for the last time…

I’m moving spots in the web again, FOR THE LAST TIME. I swear.
I’m over here now: http://www.lyndsiebourgon.com.
Nice new theme, right?

So, I’m Canada-bound again in the next few months. Permanently.

And to be honest, I’m totally excited. I know it’s a rough time for the media at home at the moment (as it is here), but I’ve definitely accomplished what I set out to by traveling and living in Edinburgh. Now, it’s time to pay some dues. Be unemployed, search for anything, become a “freelancer.”

I’m not naive, so I know what’s ahead of me will be hard. It’s hard enough to find some sort of media job during the best of times. But you have to start sometime, so I’m trying to keep my head up.

Let your ISP do all the work…

From the New York Times:

“The Washington-based Project for Excellence in Journalism, skeptical of applying micropayments to newspapers, has suggested providing access to newspaper Web sites for a fee paid at the Internet service provider level. For such models to succeed, newspapers would have to work together.”

Interesting idea. Over here in the UK they charge a television tax, which is given to public broadcasters. It allows the BBC to do high-quality reporting without worrying about advertisers or party politics. I imagine this would work (somewhat) in the same way. You pay your ISP fee and a bit goes to online news. Presto. Thoughts?

Maybe a bit slower than the US on the uptake, but Google Street View’s out in the UK now.

Here’s my street!

Well, the Seattle Post Intelligencer is the newest newspaper to go online-only.

Let’s hope that means they redesign their site. No one wants to read news off of a website that looks like this.

Think any Canadian papers will be next?

freelance a-go-go

I read this article in the Globe’s Report on Business, but I think it stretches beyond just the business journalism market.

Craig Silverman hands out some good tips for businesses looking to get publicity in business magazines, but his tips can also readily apply to freelance writers as well.

Some examples – like know the media you’re targeting, check the publication schedule, write a killer headline and tapping your contacts – are all good facets of a successful pitch (not that I’ve had that many, but Silverman’s tips are sure to help!).

So if you’re looking to freelance (and that doesn’t have to mean just writing) be sure to give this article a read.

The new pop culture

As an extension from my previous post about Creativity Killed the Recession, here’s an interesting excerpt from a profile in New York magazine:

The marketing term for people like me is “slash/slashers.” Like, I’m doing the yearbook plus my blog and making videos and working at a communications firm called Naked. We don’t want one path—we want to get involved in lots of creative projects… I call us the New Pop Culture, which might sound bold, but I believe it. We’re more influenced by what we’re up to—our own creative outputs—than what Karl Lagerfeld is up to. We are more interested in reading our friends’ blogs than Style.com. My friends and I don’t care about Lindsay Lohan; when we see a picture of a celebrity like Kanye West, we want to know who’s standing behind him. It’s cooler to be a real person. It’s our turn now.

This guy’s definitely not alone – isn’t this what we all want? I personally want to create multimedia content while freelancing and studying languages on the side. I’m not sure what you think, but instead of seeing this as lazy, or unmotivated, I think it’s the way of the future. You’re a brand, so put your label on whatever you like. That doesn’t mean you’re not a committed journalist (or whatever your vice is), it means you’re well rounded. Interesting. Employable. Take your pick.

A great article published on the Daily Beast today. The author, Larry Kramer, calls for everyone to calm down, and stop thinking about newspapers, television stations, and websites as separate models.

These days we’re all in the News Business. News is always in demand, so instead of thinking in strict boundaries, just produce great news coverage. What does it matter if someone reads that article in a newspaper or online?

He’s got a lot more to great insight, and I won’t reiterate it all here, but give it a read.

I think his article also ties in well with another article I recently read, which says that advertisers would be willing to increase their stake in news if they actually felt they had a reason to advertise in it.

To me, this is all proof that great journalism shouldn’t be relegated to the front page of a newspaper. I keep hearing doom-and-gloom-ers saying “But who will investigate? Who will keep the powerful accountable?” and the easy answer to that is: journalists! We’re not dying, just moving to a new spot. Advertisers will follow us once we start producing good content online, so let’s get crackin’.

Finally, some sunny skies

Brilliant, inspiring, what else can I say? If I were in Toronto today I’d be at these meetings.
Here’s why:

Eat up

So, it’s Fairtrade Fortnight over here soon. The only reason I know about the whole thing is because I wrote an article about it for work…

The idea is that for two weeks you’ll buy fair-trade products, ask shops to stock more fair-trade options, attend events and fair-trade cotton fashion shows, and generally learn about it all.

But wait, fair-trade? Good. Organic? Good. Local? Good. But it’s damn near impossible to do it all.

Which is why many people give up entirely and buy imported blueberries from Chile in February. Have you actually tasted those things? Yuck.

So if you’re confused about what to do, I’d say pick one and stick with it. Then if you can incorporate one of the others – good on ya. I prefer local, but if I can find local organic that’s great.

And in other news, here’s some really great advice. It’s meant for graphic designers but I love this magazine because it encourages me think a bit more creatively when it comes to embracing new media ideas. And all these tips apply to journalism, or finance, or whatever you’re into.