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Wednesday 28 September 2011

Page One: Inside the New York Times



Want to know what goes on inside The New York Times?

I can’t say I did.

Honestly, I just never gave it much thought. But that changed after watching Andrew Rossi’s latest documentary, Page One: Inside The New York Times, at the Cinematheque on Friday.

Now I just want to run up to the New York Times Building on Park Row and give it a big ‘ol kiss. I’m the nervous flier; it’s the airport tarmac.

I’m guessing that was Rossi’s intention.

A “lovefest” it’s being called. But what’s wrong with that?

This documentary is enough to make some of you divorce your twitter accounts and take up with an old friend – the printed newspaper.

Crazy talk, I know. But hear me out.

In Page One we’re confronted with the stark contrast between the young Brian Stelter, the Times’ resident social media savant and David Carr, a reporter with a raspy voice, Ray-Ban sunglasses, and what appears to be a distaste for web-reliant news sources.


By the end of the documentary, which was shot throughout 2010, Carr is an admitted Twitter convert.

According to Carr, what’s the real value of Twitter? “Listening to a wired, collective voice.”

And the voice of this former drug addict is one I could have listened to for hours more. The film pivots around Carr and a few other members of Times’ reporting and editing staff, but Carr is the real hero for this institution.

Putting his obvious journalistic smarts aside for a moment, David Carr is the one that keeps you watching and thinking the entire 1 ½ hours of the documentary. This man is anything but dry – though at certain points you feel the urge to reach through the screen and hand him a cough candy.

Here’s a rundown of 7 THINGS I LEARNED from Page One: Inside The New York Times
Thanks in no small part to David Carr.

1)     Julian Assange, founder of the controversial WikiLeaks, made a name for himself as a hacker. Shocking, isn’t it?
2)     There is a chip implanted in the staff at The New York Times called “New York Times Exceptionalism.” At least, according to David Carr.
3)     The “New York Times Effect” depends on analogue paper distribution. The way I understand it, if something is one the cover of the Times one day, it’s on the cover “second tier” papers the next.
4)     David Carr can vaporize people. Using only his words.
5)     The effect of the recession on the Times is the mood pervading the newspaper business. The New York Times is a general interest paper. “We try to be the best at everything.” So a recession means that skills the paper can afford to lose are lost. “We have to dump bodies overboard.”
6)     Putting reporters into war zones requires an infrastructure be in place to support them when they’re gone and when they get back home. This costs money. Does this mean we should give the Times a break about its website Paywall?
7)     The New York Times literally has a round table. Twice a day the editors meet and decide on the next day’s headlines. The table’s actually more oval, but you get the point.

I leave you with my favourite quote from Page One:

“Is there anything I should know before I check my messages?” – Media Editor Bruce Headlam to David Carr

Watch the documentary, you’ll get it.

Thursday 22 September 2011

Applause for Glen Downie at Thin Air Writer's Festival

The applause in question is not just my own. Visiting RRC today was writer Glen Downie with his latest collection of poetry, Local News. He made us laugh. (He made some of us cry.) Here's some of the highlights.






GLEN DOWNIE'S TOP TEN

1.       HE STARTED WITH A SHOUT OUT. "IT'S NICE TO BE BACK IN MY HOMETOWN." THAT'S (AHEM) WINNIPEG IF YOU HADN'T GUESSED :)
2.       HE GETS IRONY ... AND HE'S SUBTLE WITH IT. "THE APPLIANCE STORE SPECIALIZES IN ALL MAKES AND MODELS."
3.       HIS SEGUES FROM READING TO DISCUSSION WITH A HUMBLE, "ANYWAY."
4.       HE 'S A DOG PERSON. NO CAT LOVER CAN DELVE INTO THE CANINE MINDSET WITH SUCH FINESSE.
5.       HE WRITES IN HIS ATTIC. IT'S HIS FAVOURITE ROOM OF THE HOUSE. WHY DOESN'T EVERYONE HAVE A FAVOURITE ROOM?
6.       HE HAD US NEAR TEARS. IN "OLD DOG," DOWNIE TALKS ABOUT HIS LATE FATHER. 'NUF SAID.
7.       HE HATES WHEN PEOPLE RING HIS DOORBELL. LIKE I SAID, HE WRITES IN THE ATTIC.
8.       HE'S SCARED OF THE SPIDERS IN HIS BASEMENT. I'M SCARED TOO, GLEN. I'M SCARED TOO.
9.       HE'S INSIGHTFUL. "WHAT'S LIFE AND WHAT'S ART? THERE IS NO GUARANTEE OF WHAT IS FACTUAL WHERE ARTISTIC LIBERTY IS INVOLVED. SO TRUE. AND FINALLY ...
10.   HE'S TWEETABLE. SEE POST BELOW.
  
If you want more of Downie, and I know you do, check out http://talltreepress.com/.

And don't forget to check out the rest of THIN AIR Winnipeg International Writer's Festival 2011. Catch them on Twitter @thinair2011.

#10. He's Tweetable

therkess Ryan Kessler 
@jaclynleskiw oh I went there.

jaclynleskiw Jaclyn Leskiw 
@jaclynleskiw: Fashion puns Ryan? Really? RT: “@therkess:@ninjaPattison he's so boss he's Hugo Boss. #thinair2011

therkess Ryan Kessler 
Who needs character in Glen Downie's neighbourhood when you can have a Home Depot? #thinair2011

ninjaPattison Allison Pattison 
Basements are too dark for Glen Downie's liking. #hedoesntlikespiders #CreComm #thinair2011

therkess Ryan Kessler 
@ninjaPattison he's so boss he's Hugo Boss. #thinair2011
ninjaPattison Allison Pattison 
@therkess basically he's lettin everyone know he's a BOSS.

KGuinny Kelly McGuinness 
Glen Downie: "spiders against the world wide web...nudists against the weather" This guy rules, and not just cuz of his $ beard #thinair2011

therkess Ryan Kessler 
To summarize Glen Downie's rant: "door-to-door sales people? Get wrecked." #thinair2011

JoWpgDandelion Josie Loeppky 
"can we call back at a more inconvenient time?" Glen Downie rant? #thinair2011 #crecomm

ninjaPattison Allison Pattison 
SPIDERS AGAINST THE WORLD WIDE WEB! #thinair2011 #CreComm

ninjaPattison Allison Pattison 
#fact. Glen Downie is currently in first place on my list of favorite people. Ranting like a BOSS right now. #thinair2011 #CreComm

amodegard Alana Odegard 
Glen Downie talks loose dogs and morals #thinair2011
KGuinny Kelly McGuinness 
Glen Downie: "shampoo your conscience". This guy is just one sick beat away from a rap career.
SarahJ_Robin Sarah Panas 
Glen Downie solicitors are ppl too, personal experience haha #thinair2011

amodegard Alana Odegard 
Sounds like a rant to me.... Audience loving it! #thinair2011

therkess Ryan Kessler 
Glen Downie must be crazy. Girl Guide cookies are delicious. #thinair2011

kentonlarsen Kenton Larsen 
@ninjaPattison you just made the barristers very happy.

amodegard Alana Odegard 
Glen Downie not a fan of door-to-door salesmen.... #thinair2011 who can blame him?
KGuinny Kelly McGuinness 
Glen Downie always lives on the top floor of houses. If we were pals his nickname would be The Stairmaster. #brutaljoke #thinair2011

ninjaPattison Allison Pattison 
Jump rope song now stuck in my head. Thanks Glen Downie. #thinair2011 #CreComm

ninjaPattison Allison Pattison 
Telllll me about it! RT:"@SarahJ_Robin: Please don't make me cry in the seminar! #olddog #thinair2011"

amodegard Alana Odegard 
Poet Glen Downie tinkering with time at #thinair2011

ninjaPattison Allison Pattison 
Glen Downie likes to go back in time instead of ahead. #OldSchoolPress #thinair2011 #CreComm

SarahJ_Robin Sarah Panas 
Please don't make me cry in the seminar! #olddog #thinair2011

KGuinny Kelly McGuinness 
A collective uncertainty on when to clap. I think that means #GlenDownie's words are resonating. #meaningfulstories #thinair2011

amodegard Alana Odegard 
Antique shop or glorified junk store? Glen Downie writes about it in his latest poetry collection #thinair2011

amodegard Alana Odegard 
Touching poem about family, life and time from Glen Downie... Listeners love it #thinair2011

JoWpgDandelion Josie Loeppky 
"The anchor shelters the urban hermit" Glen Downie #thinair2011 #crecomm

ninjaPattison Allison Pattison 
Glen Downie took over the attic room at home, made an attic room when he moved away, and currently loves attic rooms. #thinair2011 #CreComm