New American Journalism Or Flat Out Poison? - Joshua
September 7, 2008
The idea was a grand one.
It’s rare these days to be in on a grand idea, an idea that for a short time is so free of the daily round of human nonsense that you are almost short of breath.
The idea was that a crew of mostly ex-newspaper writers could remake American Journalism the right way, the way that we thought we hadn’t been allowed to in our short years covering…, well covering. Continue reading New American Journalism Or Flat Out Poison? - Joshua
Smashing Pumpkins, Blowing Chunks
November 19, 2007
Early nineties. Late teens. The time in life where you’re just starting to figure out that you can go places and do things; that you have limitless options. The idea both terrified and exhilarated you. And, you’re a punk.
One of your bands was playing in DC. The Red Hot Chili Peppers. You got tickets for you and your 15-year-old girlfriend. Her parents wouldn’t let her drive to DC with you, so they drove her and her friends and you met there. You went with your friends. You’d never driven all the way into DC before.
First person. We got to the show and had to wait outside. This was before I realized that rock shows never start on time, so the only people in line were the other punk kids who had also not realized this. And my beautiful, dyed hair army jacket girlfriend.
And it was cold. REAL cold. Mid-winter cold. DC outside a club cold. An hour went by, and I’d do anything to stay warm. One of my friends was smoking, which I didn’t then. Maybe a cigarette would keep me warm.
Continue reading Smashing Pumpkins, Blowing Chunks
I is for International Imbroglio
November 12, 2007
Starting this is hard. I promised to have this done by Sunday night, and here it is Saturday night and 20 words down. I needed a deadline to actually produce, so I told Matt Sunday night. So here I am, the wife and baby asleep, trying to produce.Matt asked me what I was going to write about. “Something geopolitical,” I said. Smart sounding way a of saying I’m not sure. “Something geopolitica,l” it can really cover an endless body of blathering, as I hope we will soon find.
Maybe an introduction first, I’ve been on the boards but this is my first story. My name’s Joshua. 34, married 7 years, one daughter. Professional journalist, photojournalist in detail. Been in “the business” 8 years, now working at a daily newspaper in the Baltimore/DC area. No, not that one. Not that one either. The plan was to slowly move up the ladder and land at one of the big guys, then sit back and work for thirty years. It seems, however, that when I wasn’t looking the ladder had caught fire and maybe it wasn’t going as high as we were led to believe in the first place.
