AltWeeklies Wire
Holy Terror? Inside the Media's Muddled Thinking on the Fort Hood Shootingsnew
After Nidal Hasan allegedly murdered 13 people at Fort Hood, commentators offered dangerously muddled assessments of what happened and why. Now it's time for a sober look at why Hasan killed -- and what role his Muslim faith might have played.
Boston Phoenix |
Adam Reilly |
11-11-2009 |
Media
Al Giordano's School of Authentic Journalism Tweaks J-School Conventionsnew
The school, which is located on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, has grown steadily in the past seven years. And this past month, the school announced it will be offering 24 scholarships for "up-and-coming journalists and communicators" to attend a 10-day session there this February.
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
10-14-2009 |
Media
How Glenn Beck is Driven by Mormonismnew
A case can be made that Beck is to Mormonism what Father Charles Coughlin was to Catholicism in the 1930s, when the "radio priest" peddled nasty, faith-based opposition to another ambitious Democratic president.
Boston Phoenix |
Adam Reilly |
10-07-2009 |
Media
If Curt Schilling Runs for Senate, Will He Keep His Sports-Media Perch?new
Known for his arm and his mouth, former Red Sox great Curt Schilling is now stretching his legs ... for a possible Senate run for Ted Kennedy's old seat. But he's blaming the media for getting the facts wrong, even though, as a regular contributor to WEEI-AM and weei.com, he is the media.
Boston Phoenix |
Adam Reilly |
09-10-2009 |
Media
New Hampshire Transplants Live Free -- or Die Tryingnew
They're digging up public squares. They're smoking pot and baring breasts. And they openly carry guns. New Hampshire residents are divided as to whether the Free State Project is a godsend or a nuisance.
Boston Phoenix |
Chris Faraone |
08-27-2009 |
Civil Liberties
New England Plays Catch-Up in the Green Energy Racenew
New England may be used to being the birthplace of revolutions, but in the case of wind power, that ship has sailed. States out West are far outproducing us, and will likely continue to. That said, we still could be a player in the nascent wind industry; we've just got some catching up to do.
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
08-19-2009 |
Environment
Why Wind Power Blowsnew
Those who want to run straight for the first ridgetop and put up a turbine might want to slow down a second. In addition to its distinct advantages, wind power has real drawbacks that must be addressed before it is hailed as our global-warming savior.
Boston Phoenix |
Deirdre Fulton |
08-19-2009 |
Environment
What's Behind Rupert Murdoch's Paid-Content Push?new
News Corp. head honcho Rupert Murdoch recently announced he'll begin charging for online content at his company's news sites. Is this a desperate move to help the bottom line, or a last-gasp grab at journalistic respectability?
Boston Phoenix |
Adam Reilly |
08-12-2009 |
Media
The Gates Case Isn't About Racenew
The weeks-long hubbub over the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis "Skip" Gates Jr. by the Cambridge Police Department has centered on race, understandably. But the racial façade of the story has obscured two other bottom-line truths that should govern the "Gates-gate" conversation.
Boston Phoenix |
Harvey Silverglate |
08-06-2009 |
Civil Liberties
Comic-strip author declares war on Jambanew
While the Shepard Fairey–AP showdown was busy raising the public-domain bar, a new case concerning intellectual property recently cropped up on the Internet. This one pits David Rees and his defunct Get Your War On (GYWO) comic strip against national smoothie giant Jamba Juice.
Boston Phoenix |
Leor Galil |
08-06-2009 |
Media
Life in Prison...For Punching a Man in the Facenew
Nearly 17 years ago, Joe Donovan initiated a tragic chain of events with a brutish act of machismo. But should he be in jail for life?
Boston Phoenix |
Chris Faraone |
08-06-2009 |
Crime & Justice
ESPN's Odd Double Standard On Sexnew
Sports-media behemoth ESPN rightfully balked when one of its broadcast stars, Erin Andrews, was victimized by a pervert with a video camera, and moved quickly to suppress the footage. But did it apply a double standard when it refused to cover the sexual-assault case of NFL star Ben Roethlisberger?
Boston Phoenix |
Adam Reilly |
07-29-2009 |
Media
Rethinking Liberal Arts in the Digital Agenew
They didn't teach genderfuck, iteration, or micropolitics when I was in college. But times have changed. And nowadays, they maybe should consider it. At least so says Tim Carmody, who, along with his co-proprietors of the blog Snarkmarket and a coterie of other Web-based deep thinkers, has put together a book called The New Liberal Arts.
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
07-23-2009 |
Education
Help Is On the Way For Student Borrowersnew
Each month, with miserable certitude, the snail-mailboxes of middle-class twenty- and thirtysomethings are stuffed with student-loan bills, from both federal and private lenders. The balance seems to remain stagnant, even as we mail in check after check. But a new federal program that went into effect on July 1 aims to help overburdened student borrowers.
Boston Phoenix |
Deirdre Fulton |
07-09-2009 |
Education
Weed Picking Up Speed?new
Another step forward has been taken on the road towards decriminalization of marijuana.
Boston Phoenix |
Mike Miliard |
07-09-2009 |
Drugs
