Stock People and the Fastest Way from A to B

Noticed this picture in an online ad for a dating service. Too bad for those interested because I could have sworn I saw “Heather” shilling for GoDaddy on the company’s Web site a few months ago.

[Later in the day]
Another Reason Why I Hate the MTA
I’ve always loved the Travel Information Center, which will give you the fastest route or the route with the least number of connections when using public transportation in the Chicago area. The center’s database includes information not only for the CTA but for Metra and Pace, which are operated separately.

However, there is no such online system for public transportation in New York City. If I want to get from point A to point B, I have to refer to the paper subway map and a separate paper bus map. The online maps are useless, at least at home, because the PDF files are so large and noticeably slow down my computer. And then I have no way of knowing which route would be fastest. A route might look fast, but if I’ve never been to a section of the city, I won’t know what the traffic situation is like there.

The Fate of WHFS

Editor and Publisher has an article about how The New York Times is considering charging for more of its online content. Though the Wall Street Journal already charges online readers a yearly rate to access its content, other papers are studying what rates they can charge before readers turn to other sources.

Tuned into 99.1 in the car yesterday and was surprised to hear Spanish music. Later a friend informed me that the conversion had happened awhile ago, back in January, something about how alternative music was no longer profitable. The Washington Post covered it in an article here. Marc Fisher, Washington Post Metro Columnist, also wrote about it in an article titled “In a Way, WHFS Was Already Gone.”

“What’s going to happen to the HFStival?” I asked my friend. I still remember going, the day after senior prom, just a few days before graduation from high school. It was the first time I’d gone to an arena-size concert, and I still marvel that I heard some of the acts that I did. [Okay, this is where I would have named some of the bands that I saw, but I can't seem to find a lineup online, and the only band I remember seeing, without a doubt, was Goldfinger because its single was on rotation on WHFS at the time of the festival. Apparently No Doubt also performed at HFStival in '96 (according to a photo I found online), maybe Primus? maybe the Smashing Pumpkins? maybe Cypress Hill?]

Anyway, even back then, when alternative seemed to be at its height, I sensed that WHFS wasn’t where it was at. I knew, even without being really familiar with the music, that DC101 was the station that played “authentic” rock, like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, stuff that was too “hard” (and out of date) for WHFS and many of the other stations people my age were listening to. Maybe it shouldn’t be suprising then that WHFS ultimately crashed, not just because of the music but also because the station was too attuned to what was popular at the time and not what was enduring.

Superpowers for the Contemporary Citizen

Geekman, Bossman, and MoneyMan. Did He-Man ever possess the power of schmoozing? Could GI Joe ever boast of having the power of a less than ideal personal hygiene routine? I think not.

Tavis Smiley Show No Longer on NPR

I have to admit, I was a little hesitant when WBEZ shuffled its lineup, and Tavis Smiley was inserted into the afternoon programming. Part of it was my perception that his show was going to focus exclusively on “black” issues. But I came to appreciate the topics that he covered and his on-air style kept me awake at work after lunch. He was definitely one of the more dynamic hosts that I’ve ever heard on NPR, and I was disappointed to hear that he’d left back in December. Here’s a TIME article with Smiley, in which he said: “Our show is the most multiracial in NPR’s entire history, it has the youngest demographic of any show in NPR’s history, so progress was being made. My concern was the pace the network was moving at — it wasn’t fast enough.”

Women in Media

Attended a lunch talk called “Making It in Media” on Tuesday. The topic was women and minorities in the media. Though there were four scheduled speakers, only two made it to the event: Pamela Newkirk, who teaches at my school, and journalist Elena Romero.

Newkirk spoke of how there are so few minorities in the newsroom. Even when there are minorities, the pressure to conform may be so great that it makes little difference.

It’s depressing to think of how much power editors have, or ultimately, how much power advertisers have. It’s depressing to think of how writers have to be careful about which battles they choose because they fear for their jobs.

For example, Newkirk said that the portrayal of women in the media is still disdainful, even though there are greater numbers of women in the newsroom. Even if writers don’t want to write about J.Lo’s butt (or Hilary Clinton’s haircut), they feel pressured to do so just so their story gets better placement. Unfortunately, gossip sells. I think it’s mostly detrimental to women, and it puts writers in the position of having to perpetuate the stink that they complain about.