choral music</a> and <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/09/02/world-class-music-in-intimate-settings-for-cheap/">chamber music</a>.<br />• Our web hits have been going crazy. Even on days we don't post, we get 300 or 400 hits. That seems to be people reading the recent issue's content (most likely directed to us via facebook).<br />• The cover story about <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/09/02/meet-patty-crash-the-pop-star/">Patty Crash</a> has received the most hits. Number two was a surprise: a story about <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/09/04/upenn-glee-club-the-brotherhood-of-song-and-dance/">the 150th anniversary of the University of Pennsylvania Glee Club</a>.<br />• We wrote about <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/06/03/payback-time-joe-hardcore-is-making-up-for-years-of-being-an-asshole/">Joe Hardcore</a> in the summer issue. When his annual hardcore festival happened in August, the page hits skyrocketed (679 hits on that story on one day alone). It's the most viewed story on the website. I'm not sure how to capitalize on that.<br /><br />There are days when I don't want to do the magazine anymore. The work is labor intensive. Editing stories eats my life. Doing design is fun but a challenge. Selling ads is awful. Distributing magazines takes forever. And I'm never sure how the magazine is being received.<br /><br />But the rewards are awesome. Last night, for instance, I ran into a kid who said, "Oh, you're the JUMP guy?" Then he told me how much he loved the latest issue. I went to <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/09/13/hello-milkboy/">the opening of a new music venue</a> the other day and people knew the mag, and they liked it. I've hand-delivered mags to advertisers and they are pleased.<br /><br />What makes me most happy is that we are covering stuff that no one else does. We are educating the region on the awesomeness of the Philly music scene. And we are doing it without selling our souls (no sponsored stories, no concessions to advertisers, etc). <br /><br />We are still short of our financial goals. For this issue, I put in around $1,500 of my own money into the project (plus countless hours). But I look at this as my contribution to the local arts scene. I have no musical talents. But I can organize a crew and put together a magazine.<br /><br />I'm not starting a band (not now, at least). But I'll write about you if you do. <br /><br />This is my passion, my distraction from the bullshit of the world.Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-35107060866539299482011-08-01T14:38:00.006-04:002011-08-01T16:21:10.066-04:00Start-up Journal: A Big F-You to You Know Who.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6CvqoKAGehQ/Tjby16otP9I/AAAAAAAAC6k/ENcF45hYCm4/s1600/CrowdtUnEyArds02small.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6CvqoKAGehQ/Tjby16otP9I/AAAAAAAAC6k/ENcF45hYCm4/s400/CrowdtUnEyArds02small.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635958991787737042" /></a>I spent all day yesterday roaming the streets of my neighborhood <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/08/01/tune-yards-black-landlord-and-more-the-2nd-street-festival/">listening to some really awesome live music</a>. It was so much fun and, frankly, invigorating. I needed yesterday.<br /><br />The challenges of running this magazine are plentiful, and last week was a tough one. I had writers disappear on me and a few potential advertisers said, "No thank you." Financially, we're nowhere near where we should be and that is a little frightening. <br /><br />The long-term business strategy for the magazine has us relying upon smaller local businesses to advertise in the magazine. The smaller outlets don't have budgets to advertise in legacy media places like the Inquirer or the local TV stations, so consumers instead run to the crappy national chains who do have ad budgets. The smaller businesses then continue to struggle, teetering on the brink of a downward spiral.<br /><br />We hit the targeted audiences of the smaller operations so, in theory, their ad dollars are well-placed with us. By <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/advertise/">advertising in JUMP</a>, they get much needed promotion, we get to publish our magazine and Philly gets a world of information about the awesomeness of Philly music.<br /><br />The problem is that the smaller businesses are running tight ships these days because of the crappy economy. They don't have the cash to spare.<br /><br />So, in the short-run, I've been trying to hit up some of the larger businesses in the region. It's tough even finding the right people to hit up at those places. My emails have gone unanswered. My phone calls are not returned. <br /><br />JUMP is not a <a href="http://www.phillymag.com/">lifestyle magazine</a>, so I have no problems with not running a lot of ads. I don't want people to shell out money for crap they don't need. That's not our goal.<br /><br />We are a community-building project. <br /><br />The goal is for the spiral to go upward: we write about bands and places, the bands and places succeed, the city gets a better reputation, people stay in the city and support the scene, the schools get better, political corruption ends, my garden bursts with ripened tomatoes and everyone is happy.<br /><br />That's only a slight exaggeration.<br /><br />One friend continuously tells me that print is pointless in the modern world. To me, that's short-sighted. In the future (as well as now), all the platforms will co-exist. The Internet is great but it's strengths are immediacy and interaction with the audience. There is a lack of depth to the majority of what goes online, no storytelling and no context (of course, context exists online but the public must find that themselves). And few places online are seen as credible.<br /><br />By saying that the future is online only, it sounds, to me, like you assume everyone is stupid with a short attention span. If they aren't stupid already, the lack of information provided to them will ensure they are stupid in the future.<br /><br />Print has a purpose: it's attractive and in-depth, as well as long lasting. It will continue to exist despite the constant scare from big media who could save a ton of money by cutting printing costs (even though all newspapers and magazines generate the bulk of their revenue through print ad sales).<br /> <br /><iframe width="400" height="330" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VEgu7jdc_fs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />I never, ever wanted to sell anything to anyone so I am the worst ad salesman you could ever possibly imagine. Running an ad-free magazine would be so awesome, I think, a big, rigid middle finger in the face of the corporate world. But we really need the cash.<br /><br />The last time I posted about the financial end of the business, a local promoter told me he'd run an ad in the mag. He never advertises anywhere but he said he liked what we represented. We talked a few times and then he disappeared. Despite repeated emails, texts and phone calls, I never heard from him again.<br /><br />And this is a guy I'm pretty friendly with. Even he won't return my messages. That's how awful selling ads really is.<br /><br />I applied for a Knight Arts Journalism grant. So keep your fingers crossed. The $20,000 grant would fund the magazine for 2012.<br /><br />For now, I'll continue to do this on my own dime and my own time as long as there is interest in the project. I can think of no better way to say fuck you to all the naysayers than to do it without them.<br /><br />The fall issue hits the streets on September 2nd.Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-40898662473387400812011-07-08T00:27:00.004-04:002011-07-08T11:01:18.555-04:00Start-up Journal: Of Inspiration and Frugality.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_MtZkomX8Mg/ThaHtWvikYI/AAAAAAAAC6c/_1qGy5pAHUw/s1600/ShopClassAsSoulcraft.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 209px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_MtZkomX8Mg/ThaHtWvikYI/AAAAAAAAC6c/_1qGy5pAHUw/s320/ShopClassAsSoulcraft.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626833997714854274" /></a>As a professor of journalism, it's hard to quantify success. <br /><br />The work of one day - a lecture or homework assignment or in-class exercise - is but a drop in the bucket of a student's life. What I lecture about, I know, often goes unheard or misunderstood or worse: ignored. Some students, of course, eat up every word. The reality is that I rarely know who absorbs what (or doesn't).<br /><br />When I worked for the newspaper, there was an immediate sense of gratification after working hard on a story: the next day or so, it was in print for thousands of people to see. <br /><br />In a philosophical way, I could question the purpose of what I was doing at the newspaper and at a base level, I could question whether people read and were influenced by my work. But you could not debate the fact that a product was created and it existed in the public realm.<br /><br />I thought of this as I read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Class-Soulcraft-Inquiry-Value/dp/1594202230">Shop Class As Soulcraft</a> by Matthew Crawford. Crawford earned a doctorate and landed a high paying job in a think tank but eschewed it all (sort of) for a life as <a href="http://shockoemoto.com/">a motorcycle mechanic</a>. And he couldn't be happier (or so it seems).<br /><br />His book is a call for people to get their hands dirty. We tend to get caught up in abstract, man-made concepts designed by corporations to keep people in line. Office workers stress over stuff that has little impact upon anything. We've created a consumer culture that creates jobs to keep the consumer culture spinning.<br /><br />Crawford preaches independence in the forms of manual labor and frugality. He even cites Benjamin Franklin, the king of the penny-pinchers. And Crawford urges people to learn by doing.<br /><br />That's why I love journalism. I get to learn while doing. And then I get to tell people about it. <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/02/04/can-you-experience-philly-music-we-did-for-31-straight-days-we-dare-you-to-try-it/">Go to the concert</a>? Yup. <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/03/10/cover-story-the-evolution-of-the-philly-freezer/">Hang with the band</a>? That's my job. <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/2011/06/03/mayor-michael-nutter-i-could-make-a-party-happen/">Sit down with people and talk about arts and culture in Philadelphia, and how we can make this city a better place</a>? Yeah ... life is good.<br /><br />Being a journalist is being an educator. As a modern journalist and an entrepreneur, I have to also think about the business end of things. I refuse, however, to let the magazine simply turn into a marketing tool. And we are not party-planners. We are an <a href="http://jumpphilly.com/about/">altruistic journalistic operation</a> with modest financial goals and astronomical goals for benefiting society.<br /><br />We aren't repairing motorcycle engines but we create a product that informs and entertains people. You can hold our product in your hands, savor it and own it.<br /><br />I had a long, difficult school year. I got bogged down in ugly office politics and got caught up in other bullshit. This school year, I also dealt with an amazing amount of apathy from students. All of that has made me wonder whether teaching is the right job for me.<br /><br />Now, all I want to do is run the magazine. Maybe one of these days ...Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4250499760782650154.post-78211507526728441712011-06-20T01:14:00.006-04:002011-06-20T01:33:50.421-04:00Two Grandfathers (One Me).<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hqRMbhfXVKI/Tf7XXIWwWbI/AAAAAAAAC54/YzbDa-q7kHY/s1600/okamoto3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 295px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hqRMbhfXVKI/Tf7XXIWwWbI/AAAAAAAAC54/YzbDa-q7kHY/s400/okamoto3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620166177384847794" /></a>I never knew my mother's father (above, 2nd from the right). He passed away before I was born. And most of the stories I grew up hearing about him turned out to be false. <br /><br />But he did lose an eye while fighting for Japan during World War II. He was stationed in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Corregidor">the Philippines</a>, ironically where my father's father (below) was fighting ... for America. They might have been shooting at each other.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VRJIxEoWllw/Tf7ZEpTs4ZI/AAAAAAAAC6A/8PPvdz3TnS8/s1600/IMG_0298.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VRJIxEoWllw/Tf7ZEpTs4ZI/AAAAAAAAC6A/8PPvdz3TnS8/s400/IMG_0298.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620168058836148626" /></a>I came real close to not existing.<br /><br />Then again, because of World War II, the United States put <a href="http://www.cnic.navy.mil/Sasebo/index.htm">American military bases</a> all over Japan. My parents met because my father served in the Navy in my mother's <a href="http://www.sasebo99.com/english/sasebo_info/index.html">hometown</a>.<br /><br />No matter how you look at it, I'm lucky I'm here.Geohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931847026373746798noreply@blogger.com0