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Rangewriter

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Rangewriter

Tag Archives: news

Staying relevant

30 Friday Dec 2022

Posted by rangewriter in Everything else

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

Diversity, environment, High Country News, history, Literature, news, Staying Relevant, Sy Safransky, The Sun Magazine, the west, Tom Bell

I’m that linear person who reads publications cover to cover. It’s a slow process, therefore I subscribe to only two monthlies: The Sun Magazine, and High Country News. The first nurtures my soul and inspires me to think deeply. The second informs me about the land I live on, the peoples, plants, and animals with whom I share this magnificent land, and the intricate interrelationships between us all.

Both publications sprang from humble beginnings. The Sun, an entirely ad-free literary journal, first hit street corners in 1974 with editor Sy Safransky barely able to drum up the courage to charge 25₵ for his manually typed, Xeroxed copies. The magazine survives today with well over 60,000 subscriptions and a stalwart eye for thoughtful interviews, poetry, short fiction, provocative black and white photography, and the beloved “Readers Write.” The editorial board deploys unmatched sensitivity. Even a letter to the editor doesn’t get published without author approval of editorial revisions.

High Country News (HCN) began in 1969 when WWII veteran, Tom Bell, published Camping News Weekly out of Lander, Wyoming. Initially geared toward anglers and hunters, Bell was driven to expand into environmental issues that he saw as a threat to the West he so loved. The early years were tough, and the magazine, later dubbed High Country News, struggled to make ends meet. By 1983, Bell was tired and overwhelmed with the task of keeping the paper going. Transplanted New Yorkers, Ed and Besty Martson, took the helm and moved the paper to Paonia, Colorado, where it flourished.

HCN has evolved rapidly during the past decade. Once, a mostly black and white, semi-monthly, printed on newsprint, it has blossomed into a glossy monthly with color photography and stunning original art. But more importantly, beyond the outer beauty, this publication has expanded its scope and reportage by mining once-unheard voices from the west. In the past year, the business office has decentralized from Paonia, Colorado, utilizing digital tools that make instant communication and document collaboration possible across vast distances.

Administrative, editorial, and reporting work is spread out from coast to coast. Dedicated reporters and content creators are young, fierce, and eager to dig into the cultural and socio-economic aspects of the western political landscape.

Some readers have not appreciated the changes. I freely admit that some of the stories push my buttons, challenge my assumptions, and simply don’t interest me. I don’t like graphic novels or content. I was never a comic strip reader, and that style just doesn’t work for me. But how many young readers might be attracted to a graphic news story? And I confess that every now and then I catch my eyes rolling at the asomatous musings of a 20 or 30-something trans writer. But THOSE are my teachable moments! When my eyes are rolling, my judgement is impaired. I come at text from my highly privileged white background. These voices deserve to be heard as much as my voice does. And that it has taken this long for them to emerge is only proof of how narrow the playing field has been until recently.

Just look at those bright young faces in the Featured Contributors column. They span myriad shades, ethnicities, and gender personas. And each of them is talented beyond belief. My mission is to keep learning. And these two publications help me on the journey.

Gallery

A great story

18 Saturday Jul 2020

Posted by rangewriter in Everything else

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

conspiracy, Dan Rather, Faux news, journalism, MAGA, news, Truth

This gallery contains 3 photos.

Dan Rather, speaking with an acolyte, said, “When you stop asking questions, that’s when the American people lose.” June 2004: …

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Image

My strange relationship with Twitter

28 Thursday Nov 2019

Tags

bias, Facebook, My Life with an Enigma, news, Social media, social networking, Twitter

I first dipped my toe into the murky pool of Twitter back in 2012. Aside from curiosity, ITwitter_Logo_WhiteOnBlue was hoping to provide a small “value-added” service to my editing and book design clients, most of whom were social media shy and in severe need of marketing help.

I entered slowly, with great skepticism, and with little strategy. Through the years, I’ve come to appreciate the social networking possibilities of Twitter. By design, I’ve garnered a small following that feels manageable. I hear the complaints about Twitter’s wacky algorithms, news byte culture, mindless memes, kitten and kid GIFs, and false information. I agree that these are some of the downsides of the platform.

Yes, it’s easy to see a scathing headline, and in a moment of outrage to hit the Retweet button—the equivalent of Facebook’s infamous share button. What I’ve found is that the more scathing the headline, and no matter the direction—left or right—the more likely the information is partially, if not entirely, untrue. It is particularly tempting to swipe the Retweet button when the Tweet has come from a known and trusted follower. I’m learning to second guess that powerful urge, especially where politics and world affairs come into play.

It’s important to always double check where a flaming headline came from. If it’s a bonafide news link, I may click to read more. But links from 100%FedUp, Being Liberal, Blue State, Left Action, Upworthy, American Free Press, for example, will keep me scrolling. Certain words appear to be a dead giveaway for something fishy:

  • Activist
  • Freedom
  • Patriot
  • Alt/Alternative
  • Truth
  • Progressive

As many flame on the left as on the right, and rarely are they worth the time to explore. When I find a news source that might be plausible, yet I’m wary about it, I may check its ranking on a site like https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/ . A good quick source to check the validity of a fantastical global rumor is Snopes, which ranks very well as a least biased website.

But for the curious mind, there are upsides to the Twitterverse. I find myself reading articles from a wider range of sources than I did when I relied only upon the sites I’d placed in my Favorites bar. It’s like being in the periodicals section of the library. I have access to:

  • The Wall Street Journal
  • Barrons
  • Christian Science Monitor
  • Washington Post
  • Sacramento Bee
  • Mayo Clinic
  • National Geographic
  • National Institutes of Health

The most unexpected benefit to my Twitterverse is the personal connections I’ve made with individuals who share my values and interests. I’ve met a host of fabulous writers and photographers who take me around the globe with them. They are kind and supportive. Yes, you could say they are only virtual friends, however when a stranger plunks down money for my just-released book, I call that a substantial relationship. I am actually in awe of how this works. Most of my Facebook contacts know me, either directly or once removed. But my Twitter followers have never looked me in the eye.  I’m humbled beyond belief that these people have enough confidence in me to spend money on my words.

Happy Thanksgiving, one and all.

And of course, I must force myself to blatantly market said book. My apologies.

5.5x8.5_BW_330_print2

 

 

 

Posted by rangewriter | Filed under Everything else, My Life with an Enigma

≈ 21 Comments

Gallery

National news caught with its pants down

12 Thursday Feb 2015

Posted by rangewriter in Everything else

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

Brian Williams, entertainment, ethics, journalism, media, NBC, news

The recent flap over NBC news anchor, Brian William’s, self-aggrandized reporting highlights an even larger problem with the way American …

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Prescient fortune telling

16 Sunday Dec 2012

Posted by rangewriter in Everything else

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Chinese cuisine, coping, Fortune cookie, health, news, tragedy

Amidst the horrible turn the national news took this week, I feel deflated. I avoid  news, opinion, and commentary. It all makes my head spin and my stomach roil. I found comfort with a big, fat, saucy, spicy, Chinese dinner.

From the ubiquitous fortune cookie, out tumbled my fortune: Eat your fruits and vegetables to strengthen your health. fortune

<

p style=”text-align:left;”>I am perplexed. It’s not like fruits and vegetables are prevalent in Chinese food. What clairvoyance drives whoever writes these things? If we all ate more fruits and vegetables would world health improve, thereby reducing the prevalence of demented misbehavior? If only it were true.fortune1

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