I love this - art made from the distinctive spine patterns of the first 15 years of Wired magazine. Question: is there a discernible pattern or plan to the way Wired planned this out over the years? A code, a DNA map, or the weaving of an issue-by-issue genome perhaps? … [Read more...]

People want things how they want them. In Japan, "five of last year's top ten best-selling novels started life as mobile phone - or keitai - novels." There was a time when mobile phones were used simply to communicate. In high-speed Japan, where more than 100 million people own mobile phones, they are not only a platform for novelists, but for all forms of artistic expression. The last time I … [Read more...]

It's hard to accept the premise that newspapers are worth saving when they cut away the reasons to buy them. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has pretty much declared it's out of the culture coverage business by getting rid of its arts staff, including a few critics who have had national prominence. Art critic Catherine Fox has been a bright light nationally, covering antiquities. Arts journalism … [Read more...]

The Times of London is running a poll to pick the favorite artist of the 20th Century. "Readers and visitors were asked to nominate their favourite artists working since 1900 from a list including some of the most influential painters, sculptors, photographers, video and installation artists of the period. After 1 million+ votes cast, the leading 300 artists are now listed below in alphabetical … [Read more...]

Poynter's Martin Langeveld says our assumptions that the online audience for newspapers is much bigger than the print audience are flat out wrong. All generally accepted truths notwithstanding, more than 96 percent of newspaper reading is still done in the print editions, and the online share of the newspaper audience attention is only a bit more than 3 percent. That's my conclusion after I got … [Read more...]

Much of the big shift in our culture right now is a re-ordering of power. For the past 50 years, mass culture, fueled by TV, has been a dominant power. When success is measured in millions of eyeballs (or ears), quality is a secondary commodity. Mass culture has permeated the ways we think about all culture. Power in the mass culture model is controlled by gatekeepers - the TV networks, radio … [Read more...]

At a time when the American newspaper industry increasingly considers ways to lock down its content and put it behind pay walls, the ever-innovative Guardian newspaper is flinging wide its gates and making it easier for others to take and use its content. Last month the paper announced something it's calling "Open Platform", which is a set of tools that allows anyone to build applications to pull … [Read more...]

Hot on the heels of AP saying it will go after news aggregators: A country radio station in Tennessee, WTNQ-FM, received a cease-and-desist letter warning from an A.P. vice president of affiliate relations for posting videos from the A.P.'s official Youtube channel on its Website. You cannot make this stuff up. You cannot make this stuff up. Forget for a moment that WTNQ is itself an A.P. … [Read more...]

While the recession might be hard on some publishers, the romance novel genre is booming, reports the NYT. Harlequin Enterprises, the queen of the romance world, reported that fourth-quarter earnings were up 32 percent over the same period a year earlier, and Donna Hayes, Harlequin's chief executive, said that sales in the first quarter of this year remained very strong. While sales of adult … [Read more...]

The new $1.5 billion Yankee Stadium is lavish in every way: Each locker is equipped with a computer that will deliver scheduling and practice notes as well as an Internet connection. Players will enjoy a chef to cook them breakfast along with world-class whirlpools and training equipment.  Not least of all the ticket prices:Premium Legends Suites seats, those closest to home plate, were … [Read more...]