October 2008

508 is a show about Worcester. This week’s panel includes Bruce Russell and Brendan Melican.

 

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FROM THE COMMITTEE ON TRAFFIC AND PARKING – Request City Manager and the Economic Development Office provide City Council with OVERWHELMING evidence that provides the Standing Committee on Traffic and Parking SUBSTANTIAL facts that economic development would be a net gain and public safety would be held in balance in making Millbury Street a two-way street

Back in May, we sort of joked about the City banning knives; now the City is actually trying it.

Bruce, author of the Snow Ghost Book of Scary Jokes (pdf), comments on this week’s Womag “People in the Street”.

Brendan predicts Question 1 (eliminate the income tax) will barely fail, Question 2 (marijuana decriminalization) will pass handily, and Question 3 (ban dog racing) will narrowly pass.

The InCity Times came out against Question 2:

Marijuana decriminalization would embolden the punks and pukes of the neighborhood.

Brendan sees Spellane and Fresolo holding onto their state rep seats, and Moore winning state senate.

The show finishes with a conversation with Scott Schaeffer-Duffy about an upcoming hearing to determine the penalty he’ll pay for his “rosary arrest.”

But first Mike talks more about Mystery Band. Below, his band I Am Sexy Russian Girl ;) performs “Glenn Gould Goes to Leningrad”:

Typically quirky Glenn Gould video:

As it happens, this week’s “Open Source” is a wonderful conversation about Bach with Andrew Rangell, and features a major digression about Gould.

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Two of the five found guilty of disobeying a federal marshal earlier this year, in connection with praying a rosary for an end to the Iraq War at the Worcester federal building, have a hearing scheduled at Worcester District Court this November 6 at 10am before Judge Hillman.

Anyone curious is encouraged to attend.

Though three of the defendants were willing to pay the $250 fine they were given, two others, Ken Hannaford-Ricardi and Scott Schaeffer-Duffy, refused the fine, citing personal circumstances and conscience. At this hearing Judge Hillman will reveal the consequences of their refusal, possibly by jailing them.

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“Implementing a Policy of Respect for Transgender People Living in Shelters”

Held at the SS. Francis & Therese Catholic Worker, 52 Mason St, Worcester, 7pm, October 29, 2008.

This is specifically for people who find themselves helping this segment of the population. In my experience, a lot of shelters are thrown for a loop when it comes to trans people.

One of the facilitators says, “This is not Trans 101. This is intended for people who already have a basic understanding of who trans people might be, and who are already committed to everyone’s basic right to dignity. It’s kind of nuts and bolts (what do I do about bathrooms, bedrooms, incidents w/ other residents, etc).”

Daily newspaper circulation in the US was down 4.6% for the six-month period ending in September, as compared with that period in 2007:

According to ABC for the 507 newspapers reporting in this period, daily circulation slipped 4.6% to 38,165,848 copies. For the 571 papers, Sunday dropped 4.8% to 43,631,646 copies.

The Boston papers fell more like 10%; the Worcester Telegram & Gazette kept pace with an only 5.6% drop:

At the Telegram & Gazette, which like the Globe is owned by New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT), weekday circulation fell 5.6 percent and Sunday circulation fell 7 percent.

The previous reporting period had similar results; see Newspapers down 3.5%; T&G down 4%.

This is, as usual for the T&G, not good news, but is much better than the 2 reporting periods in 2007, when T&G circulation was dropping at 2 times faster and 5 times faster than the national average.

For better or for worse, newspapers have become necessary for the functioning of public life and politics in this country. There’s no reason why digital media couldn’t fill that role, but it’s not happening around here. I don’t care so much about the circulation losses as the job cuts that accompany them. The T&G had a hard enough time reporting on Worcester five years ago; there’s no sign that fewer staff are generating more and better journalism.

I hope that on an upcoming 508 podcast we can talk to a T&G person about the challenges there. Too often we’ve resorted to unfocused griping about that paper’s prospects; a measured, adult conversation would be nice.

By coincidence, I came across two relevant links yesterday.

37signals say Target micromedia: “When it comes to spreading a story, the mainstream media isn’t as important as the micromedia. Being written up at the right blogs has had way more impact for us than the press we’ve gotten in big-circulation publications.”

Nice interview with novelist/journalist/visionary Bruce Sterling. “What should newspapers do?” “The simplest solution is die.”

508 is a show about Worcester. This week, Gabe Rollins gives a guided tour of the downtown block bounded by Franklin, Main, Federal, and Portland Streets.

 

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To leave a voice message to be played on the show, call 508-471-3897.

To get an e-mail each week alerting you of the new episode of 508, join the e-mail list:

We won’t share this list with others.