In any case, regarding the Village Voice takeover by New Times: it is the single most alarming development in the media landscape during the past year. For many years the only reliable place for the left to have a voice in the media at all was in the alternative weeklies. And suddenly it is gone. New Times has destroyed that in the space of a few months. I have seen it here in LA with the LA Weekly. They still publish it every Thursday but there is nothing left to read except a few movie reviews, and even they are suspect. It’s sad and very unfortunate.

I am suprised that there has been so little coverage about what’s happened at the Voice, the Weekly, and other alternatives.

I have to tell you all. I’m watching some local news (I hardly ever do that anymore) and seeing Deval Patrick at the Shubert Theater with 1,000 high school kids earlier today.

This guy is one to watch. I sense in my deep gut that he will rise much higher than Gov. of MA.

Stay tuned.

I watched his victory speech after the elections and thought the same thing. He is one of those politicians that can really connect with his audiance and deliver a moving (and honestly heartfelt) speech it seems. I’ll be watching to see where he takes his career in the next few years as well.

Pace, Charles, Prince of Wales, and Princess Diana of Wales.

The distinction between head of house, and member of house.

katymine @ 22

Did anyone one see this on Pelosi?
AND this was written by a woman… but it is the Arts and leisure section.
Suited for Politics

Bleah. If this is the best the media can do with a woman in a position of political authority, we might not be ready for Madam President after all.

Please, please EvilDoc, don’t make us live under the prez that the press deserves!

The new owners have wasted no time in absolutely gutting the Seattle Weekly of any intellectually interesting content whatsoever.

All of the major writers quit or were laid off en masse.

Previously when the Village Voice took over the local control of the Weekly about six years ago, it was mostly an improvement over the overly elitist prior owners. Publishing is becoming increasingly unprofitable, and perhaps the Village Voice owners decided to get out while their papers still had readers, rather than marginalize them just to continue making money.

The new owners have no qualms about printing a paper with cheap boilerplate content like “Pet Cemetary” and no expensive reporting of useful information like local news.

They would have to pay a good columnist / reporter to do that. Instead we did get a really hard hitting (NOT!) cover story in the Seattle Weekly on “Cosby Sweaters”. Or a rather insultingly stupid and not-funny “Ask an Uptight Seattlite” column. Meanwhile the other Seattle weekly “The Stranger” remains well written and interesting to read, and apparently finding it easier to sell lots of ads while the Weekly is half the size it was before the sale.

I don’t know quite what the problem is with the Village Voice these days

Two words: New Times.

The Phoenix-based tabloid newspaper chain recently purchased the Village Voice, and then proceeded to fumigate the place with its tiresome brand of kneejerk contrarianism. Mayberry Muckrakers.

katymine @ 22

Did anyone one see this on Pelosi?
AND this was written by a woman… but it is the Arts and leisure section.
Suited for Politics

Bleah. If this is the best the media can do with a woman in a position of political authority, we might not be ready for Madam President after all.

But she does look lovely. Especially today.

new thread

With mustard.

That pilot has been in the sandbox too long – needs to be ratted out, decommissioned and hauled before a military tribunal. I couldn’t be more creeped out.

agreed.