In a review of Mark McGurl’s book “The Program Era: Postwar Fiction and the Rise of Creative Writing,” N+1’s Chad Harbach offers a clever, tangential attack on MFA culture. His basic premise is this: there are two distinct literary cultures in America: MFA vs. NYC. And NYC is better. There were 79 degree-granting programs in […]
Read This Before Applying to A Creative Writing Program Read More »
The New Yorker’s George Packer breaks down how he handles reporting his prize-winning stories: Don’t go in cold — research, learn the history of the subject or place Find a guide to show you around — get a local to introduce you. Ask your interviewees who else you should talk to Go in with a
A Basic Guide to Reporting Anything Read More »
Ann Patchett has a piece in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com), suggesting that writers living large on Conde Nast’s expense accounts may have hastened the end of Gourmet magazine. Using herself as an example, she describes the lavish trips and posh resorts she experienced courtesy of Gourmet. Did Gourmet’s writers’ extravagance tip Gourmet over the
Did Expense-Account Journalism Kill Magazines? Read More »
After a huge dip, online advertising seems to trending up again — at least in the last quarter. A bit of good news. From the Internet Advertising Bureau, IAB.net via MediaMemo, Wall Street Journal, All Things Digital
Online Ad Revenues Rising Again Read More »
If you are searching for a model of how to integrate social media and content — Twitter, Facebook and websites, Guy Kawasaki deserves some attention. Guy (actually a blogger who works for Guy, named Catherine Faas), serves up the story three ways: short and direct on Twitter, a long teaser with an image on Facebook,
Lessons in Social Media – Guy Kawasaki Read More »
In the pages of the New Yorker, author Malcolm Gladwell makes an interesting point about what could be called “cohesion” differences between hierarchical organizations and social networks, using Twitter as a case study. Several writers have made the point that Twitter paid a key role during the unrest in Iran, but Gladwell doesn’t believe that
Malcolm Gladwell “Why the revolution will not be tweeted” Read More »
When you register with Google Voice, the free virtual receptionist service, you get a phone number that you can use to make and record calls, receive voicemails and texts, and forward to any and all of your regular numbers.It also provides a host of features that could make it invaluable to the digital journalist.
Digital Journalist’s Toolbox: Google Voice Read More »
Richard Fink, of ReadableWeb.com, has written a couple of really interesting posts over the summer (on his site and on AListApart.com) regarding online readability. At the moment, most sites play it safe using the three or four fonts that are universal on the web — Courier, Verdana, Times Roman. In the near future, designers will
The Coming Revolution in Web Readability — WOFF Read More »
It’s tough for a layman to get excited about a change in browser-code specifications, but what the switchover to HTML5 means is few plugins, more audio and video, better graphics, crisper text, and faster-loading pages. This is what the Apple website says: These web standards are open, reliable, highly secure, and efficient. They allow web
The Coming Revolution: HTML5 Read More »
Want to create a team that operates creatively and at peak efficiency? Tony Schwartz, author of “Be Excellent at Anything,” offers six tips on improving performance through practice. When managing teams that require intense concentration to perform at peak — think editorial or technical staff — it’s possible to implement Schwartz’s advice as a list
Tony Schwartz on Earning Excellence Read More »