WSC Show #92 - Interview with Roy Barnes (Pt. 1)

In today’s episode, the first of a two part series, I have a conversation with my late father Roy Barnes who served in the entertainment industry for close to 30 years as a member of both the Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800) and the Set Designers & Model Makers Guild (IATSE Local 847). Recorded Saturday, 14 October 2006.

Credits
Producer/Host: Tanja Barnes
Music: "Dunya Salam" featuring Baaba Maal
from the album "1 Giant Leap"
Used with permission by Jamie Catto

Dedicated in loving memory to Roy Lee Barnes
9 Feb 1936 - 29 October 2006
Ars Gratia Artis

Today In The NY Times TV Decoder Blog

TV Decoder, the New York Times blog covering all things television, recently cross-posted the Michael Cieply piece.

Since I knew about the conversation regarding this on United Hollywood, I posted a comment to the TV Decoder blog with a link pointing back to the UH post and asking the Grey Lady two questions: in light of the media blackout, where is Mr. Cieply getting his information and has the NYT done a thorough fact check?

FWIW, the New York Times edited out my back-link to the UH post and I'm curious as to what their standards and guidelines are for deleting that.

Moreover, I'm also curious if I will receive an answer from the TV Decoder bloggers. In the world of Web 2.0, the idea is to create a dialogue between readers and publishers. So, will the NY Times respond? We'll see, won't we?

Check out the TV Decoder post here and be sure to leave a comment.

I Call Bullshit

DSC_6175, originally uploaded by NoHoDamon.

< BEGIN RANT >

I'm jonesing for a bitchfest. Here we go:

I believe it's plain bad journalism for CNBC news to report that Michael Eisner said the strike is over. This is just as reprehensible and irresponsible as when the esteemed Nikki Finke blogs and says "I'm told that...."

It's crap. There's no fact checking. It's all hearsay.

Hello, Operator? Is Michael at the table? Is he in the room? All CNBC is doing is allowing Eisner to say the "I heard it from a friend" and we know that game. We played it in elementary school.

And as I just read on United Hollywood: "Michael Eisner is completely uninvolved and irrelevant to the strike."

True that. Interestingly, the real facts are coming from a blog rather than an accredited news source. Just sayin'.

Consider that yesterday was a huge ass picketing event at Eisner's old stomping ground at Disney Studios in Burbank. So, the timing of this so-called "news" is questionable. I believe it was a vindictive measure on Eisner's part to take aim at the writers and he used his buddies -- the media monopolies -- er I mean -- conglomerates that control the flow of news and information -- to do it.

And while I'm having a bitchfest: having walked the line yesterday I can tell you that the Team Disney building by Michael Graves? It's fugly. It's even fuglier inside. How do I know this? I temped in that God-awful building. I'm the daughter of an architect-cum-art-director. When I told my dad I thought this building was shite, he told me he thought I'd be tricked into thinking it was cute by its facade. Needless to say, he was proud of me. And I'm proud of him. My dad knew his stuff!

Until there is a deal in place look to WGA or United Hollywood for official news and information.

< /END RANT >

WSC Show #91 - Interviews with Joss Whedon and Monique Darling

In today’s episode I speak to Joss Whedon and follow up with Monique Darling, a huge Whedon fan, and her sister Heather Griffith. Both recordings took place at the Sci-Fi Channel Day for Fans and Writers picketing event in front of NBC Studios. Recorded Wednesday, 6 February 2008.

Credits
Producer/Host: Tanja Barnes
Music: "Ay Mambo" by Falik
available on Magnatune.com

Joss Whedon Talks with a Fan, originally uploaded by NoHoDamon.

Who Owns What v2.1

Blogger Amy Webb from MyDigiMedia just posted this great post:

In the wake of Microsoft's proposed $44 bil takeover of Yahoo (and all the subsequent chatter), I've updated my Who Owns What chart. Because I think this topic is so important to all journalists, regardless of whether they work in traditional media or even in the United States, I'm going to launch an RSS feed and a widget soon that will roll constant updates on who owns what.

In the six months since I first created the chart, there are a handful of notable updates:

• - AOL's list has grown tremendously, while Google, News Corp and IAC have remained relatively unchanged.


• - AOL is heading strong into behavioral targeting and various ad network options.


• - Yahoo's buy early and large strategy toned down considerably in Q3 and Q4 of 2007.


• - Google's last acquisition was Postini early last fall.


• - Though I'm not tracking this on the chart, News Corp has also been selling lots of assets - namely local television stations.

Download the PDF file here.

Better Than Free

In closing my interview with Ronald D. Moore from Battlestar Galactica, Moore voted for the printing press over the Internet.

I've been predicating the queston of Internet v. Printing Press with the phrase "legacy notwithstanding" because the fact that the printing press came first fails to really capture the spirit of my question. It's like saying the wheel was the more powerful invention than the car because it was first. I mean, if you really believe the answer is the printing press, then please come up with an original and creative answer.

Like Moore did.

Moore's answer was one of the few that I felt to be somewhat original and made a great deal of sense. To paraphrase his response (it's probably better to listen to it in my podcast) he felt that the printing press gave more monetary value to the act of copying information and ideas in manuscript form whereas the Internet, by its very nature, is the endless flow of ubiquitous content that devalues the worth of the original product.

Blogger Kevin Kelly makes some really good points about the Internet being a massive copy machine in a post entitled "Better Than Free". Here's a snippet:

The internet is a copy machine. At its most foundational level, it copies every action, every character, every thought we make while we ride upon it. In order to send a message from one corner of the internet to another, the protocols of communication demand that the whole message be copied along the way several times. IT companies make a lot of money selling equipment that facilitates this ceaseless copying. Every bit of data ever produced on any computer is copied somewhere. The digital economy is thus run on a river of copies. Unlike the mass-produced reproductions of the machine age, these copies are not just cheap, they are free.

This is a great post and worth a full read here.

WSC Show #90 - Interviews with Shawn Ryan and Ronald D. Moore

In today’s episode I speak to Shawn Ryan, creator of The Shield and executive producer of The Unit. Then I talk to Ronald D. Moore from Battlestar Galactica. Both recordings took place at the SciFi Channel Day for Fans and Writers picketing event in front of NBC Studios. Recorded Wednesday, 6 February 2008.

Credits
Producer/Host: Tanja Barnes
Music: "Ay Mambo" by Falik
available on Magnatune.com

Ron Moore, originally uploaded by NoHoDamon.

BTW... does anybody have a photo of Shawn Ryan at this event that I may use (with attribution, of course).

Kindle vs. Books

OK...so y'all listening to my podcast know my shtick with my last question being a poll as to whether the Internet or the printing press is the more powerful technology. But it's still fun to throw that curve ball out to my interviewees who don't see it coming.

Lately a lot of writers have stood firm with the printing press. And many of them cite the main reason as being the reader's experience of actually sitting down and opening a physical book. They talk about the "hand", they talk about the smell, they all talk about the act of reading a book as being akin to a sensual experience. And they follow up these points as reasons as to why the e-book will never succeed as a medium.

Perhaps those in favor of the printing press and the merits of the physicality of books may be on to something. But what if they're wrong? What if books go the same way that e-mail replaced letters and penmanship has become a dying art? I'm not saying that the Kindle will replace the book, because I really don't know and don't care to hazard a prediction. I honestly don't know. I mean, I think actual books are pretty cool, virtual books are kinda... well... weird. But I also think actual books can be heavy and cumbersome in my backpack but virtual books can be light and fluffy.

FWIW, as magazines and newspapers go on-line so too it would seem that comic books are apparently crossing over to an electronic medium. Comic books? At any rate, I just read an article in favor of the book and thought to share it with you. Read all about it here.

WSC Show #89 - Interviews with Steve Leiva, Alan Kirschenbaum and the Mud Baron

In today’s episode, I speak to strike captain Steve Leiva and revisit with Alan Kirschenbaum at the picket line in front of CBS Radford studios. I’ll also receive a bouquet and have a chat with the Mud Baron. Recorded Monday, 4 February 2008.

Credits
Producer/Host: Tanja Barnes
Music: "Ay Mambo" by Falik
available on Magnatune.com

Olly olly oxen free!

If artists wish to think out of the box, move away from the mainstream and break away from the networks, studios and record labels -- if artists really want to become indie-DIY and create content for the Internet and earn a sustainable livelihood -- they're going to have to understand an aspect of new media called "social media". It's your bloggers, your MyFacers, your UGC. It's everyday peeps. It's me and it's you. In a word it is your freakin' audience.

So everybody in the entertainment industry had better get hip to this new game called New Media. It's a brave new world this Internet is and Ringolevio it ain't. Everybody's gonna have to learn to get along.

Word to the moguls: the time has come to say fair's fair. To pay the rent. To pay our share.

And word to the unions: It's really very simple: Union is union. We are all in this together.

Now. Everybody go out on the Internet and play nicely.

(Just sayin'.)

I found this great blog post by Collin Douma and below is a snippet:

Is this really about picking sides?

How will you ever fill the needs of your consumers if all you do is tell them what they want by saying what you want to hear.

The consumer has a medium now. They don’t call themselves “consumers”, and they don’t label their medium “commercial”. They are “contributors”, and they call it - Social Media.

If you want to play in their space, you better be ready to listen.

The more I deep-dive in social media, the more I realize that it isn’t about replacing traditional media, nor is it an accompanying strategy to a traditional campaign. In fact, it’s about meshing social media concepts into the fiber of what you are already doing.

It may not be a slick, but it can be. It may not be what you are accustomed to, but it will be. It may not sustain the big agencies of Madison Ave, but at least it’s sustainable.

The fight is over, but you can still decide if you win or lose.

Game ovah!

Oh, to be an extra in India

OMFG...my job is being outsourced to Bollywood.

Check it here.

(OK, I'm exaggerating. But who's to say it won't be?)

Zefrank Explains SXSW Interactive In Under a Minute

Zefrank explains the 10 year history of SXSW Interactive in under a minute.

via Fimoculous

Taking the Web Public

Craig Aaron, the Communications Director at Free Press has written what I feel to be a very compelling article as to why the public should participate in the discussion about net neutrality.

Here's a snippet:

For decades, the crucial decisions that shape the Internet have been made behind closed doors by high-priced lobbyists and ill-informed politicians with little or no public involvement. Surely Congress could agree to hold public forums -- online and off -- in every state, if not every district, before making the monumental decisions that will shape the future of the Internet for a generation.

You can pretend the government doesn't matter, that technology alone will magically set us free. But if you want the most revolutionary forum for free speech, democratic participation, and economic innovation to prosper, you'd better have a seat at the table when those rules are being written.

Entire article is here. Even better are the comments this post has received.

My two cents. YMMV.

Oh, and if you don't believe me, go ask a frikkin' ninja!

WSWS speaks to striking writers

Last week, the World Socialist Website spoke to striking writers on the picket lines at studios in the Los Angeles area. The conversations took place prior to the news of the tentative deal between the guild and the studios and networks. They talked with writers about the Directors Guild (DGA) contract, the increasingly conciliatory attitude of the WGA leadership toward the AMPTP, and the general political situation in the United States. More information here.

WSC Show #88 - Interviews with Patti Carr, Steve Skrovan, and Alan Katz

In today’s episode I head out to the picket lines to talk to strike captains Steve Skrovan and Patricia Carr at CBS Radford Studios and Alan Katz at Paramount. Recorded Monday, 4 February 2008.

Credits
Producer/Host: Tanja Barnes
Music: "Ay Mambo" by Falik
available on Magnatune.com

Prime Time Is Anytime

Click image to get the entire story.

Alan Rosenberg on United Hollywood

Another video posted on United Hollywood produced by Jeff Berman. Go Jeff!

Patric Verrone On Solidarity And Rumors

Just posted on United Hollywood. Details here.

Tim Draper is mad as hell

Tim Draper, one of Silicon Valley's most successful venture capitalists and who has been attributed to be the creator of "viral marketing", is mad as hell.

Here he is on the OnMedia panel "Report Card: VC Investment in Content Companies."

WSC Show #87 - Interviews with Juli Crockett, Lindsay Sloane, Eric Weinberg and Richard Mueller

In today’s episode I’ll wrap up a series of interviews recorded last week as I talk to Juli Crockett from IO West, actor Lindsay Sloane and writers Eric Weinberg and Richard Mueller from the picket line in front of Fox Studios. Recorded Monday, 28 January 2008.

Credits
Producer/Host: Tanja Barnes
Music: "Ay Mambo" by Falik
available on Magnatune.com

Tonight: The Armando WGA/SAG Solidarity Shows event will culminate in a star-studded strike support show, with 100% of the box office going to the Writers Guild Foundation Industry Support Fund.


Kate Walsh (Private Practice, Gray's Anatomy) and Reno 911 creator and star Robert Ben Garant have been confirmed to host the 3-act, 2 ½ hour improv extravaganza.


Robert Garant (along with partner Thomas Lennon) is a top screenwriter, having written the hits The Pacifier, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Balls of Fury, Night at the Museum, and the upcoming Night at the Museum 2.


The Office’s Angela Kinsey, Kate Flannery, and Ed Helms as well as MADtv’s Mo Collins will be joining the cast of regular “Armando” performers including Tim Meadows (Walk Hard, SNL) and MADtv’s Stephnie Weir among other notable iO alums for this incredible night.


Having declared January WGA Strike Support Month at the iO WEST in Hollywood and donating 50% of the box office from select shows to the Writers Guild Foundation Industry Support Fund in a demonstration of solidarity and support for the striking writers, the iO WEST is continuing the support into February as the writer’s strike drags on.


Every night, until the strike is over, iO WEST will be offering $3 well drinks and $2 PBR for WGA members who present their membership cards.


February 4th. 9 PM. Mainstage. $25.

Technical Difficulties - Podcast Now Live

After some technical difficulties, the next episode is in fact live and available for listening.

WSC Show #86 - Interviews with Brooks Wachtel and Chip Proser

In today’s episode I talk with writers Brooks Wachtel and Chip Proser from the picket line on WGA/SAG Unity day in front of Fox Studios. Recorded Monday, 28 January 2008.

Credits
Producer/Host: Tanja Barnes
Music: "Ay Mambo" by Falik
available on Magnatune.com

Special bonus podcast! Below is an interview Chip Proser did as a guest with the Space Show. Here he discusses his new documentary which is now finished, “Gaia Selene: Saving the Earth by Colonizing the Moon.” The discussion was far more comprehensive than the documentary with questions about space solar power, nuclear power, energy from the Moon, energy wars, and more.


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L.A. TIMES REPORTING CONTRACT OUTLINED IN WRITERS' STRIKE

The L.A. Times has filed this story about an hour ago signaling that the WGA and AMPTP have reach a tentative contract agreement.