Month: March 2009

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Media Bob

The beauty of Canadian white trash …

Thanks to Boing Boing, I found out one of my favorite Canadian TV shows of all time is available as a torrent. When I first stumbled across it in 2004, I was astounded by how hilarious it was and became an instant fan of Bubbles and the other losers who live in the trailer park. If you’re wondering what the hell I’m talking about, the YouTube clip above pretty much sums it up.

The torrent is the complete collection — all 17gb of Canadian white trash splendor. After watching the opening 1999 episode last night, I am convinced it was worth the hours it took to download it and transfer it over to my AppleTV.

Download it. Now. You won’t be sorry. (Or let me know if you want to come by for the Trailer Park Boys marathon I’m planning.)

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Media Bob

Speaking at UT next week …

I’ll be among the participants in A Public Conversation on Web Journalism next Wednesday, April 1, at the University of Tennessee. Jack Lail has the details on his Random Mumblings blog.

I’ve been very impressed with the progress UT’s j-school has made in the past few years. Jim Stovall managed to round up an impressive group of folks for next week’s event, and he’s also the driving force behind and effort to create the Intercollegiate College News Network (ICONN). Can’t wait to see what’s next …

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Media Bob

A bit of optimism for journalists?

“Instead of seeing journalism on its last leg, our students and other media observers see the field as being at the raw beginnings of a revolution in communication techniques and methods,” writes Tom Hodson, director of the Scripps School of Journalism, in this blog post to freshmen who will be arriving in the fall.

It’s good to see someone who is focusing on the endless opportunities in journalism these days instead of dwelling on the meltdown of traditional media. Perhaps I’m a bit prejudice here since Hodson quotes me in his post. But I really do believe this gut-wrenching change is packed with opportunity for journalists who understand the profession will be profoundly different from the one I entered more than 20 years ago. Where it will end up is anyone’s guess. But a new generation of journalists will be the ones who help determine that.