Acting a fool in America

Here in America, yesterday was considered Black Friday - the first official shopping day of the Christmas season. Despite a trying economy, shoppers lined up at malls across the country to get the best deals. Yesterday was also one of the few days of the year grown adults act like they weren't raised with any sense.

From CNN:

A temporary Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death Friday in a rush of thousands of early morning shoppers as he attempted to unlock the doors of a Valley Stream, New York, store at 5 a.m., police said.

The man was 34 and lived in Queens, said Nassau County police Detective Lt. Michael Fleming. Authorities did not release his name.

"This was utter chaos as these men tried to open the door this morning," Fleming said.

In California, two people were killed in a shooting at a Toys 'R' Us in Palm Desert, according to the Riverside County Fire Department. The shooting occurred about 11:36 a.m. (2:36 p.m. ET), authorities said. Police did not release the victims' ages or gender.

In New York, video footage showed as many as a dozen people knocked to the floor in the stampede of people trying to get into the Wal-Mart store, Fleming said. The employee was "stepped on by hundreds of people" as other workers attempted to fight their way through the crowd, Fleming said.

"Several minutes" passed before others were able to clear space around the man and render some aid. Police arrived, and "as they were giving first aid, those police officers were also jostled and pushed," he said.

"Shoppers ... were on a full-out run into the store," he said.

...A 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital, he said, but "I'm happy to report she did not miscarry, and the baby is going to be OK." The woman was to be released from the hospital Friday, he said...

(BTW, what is up with the U.S. media spending more time on foolish American shoppers than on theterrorist attacks in India? More on this from me later...)

These kinds of incidents makes one wonder about how humanity has resorted to such resounding disrespect for itself. Christmas is "suppose" to be about charity and doing good for each other, however, due to ever-growing materialism in this country, Americans have lost all common sense and have become the opposite examples of what the holiday season represents.

We need to get back to respectful values in this country. One way of doing this is by participating in Buy Nothing Day, an international celebration of anti-consumerism.

Also, instead of buying your another usefull sweather, an alternative to traditional gift-giving is to donate money to a worthy nonprofit on behalf of your loved ones. There are many international nonprofits doing good work on behalf of the less fortunate that I have donated to in the past, including Oxfam and Heifer International.

However, sometimes charity starts at home, and the economy has struck local nonprofits the hardest that we should also support. Many social services that we depend on in our communities, such as homeless shelters, youth centers, food pantries, domestic violence relief homes, English as a Second Language (ESL) programs, HIV/AIDS hospices, substance abuse counseling centers and unemployment/job training organizations, are suffering the most because less people are donating to them this season.

So, if you go to the mall the next few weeks leading up to Christmas, please remember what this holiday season is really about.

Acting a fool overseas...

I have been meaning to write about this topic for a while.

I always find it interesting how people around the world complain about the rude American tourists who don't respect the culture in the countries they visit, when in fact, the Brits are just as guilty.

From The Guardian:

A British couple found guilty of having sex on a beach in Dubai had their jail sentences suspended today on appeal, and are to be deported.

Michelle Palmer, 36, of Rutland, and Vince Acors, 34, from Bromley, south-east London, had their appeal granted at the court of appeal in Dubai city.

The pair, who were on bail, have been ordered to pay a fine of £170, according to Acors' solicitor in London.

Hassan Matter, who represented the couple in court, said: "The judge has cancelled the jail. He refused the prosecution appeal [for the sentences to be increased]. They are free. It's wonderful.

Who has sex on a public beach in Dubai of all places!!!

Apparently, unruliness is a trend with British tourists.

From New York Times:

“They scream, they sing, they fall down, they take their clothes off, they cross-dress, they vomit,” Malia’s mayor, Konstantinos Lagoudakis, said in an interview. “It is only the British people — not the Germans or the French.”

Malia, [Greece] is the latest and currently most notorious in a long list of European resorts full of young British tourists on packaged tours offering cheap alcohol and a license to behave badly. In Magaluf and Ibiza, Spain; in Ayia Napa, Cyprus; and in the Greek resorts of Faliraki, Kavos and Laganas as well as Malia, the story is the same: They come, they drink, they wreak havoc.

“The government of Britain has to do something,” Mr. Lagoudakis said. “These people are giving a bad name to their country.”

They are also hurting themselves in the process. A recent report published by the British Foreign Office, “British Behavior Abroad,” noted that in a 12-month period in 2006 and 2007, 602 Britons were hospitalized and 28 raped in Greece, and that 1,591 died in Spain and 2,032 were arrested there.

The report did not distinguish between medical cases and arrests associated with drunkenness and those that had nothing to do with it. But it did say that “many arrests are due to behavior caused by excessive drinking.”

So it would seem. Reports of scandalous incidents rumble on regularly here and elsewhere, helping to cement Britain’s reputation as the largest exporter of inebriated hooligans in Europe.

WTF???

Am I thankful?

Well, I guess there are two things to be thankful for this year.

The one thing I am really thankful is that I got my consulting group off the group, despite a bad economy.

The other thing is that Americans proved that my cynicism wrong (slightly) by electing Barack Obama their next president. Never in my lifetime did I ever think a black man would live in the White House. Even some black radicals, who were skeptical of Obama's candidancy, are coming around.

From Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

As a black nationalist, I have considered myself an American only as a technicality or an accident of birth. I’ve never hoisted the red, white and blue, only the red, black and green. I gave up on the American dream a longtime ago. I have worked and looked forward to autonomy and self-determination in our communities. I never imagined that I would live long enough to see an African-American president. I never even believed that I would live to see a black Miss America. But America fooled me! Even as I predicted an Obama nomination and then a presidential win, the reality of what happened on Nov. 4 still has me totally stunned.

Obama ran on the mantra of change, but his win has forced me to change too! My perspective on American society has changed and I am in the process of re-adjusting my philosophy to accommodate the fantastic thing that has occurred. This milestone is not just significant for African-Americans but for everyone. Politically, it is simply astonishing!..

...I am still wary of the promise of these opportunities because of the gross structural inequities built into “the system.” But given the psyche-shattering results of this election, I am willing to at least meet anyone halfway in the new pursuit of that promise.

The author's wariness is not unfounded.

From Associated Press:

Dozens of infants and toddlers who lived in Louisiana's biggest trailer park for those displaced by Hurricane Katrina were anemic because of poor diets, at a rate more than four times the national average.

About 41 percent of 77 children under the age of 4 suffered from the condition this year, according to a study released Monday by the Children's Health Fund. Most, and possibly all, lived in the Renaissance Village trailer park in Baker.

Iron deficiency anemia can cause fatigue and learning problems. Severe deficiency in young children can delay growth and development and even cause heart murmurs.

The national rate for children that young is below 10 percent. Louisiana has one of the nation's highest anemia rates, with about 24 percent of all children below the age of 5 affected, according to the 2007 Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance survey.

Dr. Irwin Redlener, president of the Children's Health Fund and director of Columbia University's National Center for Disaster Preparedness, said the Renaissance Village rate was double the rate for homeless children the same age in New York City shelters.

The study used records for all 261 babies and children who lived in New Orleans until Katrina and were treated last year at CHF's mobile clinics at the trailer park and Baton Rouge schools, said Roy Grant, the organization's director of applied research and policy analysis.

While most of the affected children were storm evacuees, it was possible that a few were natives of Baton Rouge.

But studying the problem further and providing follow-up care for the children is difficult because the state closed the parks in May.

"Now it's more difficult, because they're no longer in the trailer area. They're dispersed around the state. So it's a little harder to get follow-up," said Dr. Jimmy Guidry, Louisiana's health officer.

My cynicism never ceases to amaze me.

Bloggers watch out for Michelle Obama

Around the world, there is not only a great deal of interest in U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, but also in the life of the first lady-in-waiting, Michelle Obama. During the campaign Mrs. Obama came under scrutiny for a variety of issues, ranging from an infamous "UnAmerican" speech to being called a "baby mama." A group of bloggers have taken the initiative to make sure a balanced image of the first lady is maintained in both the media and the blogosphere.

Michelle Obama Watch is an initiative started by Texas resident Gina McCauley, founder of What About Our Daughters, a blog dedicated to supporting positive images of black women and girls. McCauley intended Michelle Obama Watch to be "a repository of all of the criticism, praise, and general [foolishness] thrown at Michelle Obama. On the blog, users can see updated news, information, video and photos of the first lady. There is also discussion about any criticism made about Obama, as well as a section on her daughters, Sasha and Malia.

"Whether you support her husband or not," McCauley says on the blog. "Let’s be clear, any and every Black woman that walks in [Michelle's] footsteps can expect the same treatment so we might as well pull a Gandolf, draw a line in the stand and yell 'THOU SHALL NOT PASS!'"

Museums, Monuments, Newspapers and Contact Sheets

Over the weekend I went to the nation’s capital for a journalism conference. I did, however, have some spare time to do some extracurricular stuff and visit some museums and other points of interest. Washington D.C. is full of historical monuments that show the progress of American history at every corner. I wonder what Barack Obama’s contribution to this city will be – a statute, a plaque, another museum?

I don’t think yet another museum is necessary, but I am sure room will be made for the next president.

Anyway, the first stop on the museum tour was Newseum, the recently revamped space dedicated to journalism. When the tour guide at the museum told me that it could take at least a day to get through the whole museum, he wasn’t kidding. There was so much great history about the media to digest. One can look at newspapers representing almost every historical moment from world history. Someone once said that museums are really burial grounds for items that used to matter at one point. I believe newspapers will one day have a large exhibit there very soon.

Moving on to the National Museum of American History, which unbeknownst to me, reopened last week after two years of renovation. But I must ask what renovations? The place looks as crummy and claustrophobic as it always looked to my eyes. Needless to say, I didn’t spend much time there.

Just before I checked out of town, I did make a stop at Foto Week DC, a series of great exhibits around the city dealing with photography. I went to the Georgetown photojournalism exhibit, Contact/s. As digital imaging becomes commonplace, contact sheets are just as much a relic as newspapers are these days.

I think the folks at Newseum will have a lot of work cut out for them very soon.

Fall Diversions: Koop

It feels more like winter than fall these past few days, but, hey, at least its not snowing (yet). What a way to start off the weekend with acid jazz and some sexy hot chocolate!

Sexiest Man Alive - Period

Look, I can see why Hugh Jackman is appealing, according to People Magazine, but as far as we are concerned, Idris Elba is the sexiest man alive.

End of discussion.

Facebook members want Peter Thiel out

Over the last few months we have highlighted many grassroots movements that effectively use the social networking tool Facebook to advance their activism. However, there is actually a group of Facebook members currently using it for their own kind of activism – protesting Facebook!

Technology venture capitalist Peter Thiel, who sits on Facebook's Board of Directors and is one of Facebook's biggest investors, allegedly donated $1 million to NumbersUSA, one of America’s leading anti-immigration organizations and what the Southern Poverty Law Center has called a hate group. Facebook members have formed a group, demanding that Thiel be held accountable, either by denouncing NumbersUSA, or leaving Facebook's Board of Directors. In the meantime, group members are being asked to opt-out of Facebook ads.

“What's the worst is that our use of Facebook is contributing to his donations,” group member Chase Weatherfield Bauer. “Get out, dude.”

Bill Clinton's Overseas Adventures

It wasn’t enough that Bill Clinton ruined his wife’s chances of becoming president. Now it looks like the former president's "overseas adventures" might put Sen. Hillary Clinton's chances of becoming the next Secretary of State on a detour.

From The Daily Beast:

The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has paid $500,000 to Bill Clinton for a single lecture he delivered in Kuwait City on Sunday on his assessment of Barack Obama’s foreign and economic policies. It was delivered the day after the Kuwaiti stock market resumed trading after it was suspended by order of a Kuwaiti court on Thursday to avoid a total collapse...

...He has earned far more per speech, particularly from Middle Eastern or foreign organizations wishing to hear his views on a range of topics. The Dabbagh investment firm in Saudi Arabia paid $600,000 for two speeches, and China's JingJi Real Estate Development Group paid $200,000 for a single speech. The Mito City Political Research Group in Japan paid him $400,000 in 2002 for a single speech.

Gold Services International, an event organizer based in Bogota, Colombia, flew Clinton to Latin America in 2005 for a series of speeches for which he was paid $800,000. The Power Within, a motivational-speech company in Toronto, paid Clinton $650,000 for speeches in Canada in 2005, and he returned to give more speeches for an undisclosed sum the following year. Goldman Sachs paid him $650,000 for a series of four speeches, and Citigroup paid $250,000 for a speech in France in 2004...

...Since leaving the White House in 2001, Bill Clinton has raised more than $353 million for the William J. Clinton Foundation, which finances his presidential library in Little Rock, as well as his global anti-AIDS charity. He has also received donations from the Saudi royal family, the king of Morocco, a foundation linked to the United Arab Emirates, and the governments of Kuwait and Qatar, The New York Times reported last year. In 2002 he was paid $750,000 for speaking at the Jeddah Economic Forum...

How quick can Hillary draw up divorce papers?

The truth about Rahm Emmanuel

I know I am bit late on this, but this Rahm Emmanuel scares me. The confetti has not even been purchased yet for the inauguration, and Obama might already be making a mistake with his first hire.

From Marc Lamont Hill:

...Based on recent history, Rahm Israel Emmanuel is by far one of the most conservative politicians on his side of the aisle. As a member of the New Democrat Coalition, Emmanuel and his comrades have been major allies to the Right-wing’s efforts to undermine fair trade, disempower unions, and disregard environmental considerations. For example, policies like the Clinton Crime Bill and NAFTA, which was heavily critiqued by Obama, are directly attributed to Emmanuel’s influence. For a president who got elected by distancing himself from Bush, Obama's selection of a powermongering Lieberman Democrat wreaks of contradiction.

While most Democrats are attempting to responsibly reduce military spending, Emmanuel has repeatedly voted in favor of, and resisted attempts to limit, George W. Bush’s reckless and dangerous military expenditures. Also, Emmanuel was a hardcore supporter of the Iraq war, arguing that he would have supported the invasion regardless of whether or not weapons of mass destruction really existed. Today, Emmanuel continues to instigate military action against Iran by overstating its nuclear capacity.

Perhaps most disturbing about Emmanuel is his stance on Israel. As a fervent Zionist, he is further to the Right than President Bush on all issues related to Israel. From Israel’s assassination policy to well-documented human rights abuses, Emmanuel has failed to offer the slightest critique of America’s most coveted ally. Of course, it is not difficult to find the filial source of Emmanuel’s stances. His father, Benjamin Emmanuel, was a well-known gun-runner for Irgun, a pre-Israel terrorist organization that launched a series of vicious attacks against Palestinians and British civilians. In 1991, Emmanuel himself volunteered for the Israel Defense Forces during the Gulf War...

And there's more:



Change I can't believe in!

Newspapers? Dead? Not Yet!

Breaking News!!!

What do you mean newspapers aren’t dead yet?

From Newseum:

...In the aftermath of President-elect Barack Obama’s historic election, hundreds of people from coast to coast lined up to snap up extra and commemorative newspaper souvenirs marking the event. In many cases, demand was unprecedented.

USA Today sold an extra 380,000 copies and sold more online. The Washington Post has printed a total of 1,050,000 "Commemorative Election" editions since November 5. The Chicago Tribune "printed more than 1.1 million copies of the November 5 edition, about 410,000 more than we normally print," the paper’s communications manager said. The Los Angeles Times printed 200,000 extra copies and "expect that number to increase," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution had to reprint five times for a total of 248,000 extra newspapers.

What drives people to seek out newspaper mementos of events like Obama’s election? The answer lies in the newspaper itself — hard, tangible proof of a significant occurrence that can be touched, held and saved for future generations. As a reader explained in the Washington Post: "You can’t show your children your BlackBerry or your computer screen."

The Newseum’s daily display of newspaper front pages from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and countries around the world attracted a steady flow of tourists and news crews the day after the election outside the building on Pennsylvania Avenue. The Newseum’s Web site saw an 800 percent jump in the number of views to the Front Pages section. Commemorative posters of the front pages will soon be available online and in the Newseum store.

At a time when news publications are cutting their losses and moving exclusively to the Web, Obama’s unparalleled election proves that when it comes to preserving memories, high tech takes a back seat to good old-fashioned paper...

Well, I still think the newspaper industry is dying, but I think what is becoming common practice for many publishers is to create a PDF version of the print edition that readers can just download, which would be a more cost-efficient practice for everyone in the future. But for now, hurrah for the presses!

BTW, we're going to Newseum next week to check out its new digs. We will report back on our findings!

Radical Music Videos: Miriam Makeba

South African singer and activist Miriam Makeba passed away yesterday.

RIP Mama Africa.

Obama and Transparency

Now just because I am proud of the racial progress made with Obama's election doesn't mean I won't hold him accountable when 'suspect stuff' goes down while he is in the White House.

One of his biggest weaknesses had during his campaign and continues to have is his limited media access, and a recent memo only highlights the problem.

From Washington Post:

From: Larry Strickling
Date: November 6, 2008 6:58:14 PM EST
To: itw-policygroups
Cc: Priya Singh
Subject: . . . Rerminder–Decline All Reporter Interviews and Speaking Requests

This is a reminder that our communications department has directed all of you, as policy committee members, to decline all requests from reporters and all speaking invitations regarding the transition, the Administration’s priorities and related issues. If you are contacted by a reporter to discuss these matters, please refer the reporter to Priya Singh at psingh@barackobama.com. If you receive an invitation to speak on these issues at a conference or meeting, please decline the request. At this point in time, there is no one to whom to refer the request and do not offer to do so on behalf of the organization extending you the invitation. We realize these requirements may appear Draconian but so soon after the election, with the transition effort just being organized, it is important that no one who was involved with the campaign and the policy committees be speculating in public on these sensitive matters.

Not really sure what to think of this just yet, but troubling at first sight...

Obama and racial progress

President-elect Barack Obama's victory last week was not only a step forward for African Americans, but also for blacks around the world. Over the last few days, I have received so many e-mails from friends and family members in the Caribbean, Europe and Africa over how happy they are because Obama's win is really a step forward for the black diaspora.

Over the weekend a white friend asked me if I thought that "racism was over" now that the country has elected a black man president. I abruptly said no, of course. While there has been progress in this country regarding race relations, there is still a long way to go.

But in the meantime, lets remember a darker time in American history.

Online journalism takes off

Mary Baker Eddy must be pleased.

The newspaper she founded, The Christian Science Monitor, is going in a drastically new direction. As reported earlier this week, in "April 2009, it will shift from its current daily-print format to a multi-platform news organization with a 24/7 daily online publication, a weekly print edition and a daily electronic subscription product. With these changes, The Christian Science Monitor is leading journalism into its next era of 24/7 online coverage and true interactivity."

On the occasion of the newspaper celebrating its centennial anniversary this month, a panel of journalists and media experts was held at the Christian Science Publishing Society this evening to address what Monitor publisher Jonathan Wells calls "journalism that helps society move forward."

Here are some notes:

"There are more options to get information today than ever before. But the question is what the quality of that information will be."
- Mark Jurkowitz, associate director of The Project for Excellence in Journalism

Ellen Hume, research director of MIT's Center for Future Civic Media
-the business model for newspapers is being lost to the Internet
-"shift of power" from newspaper publisher to everyone

Douglas K. Smith, Executive Director, Sulzberger News Media
*Currently what doesn't work for online journalism
-age/demographic shifts
-how to monetize online news
-content and edit
-retaining audiences
-creating "sustainable enterprise model"

Sree Sreenivasan, Director of the New Media Program at Columbia University's School of Journalism
-smart use of technology had a role in the U.S. presidential race
-more people watch YouTube to catch what they missed on television
-Flip cameras are all the rage
-The Internet is "not lowering standards, but creating opportunities to learn news tricks, and see where we can go."

Lessons learned:
-Both broadcast and print journalists can still have a career in the new media world
-PaidContent.org is a cool website
-the Monitor will continue to thrive.

McCain/Palin smackdown

Just when you thought you heard the last of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin...



Yes, it looks like the McCain camp is pulling out the long knives on the hockey mom.

Now remember, McCain DID invite Palin to join his ticket without vetting her...

Also, lets remember that "fair and balanced" Fox News is reporting this, so no one can blame liberal bias or "gotcha" journalism, although Bill O'Reilly comes off like he has the hots for Palin.

Let the games begin.

The other losers in the presidential race

Hillary Clinton is not a happy woman this morning.

Her 2012 presidential aspirations sank last night with the Obama victory. While she will go down in history as the first woman presidential candidate to run a formidable campaign, Clinton ended up losing the fight when she and her partner in crime, Bill Clinton, indirectly used racism to divide black and white voters. As you can see, divisiveness never works in anyone's favor.

Also, another hater, Ralph "Yes, I am running in the race" Nader had the audacity to get on Fox News this morning and call Barack Obama an "Uncle Tom" for big corporations. While I agree that our politicians are beholden to corporate interests these days, it almost seemed like Nader was crassly using Obama's race to make a point or a publicity stunt at best. What I am surprised by is that the Fox reporter, Shepard Smith, actually defended Obama, which is out of the norm for the right wing network.

Quite frankly, I don't think most people even knew Nader was still in the race.

Check out the video below:

The reasons McCain lost the presidency

First, I would like to say that although John McCain ran a crap campaign; he is an honorable man who deserves respect for serving his country.

Okay…

However, most voters decided that the economy is the most important issue in their lives, and since Republicans are not usually perceived to be good on this topic, they rejected McCain. Hell, even John McCain himself has said he isn’t good with the economy.

Also, American voters thought McCain was just going to be an extension of the Bush disastrous legacy, notably the Iraq war and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Dick Cheney’s endorsement over the weekend didn’t exactly help McCain either.

Lastly, Sarah Palin is a complete moron.

I have to admit that I wanted to give the Alaska governor the benefit of the doubt when she first entered the race, partly because she was an unknown, partly because she at the time seemed to come from a reformist background, and partly because of the seemingly sexist remarks made about whether she could be the vice president and raise her family simultaneously.

But all my sympathy disappeared quickly in the now infamous Katie Couric interviews, revealing that Palin, well, left much to be desired,. In the ensuing weeks she spent her time trying to show that she has some intelligence and threw around words like “maverick” and “patriotism.” And then in the last couple of weeks Palin used divisiveness to desperately save the sinking campaign, which backfired horribly.

Sarah Palin was picked to garner votes from the PUMAs (Party Unity My Ass) or the Democratic women who supported Hillary Clinton, but refused to support Barack Obama once he captured the Democratic nomination. Nonetheless, at the end, Sarah Palin, who was also picked to run with McCain to help revive the socially conservative Republican base, became an albatross around McCain’s neck due largely to the belief that she was not competent to take the job of vice president or even president if anything happened to McCain.

On top of this, what does this say about how Republicans views women in their own party? I think it is a crass idea to pick a woman candidate simply because she is a woman. However, if they were going to go down that gender route, why not pick a SMART Republican woman? While I don’t agree with anything on the Republican agenda, no one really can say that Kay Bailey Hutchison, Elizabeth Dole, Elaine Cho or Susan Schwab are not competent to have been McCain’s running mate. Geez, even Condoleezza Rice, who will forever have the the Iraq war attached to her legacy, would have been a better pick than Palin. Apparently, the Republicans thought that Palin’s wit, charisma and good looks would get them over. Not!

There are reports that Palin has aspirations to run for the While House in 2012, as she is a “raising star” in the Republican party. Boy, if this is true, Republicans will never get elected ever again.

I think we can all agree that Palin will return to Alaska in absurdity to view Russia from her house!

Barack Obama wins online campaign

President-elect Barack Obama has not only become the first African American commander-in-chief of the United States, but he also led the Democratic party to win states considered uphill battles, including Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire. Obama's road to the White House was helped with a broad, diverse group of followers, including young people, people of color and disgruntled Republicans, thanks in part to his successful online strategy.

Obama used the Internet for both fundraising purposes and growing a community of like-minded voters who wanted to see the country go in a different direction than the one led by the Bush Administration. According to data from the Federal Election Commission, Obama raised over $470 million in individual contributions through October 15, compared to rival John McCain's $200 million. Obama accomplished this by taking smaller contributions from supporters and creating an easy online giving process.

Also, his supporters got online to show their support for him on multiple social networks, including a YouTube video from pop star Will.i.am and "Obama Girl."

The Obama campaign also used text messaging to announce the selection of VP running mate Joe Biden.

Celebrations are occuring around the world online today in support of the Obama victory, including Thursday's declared holiday in Obama's ancestral home of Kenya.

While the book is still being written on Obama's victory, Obama's digital activism can not be overlooked.

"Take away elements regarding his race and all the hype around his candidacy and you find that he executed a sound online strategy to get his thoughts out to the people and address their issues," said Navarrow Wright, President and CEO of GlobalGrind.com, in a recent interview. "This was not a fluke, it was true Internet strategy."

Christian Science Monitor now online

As Americans finally go to the ballots today to possibly bring "change" to the White House, I thought I would get this post in about another kind of “change” before the calm before the storm ends this evening when the polls close.

There is big change in newsrooms across the country in recent years due to the digital revolution. The Christian Science Monitor, a great newspaper that, unfortunately, most people don’t read anymore is gaining a second life online.

From Market Watch:

The Christian Science Monitor today announces that on November 6 it will convene an interactive conversation about "The Future of Journalism". The live event will mark 100 years of Monitor journalism and feature a discussion among media experts, readers and journalism students on how excellence in journalism can be expanded in the digital age.

This event comes on the heels of The Christian Science Monitor's announcement on October 28 that, as of April 2009, it will shift from its current daily-print format to a multi-platform news organization with a 24/7 daily online publication, a weekly print edition and a daily electronic subscription product. With these changes, The Christian Science Monitor is leading journalism into its next era of 24/7 online coverage and true interactivity.

In the wake of downsizing and decreasing circulation at major media companies, news organizations are re-examining their business models and devoting greater resources to online coverage. Mindful of this rapidly changing media landscape, the Monitor has become the first news organization of its reach and reputation to treat its Web site as its primary publishing format, thus enabling its readers to engage directly in global conversations and to take part in the many innovations coming to the news industry.

While I am not surprised it would be the first newspaper to go down this route, I am very excited about this new development at the Monitor and glad to see some newsroom editors finally coming into the 21st century. I am going to view this conversation online Thursday evening to see what’s up.