summer media story: I'm paying close attention to traditional media companies that are creating original entertainment products on the web, mostly so that I can shamelessly rip them off if/when they do it well, and point and snicker when they don't. Because there's obvious overlap with DealBreaker, I'll also be watching Conde Nast Portfolio, a publication that I like in theory, but am thus far utterly baffled by the execution. (In the interest of full disclosure, they called me while I was still at mediabistro and I interviewed there, so I'm also just morbidly curious.) I'll also be watching "Conversations with Michael Eisner" so that I can concentrate my bi-monthly bouts of anomie and self-loathing into one focused hour while watching someone even less telegenic than I am (which is almost not possible) suck the charisma out of the sound studio in real time while simultaneously sucking the will to live out of his viewing audience.

summer plans: I'm going to Italy for a few days in August, but am spending most of the summer in city, getting ready for fall site launches, getting my novel ready to deliver to my lovely, brilliant editor (Hi Geoff!). I may at some point go home to Alabama and watch my dad deep fry whatever my brothers shot/caught on a boat/pulled out of the garden recently while my mom updates me on which of my high school classmates are most recently divorced/fired/questionably pregnant.

The Indie Mag Guy

summer media story: I'm going to be keeping my eye on the global warming debate. I think Al Gore's film An Inconvenient Truth ought to get the issue back where it belongs: front and center. That we have a ruling party who describe the beliefs of every major living environmental scientist as nonsense is astounding. That they back this up with so called experts from the energy industry ... ah ... Don't get me started.

summer plans: As for vacation, I'll be watching the world cup with my 9 year old son and doing a lot of mountain biking.

The Media Intellectual

summer media story: I don't really have a particular "story" in mind to follow. At least not really in the sense of "I can't wait to see how will this one end!" I suppose right now it's the various nuclear proliferation scenarios that are playing themselves out. Will America confirm pre-emptive warfare as our new foreign policy?

summer plans: We're moving to another apartment next week, and I'm hoping to use the rest of the summer and my new office to get back to writing more than a few hours a week — which is all I've really had, lately. For me, summer is always a time when the phone rings less so I can get more real work done. I want to continue my comic book, Testament, start another, and get down to writing a screenplay I promised to someone a couple of years ago.

FISHBOWLNY'S ENDLESS SUMMER MEDIA PREVIEW 2006:
Endless Summer Media Preview
Endless Summer Media Preview 2006 #2: Were the Mavericks Partying into the Wee Hours in Miami to Celebrate Our Summer Media Preview?