I just got back from Topaz Elementary School, where I read Robert Munsch’s Show and Tell for Mrs. Guiterrez‘s fourth grade class for Read Across America Day.
This went tons better than Career Day at Hesperia High School last year: In addition to enjoying the book and being a great audience (even the few who didn’t like the book were exceptionally well-behaved), the fourth graders absolutely grilled me about being a reporter.
I think there might be a Hesperia Star column in next week’s paper about this, so I’ll save the details for then, but I will note that the kids were absolutely flabbergasted that I wasn’t rich.
Please direct similar sentiments to Editor Peter Day and Publisher Stephan Wingert.
Last week, the Daily Press formally launched its new digital version. For now, this full digital version of the paper is free, but at some point in the future, it’ll require a subscription, as I understand it.
I’m curious as to how the public responds to this. I don’t think it’s a great secret that Internet advertising isn’t turning in a great profit for anyone. As newspapers move towards a future where news-on-paper isn’t their main way of reaching readers, a more viable model than the current systems has to be found. Advertising on give-it-all-away Web sites isn’t working, and people are disinclined to register for newspaper sites (those ads pay more, since advertisers actually know who’s looking at them) and that leaves the industry to find new alternatives.
And that brings us to the Daily Press’ ePaper. If it’s successful, you can look for a Hesperia Star ePaper to follow.
Well, I’ve been alluding to it forever, but the Hesperia Star Web site has been joined by a new blog (currently located at Blogger) and a podcast.
We’ve been working on the podcast since December and Stephan Wingert, our publisher, first floated the idea of going to a blog-style format for the Star’s online presence in January and asked that we put together a proof-of-concept blog.
Both the blog and podcast are in their earliest stages right now, and I suspect Peter and I will tweak them both a great deal over the next few months, but both have the potential to let us do lots of new things, which few other newspapers are doing, which is exciting in itself.
This just keeps getting stranger:
In response to the Danish newspaper doing an anti-Islamic political cartoon contest, an Iranian newspaper decided to push the boundaries of free speech (well, sort of) by doing Holocaust cartoons contest. In response, now, an Israeli comic book company has decided to show that, when it comes to anti-Semitic humor, no one can beat the Jews.
No, seriously:
“We’ll show the world we can do the best, sharpest, most offensive Jew hating cartoons ever published!” said Zusman, and Sandy added: “No Iranian will beat us on our home turf!”
The contest has been announced today on the www.boomka.org website, and the initiators accept submissions of cartoons, caricatures and short comic strips from people all over the world. The deadline is Sunday March 5, and the best works will be displayed in an Exhibition in Tel-Aviv, Israel.
Sandy and Zusman are now in the process of arranging sponsorships of large organizations, and promise lucrative prizes for the winners, including of course the famous Matzo-bread baked with the blood of Christian children.
Fresh Air (“jazz hands!”) has interviewed one of the organizers.
The world is getting extra-nuts recently.
Hesperians should check out Friday’s Daily Press for what should be a very Hesperia-heavy day in the newspaper. Lots of big news came out of Wednesday’s budget workshop.
I’ll be reading it, if nothing else to see how I can follow Tracie’s pieces up with even more, despite city hall being closed on Friday. 😉
- Whoops, spoke too soon. Only one article on Friday. The others seem to have been pushed to Saturday through Monday.
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