What Happened to Newspapers?

What Happened to Newspapers?

As a former journalist, I get asked from time to time to explain what happened to newspapers and where journalism is headed.  In that context, a friend recently sent me a book by Joe Strupp called “Killing Journalism: How greed, laziness [and Donald Trump] are destroying news and how we can save it.”

Suffice to say that while the book contains interesting insights, the title is misleading. This sort of sensationalism is exactly what Strupp accuses all too many publications of doing: in fact, it is one of his major themes. Why do it? Because it sells, which brings me to one point readers need to keep in mind: the old Pogo adage of “we have met the enemy and he is us.”

Townshend Sees Rock and Roll as a System of Spirituality

The New York Times Dec. 1, 2019 Sunday Magazine has an interview with Pete Townshend, leader of "The Who," in which Townshend is pressed to explain what rock and roll was all about now that it is apparently widely considered to be dead.

After dodging and weaving for a while, Townshend finally comes out with the following:

"What we were hoping to do was to create a system by which we gathered in order to hear music that in some way served the spiritual needs of the audience."

When one reads, endlessly it seems, about Woodstock and why people went, that quote resonates.

But, Townshend continued: "It didn't work out that way. We abandoned our parents' church, and we haven't replaced it with anything solid and substantial."

Despite that, he himself hasn't given up hope.

"I do still believe in it," he said.

What One Might Find on an Author's Website

The New York Times book review section had an interesting "Inside the List" column on the things one might find on an author's website -- beyond the expected stuff, such as biographical information,  a list of titles and various forms of promotional fodder.

The author of the column, Tina Jordan, checked out the websites of half a dozen very well-known authors, such as John Grisham and Ann Patchett, and discovered coffee for sale; letters to readers; music recommendations; news about dogs; movie reviews, and (no surprise) T-shirts for sale.

Which, of course, brings me to my own website -- www.fowlermartin.info -- where you will find, as you might expect, information on my two novellas ("Manhattan Morning" and "Gina/Diane)" plus the latest updates on my ongoing collaborative effort to have music composed for a proposed neo-baroque, one-act operetta called "Patricia," and a retrospective of an exhibition of prints by the British artist Patrick Caulfield.

Jordan mentions that Michael Connelly, an author of popular thrillers, has a photo gallery of real sites mentioned in his books.  So do I.  You can take a pictorial walking tour of the route of my protagonist, Dan, in "Manhattan Morning." Hmmm. Maybe I should offer T-shirts based on the cover of "Gina/Diane."

If you have read either of my books and have any thoughts about them, I would be delighted to post your comments on my website -- good, bad or indifferent.  Just reply to this blog and I will take it from there.

As for a performance of "Patricia," don't hold your breath -- yet.

A Curious Misunderstanding of Virginia Woolf in T Magazine

Perhaps I'm missing something, but the cover story of a recent issue of "T, the New York Times Style Magazine," contains a rather prominent misuse of Virginia Woolf's fiction.

The magazine runs an annual issue on "The Greats" and the lead article this time around is about Nick Cave, an African-American artist known for colorful, eclectic works of art. Megan O'Grady wrote the piece and in it, she describes Cave as having "a Dalloway-like genius for bringing people from different walks of life to the table in experiences of shared good will."

A Very Brief Word About the Theater

Why go to see a play?  Instead of, say, reading a novel?  They're both about stories, right? And some plays are even based on books, often well known.

"It's a night out," some might say.

"Or, I like to see live acting. No matter how many times it has been rehearsed, anything could happen and, arguably, no two performances are ever exactly the same."

Leaving comedy aside, the main reason to go to the theater, I think, is to experience emotional behavior of the sort that can't easily be expressed safely in ordinary life.  Often, such emotions are transgressive in nature -- the sort we often feel, but have to suppress because they are dangerous or antisocial. In this respect, one can argue the theater functions as a sort of safety valve.

I mention this because I just received a brochure in the mail from New York's Roundabout Theater Company, a respected non-profit entity that puts on Broadway plays. "Take A Ride On Our Emotional Roller Coaster," the cover of this flyer, announcing the 2019-2020 season, urges.

If you are interested, check out the company's website.

Zadie Smith Has Some Explaining To Do

I'm a white male of a certain age -- in case you hadn't already figured that out.  So what would your reaction be if I said the following:

"The first time I was aware of Zadie Smith's existence was a few years ago. We had James Joyce, Joseph Conrad, Earnest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. What did we need with a black writer?"

My guess is I would be viewed at best as being politically incorrect and at worst as an outright racist.

So what should one think when Zadie Smith, herself, says the following in "Feel Free," her collection of essays published in 2018:

"The first time I was aware of Debbie Harry's existence, I was in college.  We had Joan Armatrading and Aretha and Billie and Ella. What did we need with white women?"

A Good Project for Lin-Manuel Miranda

Whatever happened to Maria?

How did the remainder of her life play out after Tony, the young white man she wanted,  was shot dead by her fellow Puerto Rican-American Chino at the end of "West Side Story?"  Maria, readers will recall, got the gun after Chino dropped it and threatened to use it to kill both others and herself, but couldn't pull the trigger. So there she was, still alive when the final curtain came down.