Behind the scenes of a live radio broadcast, there are a lot of cords and cables, a couple of laptops, and a few things that don’t translate over the air waves–eye rolling, fist waving, and jokes during commercials. A seasoned comedian like Al Franken knows how to work the crowd. Last Wednesday, The Al Franken […]
Fiona Morgan
Posted inNews
Creative class war
Soon after Richard Florida’s book The Rise of the Creative Class was released three years ago, the term “creative class” began tripping off the tongues of people all over the country: Mayors who want to move their cities up on Florida’s list of creative centers promote cultural offerings to companies seeking a new HQ; arts […]
Posted inArt
Orphaned art and endangered docs
Eyes on the Prize, the landmark documentary series chronicling the Civil Rights Movement, is locked in copyright limbo. Since 1995, its producers have been unable to afford the estimated half million dollars’ worth of licensing renewals for archival footage. PBS lost the right to air it in 1993. And you can forget about renting the […]
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Big changes and a big-mouthed visitor
We’re on tenterhooks as the U.S. Supreme Court considers the case of MGM v. Grokster, a case that will have huge ramifications for the future of copyright law and technological innovation. The case was argued last Tuesday before the court, and the scene outside the court building Monday night was like a campout for concert […]
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The week of no return
I’m determined to beat the weeds. I’m outnumbered, sure. And if you consider the shape my shoulder was in after the last time I tried to pull them, they’re arguably stronger than I am. But I’m determined to hoe those sickening purple-flowered things up by the roots and lay down mulch before the Week of […]
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The Triangle unwired
A woman sits at a table outside Weaver Street Market in Carrboro, her purse slung over the back of her chair, her laptop open. The photo, in a newspaper ad for Nextel’s cellular broadband Internet service, reads: “Like many working parents, I spend a lot of time running errands, shuttling kids around and sitting in […]
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Old school Wi-Fi
Believe it or not, there’s a coffeeshop in Raleigh that’s been offering free Wi-Fi to customers for years–and it doesn’t serve lattes. At Finch’s Restaurant, near Peace College, devoted regulars come in the morning and stay all afternoon. They eat boiled ham sandwiches, pickled beets and hotcakes. And they jump on their laptops from the […]
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The battle for Laurinburg
Free Internet access for everyone is not going to happen without a political fight. So far, it’s being fought in state legislatures. Within the next few years, Congress will have to update the Telecommunications Act it passed in 1996, a deregulation of media and technology that led to the mergers and monopolies of the past […]
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D-day for Durham newspaper readers
Early Saturday morning, The News & Observer plans to launch an all-out invasion of the Bull City, dropping around 50,000 free copies of a brand new weekly, The Durham News, into driveways that have traditionally been the territory of the hometown daily. The free weekly will feature the kind of community news that typically has […]
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Winners, quitters and bloggers
Bloggers were the big media story of 2004. Journalists have taken notice. Here’s hoping we keep each other honest. UNC journalism professor Philip Meyer wrote a piece in USA Today on Jan. 17 that says journalism isn’t falling apart, but “taking a new form”–and bringing humility to the newsroom. The journalism scandals of the past […]