Is this slump in sales, partially due to different generational tastes yes, and it is also about lifestyle. Everyday I revel in, utilize and thoroughly enjoy the technology that puts the world at my figure tips. It allows me no limitations to where I can take both my coaching company and online magazine.  However when it comes time to relax I prefer the print media format.

I don’t think we are seeing an end of print media so much as a time of rebirth. “We have a generation that is consuming information in totally different ways” says news anchor Kevin Newman in an interview that talks about his decision to leave his on air news job in order to explore the world of digital media. (Read Crossing digital divide, interview by Karen Mazurkewich)

Time’s Managing Editor Richard Stengel recently announced that ‘For the first time since the magazine’s birth in 1923, we will soon be delivering the entire contents of TIME to paying customers in a radically different way: as a self-contained application that you can download to the iPad. (From Ushering In a New Era)

Even though the competion for readership numbers is no longer about who has the news box on the corner of main and 1st street; the media companies are still choosing to handle the issues in a singularly autonomous fashion. Will the different media apps for devices such as the Blackberry or pay for content on the Internet prove to be the sustaining solution? Of all the articles being written on this subject, James Poniewozik sums up the current situation best in his editorial All the News That’s Fit to Mint

I think tackling the insatiable need for information and news in today’s world with a more united or partnering approach might prove to be the beginning of a solution for the media’s woes; in other words to go where no newspapers have gone before. 

With Your Biscotti & Coffee

1) There was once a time when I would plow through any book, now I have to agree with Sonya Chung the list of books that I haven’t finished has increased. From her column in The Millions blog read Sonya’s post – It’s Not You, It’s Me: Breaking Up With Books.

2) Things are so troubled for the Roman Catholic Church that it is easy to forget that there are some truly heroic nuns and priests doing some remarkable work in the world.  From the NY Times Who Can Mock This Church? by Nicholas D. Kristof

3) Does your dog like to rock to Bono or is your cat more of a jazz fan? If you don’t think that they have a preference check out the world’s first Music fof Dogs concert, article by Amy Coopes.

© Jill Crossland for Life Deco, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: digital media, iPad, Media, newspapers, Print media, Sonya Chung, time

I want to remind those ‘invisible’ women; we are not the generation that ‘goes quietly into the night’.  So shoulders back, head up and find your articulate midlife voice. I am not invisible in stores,  people listen when I speak and last time I was in Starbucks I had a very engaging conversation with a young man when we both reached for the stirsticks at the same time, mind you it was a very good hair day.

© Jill Crossland for Life Deco, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Baby Boomers, Print media

I know she is the victim of an extra marital affair and I know that she is ill with breast cancer. I cannot nor do not judge how she handles these things. In these matters my affiliation is firmly with the ‘what goes on behind closed doors’ party.

What is perturbing is why she supported and campaigned for John Edwards to be President of the United States after he told her about the affair. Why, in spite of this knowledge did she sally forth, endorsing her husband as the right man for the job. Why did she cast herself as the loyal wife in the tableau of the wholesome American family?

By making the decision to submit herself and her family to this renewed public scrutiny, she should be accountable for that period in time. As Roger Simons asks in his article “Did Elizabeth Edwards want to get into the White House as badly as John Edwards did?”

I counter that with this question “Is Elizabeth Edwards again using the American public this time to garner book sales?”

Caryl Rivers in her Huffington Post article writes that she should be allowed to tell her story, to “have her say”. Funny that she has so much to say now but the truth was oddly silent during the ’08 Presidential campaign.

© Jill Crossland for Life Deco, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Elizabeth Edwards, Print media, women 40+

I really cannot add anymore other than to share their welcome with you:

“Welcome to Jungle Red, a salon of five mystery writers. Here, it’s all about writing. And not writing. And our search for motive in life, love, fiction and reality. Fans of classic films may recognize the name Jungle Red as a tip of the hat to Clare Booth Luce’s The Women. Like that eclectic group—we go through our highs and lows, fun and feuds with just an occasional unsheathing of our Jungle Red nails. Join us as we discuss (and occasionally diss) the world of reading, writing and publishing. All you need is an appreciation for a thoughtful turn of a phrase, admiration for a clever twist in a plot—and a sense of humor.”

© Jill Crossland for Life Deco, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: blogs, Print media

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Martin Luther King, Jr

On November 4th, 2008 this dream came to be

It has been a fascinating year for politics, especially for women. From the coverage of the hands on presence of candidate’s wives, to the political expertise & pantsuits of Palin and Clinton; no matter what her role the American female puts herself out there even if it means becoming a source of ratings for Saturday Night Live.

Through the years the First Ladies have often been marginalized by the press and that includes their causes until history & time validates their efforts. After 9/11 Laura Bush turned the tables and used the media to increase her presence in order to help heal a wounded nation. She has become a voice on the international stage speaking out for Afghanistan to bring focus to the challenges facing the people, particularly the women and children. This year she surprised many by supporting Burma as it struggles to be free of a regime’s tyranny.  It will be interesting to witness the historical imprint that Michelle Obama will make on the White House and the multi-dimensional position of first lady.

Here in Canada headlines are reading very differently. As illustrated with Julie Smyth’s article in the October 15th edition of  the National Post, entitled “Leaders spouses stay out of the spotlight”. Chatelaine’s December edition offers “Why Politics is Still a Man’s Job” by Rebecca Caldwell and the Editor, Maryam Sanati writes in her monthly letter “On the world list of female representation in politics Canada is 50 spots behind Rwanda”.

Candidate’s wives in Canada need to do more. They can speak to and meet with the people in smaller venues and in particular listen to the women. Instead of merely being a prop for the smile and wave photo ops, they can be a functioning presence on the campaign trail; gaining insight into the grassroots issues through discussions that their husbands are unable to have. If she chooses, the Prime Minister’s wife, Laureen Harper is in a truly enviable position to make a difference. She seems like an empathic and intelligent woman but we only get glimpses of her emerging from 24 Sussex Drive to attend some obligatory charity event. While giving one’s name & presence to a cause is important it is only touches on what she could accomplish.

No matter how we chose to participate it is time for Canadian women on all levels to not only bring home the bacon and fry it up in the pan but also have a say in how it should be raised, slaughtered, delivered to the store and priced. It is time to stop being on the sidelines.

© Jill Crossland for Life Deco, 2008. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Canada, Chatelaine Magazine, Hillary Clinton, Laureen Harper, Print media