On Tuesday, I attended a discussion hosted by Media Future Now (at Google’s DC headquarters!) that focused on the diversity (or lack thereof) in print and broadcast journalism.

The conversation covered a large array of topics including the inability of the newsroom to fulfill its original purpose of serving the community, the difficulty for smaller organizations to attract and keep diverse talent and the necessity to understand a person’s being deeper than just demographic categories.

However, one of the most interesting peripheral points that was made is how the decline of the newspaper (and the rise of online news) will change our society as a whole.

One of the internet’s biggest advantages – the ability to cater to niche markets and audiences – is also potentially one of its greatest dangers.

When people received their news through newspapers, it was much more likely that they would wander and read articles in sections other than those in which they were interested. (For example, even if they were primarily a Business section reader, they would read the Arts section as well.) 

Now, because it’s possible to completely customize the news experiences online — by only reading entirely Business-focused publications or searching specifically for Business articles, for instance — we settle into exploring only the familiar.

This has astronomically dangerous implications for our society as the barrier to receive information has increased. (You need to actively seek out information which may not be readily available through these narrow information streams.)

The same scenario has already played out with the advent of cable television. When individuals could only receive their TV through three major networks, they were very likely to end up watching programs that they may have not otherwise actively sought out (but just happened to be on at the time). Now, with cable programming — and DVRs! — it’s very easy to ONLY watch SPECIFICALLY those shows that we are interested in.

The issue is that there’s something to be said about the loss of receving unintentional information. I may really enjoy the History Channel, but if I’ve never stumpled across it and taken the time to see if I like it, that’s a lost opportunity for personal enhancement – and at an aggregate level, a lost opportunity for society as a whole.

Progress, both individually and collectively, can’t take place if we stop learning. And the increased ability to block (or simply not actively look for) additional information through modern technology makes me wonder how our society will develop in the future…

(The whole thing would make for a great Vonnegut story, wouldn’t it?)

  

Sara Bareilles in Concert

Last night I attended the Sara Bareilles concert at The Birchmere, which was quite appropriate for Valentine’s Week. She is one of my favorite singers because of her powerful voice, abilty to play both piano and guitar, the fact that she writes all her own songs and, above all, because her lyrics speak to me.

The opening act was Tony Lucca, who I had never heard of prior to last night, but whose music I really enjoyed. His music seems very similar to Sara’s (yes, we are on a first name basis) and he was such a good performer that he won over the crowd and recruited some new fans.

Sara was amazing, like I knew she would be. She added personality to the show, talking about her experience at the Grammy’s (where she swears Bono intended to throw his sunglasses to her even though the women sitting behind her caught them), joking about herself and her band, and explaing the stories behind the lyrics. She played her “well-known hits” (Love Song, Bottle It Up, Gravity) and some lesser-known favorites of yours truly (Vegas, Fairytale) as well as some completely new music.

Here’s about a minute of her live performance for those that may be unfamiliar with her music:

What I kept thinking throughout the concert (I blame the Blue Moon for these deep thoughts) was how full circle my music taste has come. Russian music is famous – well at least to me – for its use of piano / guitar and folk feel. These artists who I’ve discovered in recent years seem to all have those two aspects in common in their music.

When I was young, a favorite musical talent in my household of two (my mother and me) was Sergey and Tatyana Nikitin. I’ve included one of their most famous songs below, and even though most of you won’t understand the words and even though it does sound a little cheesy, I do think there are definitive similarities with the music I listened to in my youth and the music that I connect with currently.

The song is “Alexandra” from the movie Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears which was one of my favorite movies when I was little. (It’s actually a very acclaimed film and won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1980.) The story is of a single woman and her daughter who find great success in life even without a father figure in the family. (As a five year with divorced parents, this was quite a comfort to me.)

The lyrics begin:
Everything wasn’t built right away, Moscow wasn’t built right away
Moscow didn’t believe words, but believed love…
… Alexandra, this town is yours and mine…

I chuckle (yes, chuckle) when I think about how aptly I’ve named this blog. And tonight was the perfect example.

First, I had dinner at Good Stuff Eatery, which was opened this past July by Spike Mendelsohn of Top Chef fame. I got the Farmhouse Burger and it was delicious. Spike was working and brought the orders out to us. (I was able to snap this picture from the upstairs seating.)

Next, it was off to GesherCity’s annual Hanukkah Happy Hour on the Hill (try saying that three times fast).

The DCist puts it well:

If there’s one night to circle for every young Jewish professional in D.C., it very well may be the night Gesher City hosts their annual Hanukkah Happy Hour on the Hill. Every young Jew you’ve ever met or will meet will likely be packed somewhere within the three floors of the Pour House tonight. It’s the perfect place to bump into that cute girl you met at Shabbat services a few weeks back or avoid your ex-boyfriend like the plague. Why not both? The HHHH is co-sponsored by a laundry list of young Jewish organizations.

I was told the event was too crowded last year but decided to go and check it out. For the most part, it was an awkward mess (these types of happy hours always are), but I felt like a rebel being out on a Monday!

Afterwards, we hopped on the Metro and as we were waiting I turned to see Porter and Preston Scavo walking down the steps! Yes, that’s right you Desperate Housewives fans, the Scavo twins are in DC. We ended up boarding the same train as them and I knew that I would regret it if I didn’t welcome them to the city and, you know, snap a quick pic.

Charles and Max Carver were extremely nice and obliged. They are in DC visiting their father (who was with them) and said that they haven’t been recognized that much yet. I told them how I spent my Sunday nights with them and that I was excited about all the twists and turns of season five.

Meeting them was a good reminder why one should always make an effort to:

1. Carry a camera.
2. Look somewhat presentable.

We all got off at Dupont Circle and went our separate ways. And with that tonight’s misadventures came to a close.

I’m an avid watcher of Project Runway… I think it’s a relevant and engaging reality competition – the focus is on clothes creation as much as it is on the interaction between contestants. During last night’s challenge, for example, the designers created a post-graduation makeover look for six recent college graduates, with their mothers (the graduates’ not the designers’) overseeing the process. The goal was to create a fresh, young professional outfit in which the girls felt sophisticated and age-appropriate while still being classic enough to garner the mothers’ approval.

But here’s an aspect of the show that I never understood: the models. Usually, although – ironically – not for last night’s challenge, the designers are paired with models who wear the outfits in a runway show that is the basis for each week’s judging. The “winning” model (the one who is paired with the winning contestant at the end of each season) is awarded a spread in Elle Magazine along with some other prizes that are escaping me at the moment.

What I can’t grasp is how it is a competition for the models as well – it seems more like a luck crapshoot.

The models can’t really do anything to affect their participation and are not at fault when their designer is voted “out” by Heidi and her crew of judges.

Maybe there’s something I’m missing, nut I think they should remove that aspect of the show…