Media
Tiffany Tarrolly and Pageant Police
Former Northland’s NewsCenter reporter Tiffany Tarrolly’s new project is called “Pageant Police,” a video series critiquing the physical beauty of contestants in the 2013 Miss USA pageant.
(This post originally contained an embedded video of the “Miss Maryland USA 2013 Critique.” We have removed the video in the interest of not giving it any more attention.)
The concept of the series is essentially to say mean things about the physical appearance of women who are in pageants. So anyone annoyed by women who are in pageants can experience something worse: women who say mean things about women who are in pageants.
The only thing more annoying would be me, for posting this, but I’ll soon be eclipsed in the annoying rankings by everyone who watches this video and then comments on it.
DNT discontinues comments
Close readers of the Duluth News Tribune’s online edition may have noticed that the site no longer allows commenting under any stories, and I think that’s been the case for several days. I’m not privy to the reasons behind the decision, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the comments they were getting didn’t add any value to the site. Quite the opposite, in my opinion.
The DNT isn’t alone in this struggle. Personally, I’ve never seen intelligent comments on a news organization’s website. I think it’s probably better for them to just stick to content creation and allow people to link to the content via Facebook or some other social site, and discuss the content there.
What do you think? Do you miss the comments or do you applaud the decision?
“Emeriti” or “’emeritus,'” not “emeritus”
from today’s DNT:
“Other retired UMD faculty members have been identified as emeritus when writing opinion pieces in the pages of the News Tribune. . .”
“emeriti” = referring to the people in question
“’emeritus'” = implying a quote from the opinion pieces in question
“emeritus” = cognitive dissonance
Can’t see it any other way. Sticks in my craw.
DNT; Jo Cooley: Gen Con Now ‘Video-gaming Convention”
From the DNT – “Local view: Video-gaming convention not a good idea for Duluth”:
“Bringing a scaled-down version of Indiana’s Gen Con convention to Duluth would only increase the amount of violence to which Duluth is exposed. Is increased violence something we really want to willingly welcome into Duluth?”
- Don’t mix my 7 Wonders or Talisman or Pathfinder in with your Skyrim, or whatever.
- Go watch Mazes and Monsters.
Your opinion piece is maddeningly uninformed and you should feel bad.
Who wins the Giant Foam Finger of Greatness?
A group of journalism students at UMD have created their own online journalism projects. The assignment asked them to conceive of a website that focused on a specific media “niche” and to produce content that appealed to that group by drawing on as many online media tools as possible.
The projects range from a Duluth-area beer-review page to a site that links volunteers with community needs in the Twin Ports.
Tomorrow we will have a very informal awards ceremony in which the page that has the most “likes” on our Facebook page will receive the Giant Foam Finger of Greatness Award (it’s a long story).
So, visit the page, check out a few of the projects, vote for your favorite and give the student journalists some feedback. Who knows, perhaps the best of them will actually develop into permanent pieces of the Duluth media landscape.
What About Us?
Norway?! Heck man, they don’t know cold!
Duluth mountain bike trails featured in Salsa Cycles ads
Photo by Gnat
Steve Martin tweets Duluth
Earlier today, comedian Steve Martin tweeted a picture of the Duluth Vinyl Roofs / Arrowhead Hearing Aid Center on Superior Street noting, “I love it when businesses combine. So convenient!”
If you’re on Twitter and you like Steve Martin, he’s worth following. Funny stuff. Go Duluth!
Minnesota Chippewa could cease to exist by 2080
I’m not sure if that headline is sufficiently dramatic, or maybe overly dramatic, but I am just having trouble wrapping my head around this chart from the September 2012 (PDF link) Fond du Lac Tribal Newspaper (Nahgahchiwanong Dibahjimowinnan).
It shows the Fond du Lac people falling into a demographic abyss. Disappearing as a people by 2080. (more…)
Edward Moody back in Minnesota
Former Northland’s NewsCenter reporter Edward Moody will make his debut with WCCO-TV in the Twin Cities on Friday. He has been hired as a weekend anchor/ reporter. He had been working at the Fox affiliate in Indianapolis, but Duluthians will remember him from his KBJR stint from 2002 to 2007.
Dibiki Giizis – The Moon – Seeking local music
Usually I work in early childhood family education but for the summer I am returning to one of my first great loves, radio. I actually wrote about WGZS-FM Dibiki Giizis in this post from several months ago. For the summer anyway I will be hosting and producing some music and public affairs programming on the station mainly during the weekends. Right now the station is still in ramp-up mode, broadcasting at about 70% power and in FM Mono. The schedule is 9-4 pm on weekdays and 9-2 on weekends. Eventually it will be in 100,000 watt FM Stereo and 24 hours a day. (more…)
Indian Country Today: Girls and Women in Duluth Sexually Exploited for Generations
Earlier this month Indian Country Today, a national daily newspaper, featured an historical analysis of the sexual exploitation of Native American girls and women. The story, and the pattern, is chilling enough as it is, but the story is framed in and around Duluth, making it all the more compelling. This is an excellent piece of advocacy journalism by Mary Annette Pember. (more…)
Even trippier than Pink Floyd, “Comfortably Trematoda” wins Animal Diversity Idol
A couple of UMD Students won Animal Diversity Idol with this video. OK, it turns out that Animal Diversity Idol is not a “real” contest, although when I got started down this rabbit hole I thought maybe it was. It is something that a professor at UMD dreamed up to get students more interested in a variety of weird life forms. In this case the creatures are liver flukes. The video is one-part homage to Pink Floyd and two-parts CDC-style public service announcement.
Willie the Warlock
Yesterday I was out at The Princess Bride with a couple of goslings and other uberfans at the Zinema for their excellent Saturday-morning-movies-for-the-whole-family series. That would have been awesome enough, but they threw in free juice boxes for the kids, but it got even better. In the place where we expected the opening previews, or maybe a video short to roll we were treated to this 2006 video, by Duluth’s Willie the Warlock
Duluthish internet meme on the loose: “If Planet of the Apes Were Made in MN”
*Note: I couldn’t find the designer or provenance with any certainty. Here are the candidates. Please share if you know where to find and credit the designer and heck, maybe buy him a root beer!
LakeVoiceNews: Local Themed Publication
What makes Duluth unique? What makes it special? We tried to answer this question through our stories. LakeVoice’s publication this week is about everything local. Here’s what we’ve been working on this week:
- Celiac is an autoimmune disorder believed to affect up to 1% of the US population. Sadly, there is no cure. The only known effective treatment is a gluten-free diet. Alicia Lebens put together a collection of gluten-free options for Duluthians on Pinterest.
- 2104 E. Superior St. has become the coolest house to see local musicians and artists. Recently, they’ve hosted journalist Adam Carr (creator of January in Duluth), music acts Dirty Horse and Big Wave Dave, and photographer Kip Praslowicz. Rebecca Mortensen interviewed the owners for this week’s LakeCast.
Instagram spotlight on Tim Landis is spotlight on Twin Ports
Not sure why I missed this but my Twitter friend Tim Landis and his amazing Instagram pictures were featured a month or so ago on the Huffington Post (more…)
Plastic is better than silicon.
Photo Electric Effect
Texas Science: “Discovery of a ‘Dark State’ Could Mean a Brighter Future for Solar Energy“
Cravaack New Hampshire Dodgeball
Of all the obvious jabs at Minnesota 8th District Congressman Raymond “Chip” Cravaack for moving to New Hampshire — which reached a fever pitch today for the New Hampshire primary — this is definitely the funniest. (Note to moderators, it’s blatantly partisan, certain to test the new commenting policy).
Not sure if the movie clips are fair-use or not so I suppose it could get yanked at any time.
WEBC — Where you’re hearing things
Another classic Duluth radio jingle from Bob Halverson’s collection:
Something funny happened on the way through the drive-thru
Here’s an actual photo of a letter that someone I work with received this week. She was just going through the drive thru minding her business when the car in front of her paid for her coffee and egg sandwich, anonymously. It definitely brought a smile, which I guess is the whole idea. (more…)
Fiber in Duluth – What’s the haps?
Since this summer, I’ve seen several large, blaze orange coils of fiber optic cable being installed throughout the city. As of today I spotted some by Holy Rosary and up near Home Depot on Central Entrance.
Does anyone know if our Google overlords are trying to pull a fast one on us? Were area ISPs startled into actually building out their networks up here? Please tell me I’ll be browsing the Internet at satisfyingly fast speeds in the near future.
Too Graphic for a College Newspaper?
A student I work with was solicited to write a story for a local college newspaper. The student has a reputation for his dark writing style, but has been recognized as an outstanding author and actor. The paper did not print the following story, as they said it was too graphic. Thoughts or comments?:
Lake Shore Driving: Headless on the North Shore
by Frank Black
Jamie’s got his head in his hands, having just hacked it off with the cordless reciprocal saw Annie ordered for him off the internet the night she overdosed and stopped breathing-and blood came out her ears. This made Jamie very sad, so he cut off his head-and now it’s in his hands-and he’s watching and pondering curiously at how his scabby, haggard heart continues to pump random arcing spurts of thick blood out the ragged, chunky stump of what’s left of his neck-and thinks he should’ve thought this through a bit more, which is an odd thought to think when your decapitated head is resting in your hands.
(more…)