Conscious Choice Seattle: Media in Transition

October 2005 | From the Editor

Media in Transition

By Bob Condor

There are many things to love about the publishing business. One personal draw is the changing mediascape. It’s incumbent upon journalists to realize we are in the news, information and, yes, entertainment business. Most of all, the goal is to be relevant.

This October’s Publishing 2005 Issue of Evergreen Monthly aims for that sort of engagement. EM Columnist Silja J.A. Talvi profiles blogger extraordinaire Alex Steffen, who founded the Seattle-based website, worldchanging.com (Blog Wild). More than 200,000 visitors go to the site each month for news, links and inspiration. Alex’s newspaper contributions—he’s written for the P-I, New York Times and others—connects him both with the established and cutting edge media.

Here’s how Alex sums up why blogs are no flash on the screen: “Rather than having one person sitting down and writing a 200-page book about a topic, you have 200 people writing one page about that topic.”

In an EM Special Report, writer Ritzy Ryciak takes a deep look at the trend of green publishing (Chain Saw Reaction). She identifies big-name, mainstream authors such as Alice Walker, Barbara Kingsolver (a personal favorite, I sort of swoon just thinking about her novel “Prodigal Summer”), Alice Munro, Margaret Atwood and Dr. Andrew Weil who are requiring their publishers to print books on recycled papers. Ritzy lays out the case why book buyers need to the same, getting precious and vibrant support from one 8-year-old Seattle girl who purchased her new Harry Potter book from Canadian publisher and B.C.-based Raincoast Books because it was printed on 100 percent post-consumer waste.

In contrast, the 11 million-plus first print run from American publisher Scholastic turned out Harry’s latest magic that sacrificed more trees than any eco-conscious person would like to count. Illustrator Guillermo Munro interpreted this development in his own style for our cover image. Then Guillermo promptly left town, changing his own mediascape from the P-I to the Chicago Sun-Times. His cover “illo” is our gift to local readers who will miss his artistry in the P-I (keep in touch with Guillermo’s art at www.gmunro.com)

One final shift this month: This issue holds the final Dragonfly Review of Books section, brainstorm of colleague Monte Paulsen. Evergreen Monthly will continue localized coverage of book events and authors, but surely miss Monte’s insatiable search for relevant books. As a result, we will be including more food news, especially for home cooks and their happy followers.

Our expanded food coverage will continue to feature the always-appetizing work of dining reviewer Nora West, who considers simplicity and deliciousness at Café Paloma this month (Local Food). Plus, look for breaking news such as Jim Slama’s story on organic milk ( Got Organic Milk? ) with insights from Whole Foods CEO John Mackey.

“Twenty-five years from now, I believe that factory farming in the United States will probably be illegal,” says Mackey. “First we have to create more compassionate alternatives. As we create a high standard alternative, people will be willing to look at factory farms more closely.”

Changing mediascape and landscape indeed.

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