RANDOM MUSINGS ON PRESS, LEXICONS |
Jun 28, 2003, 12:00pm
Just some random musings today as I take a break from writing (what kind of luser am I - I write all morning, then, to take a break from it, I do some.... writing!).
Has anyone noticed how the term "docking" has become such a common part of our modern day lexicon? Only a decade ago, the term was reserved primarily for space shuttles docking with the Russian MIR orbital station. Today, I counted the terms "dock" and "docking" no less than 14 times while reading the Saturday paper... and all the terms were in advertisements. Docking your Sony Clie... docking your notebook computer. Docking your digital camera!
Speaking of newspapers... Vancouver's local "press" (I continue to use that term very loosely) continues to disapoint. Not only was there no coverage of the Canadian Coffee and Tea Expo leading up to the show last weekend, but after checking for a week solid, I saw no coverage at all of the Canadian Barista Championships. The Sun and Province have both been contacted about both events, and press releases have been sent out.
Meanwhile, I've been interviewed by no less than four other major newspapers (three in the States, one in Canada) about the Barista competition, (major means over a million papers sold per day), and one has already published the story. When the really large paper of that bunch runs their story (if they do), I fully expect the Sun to do what it did in February - they completely ignored the Seattle Barista Jam and Jon Lewis (JJ Bean) event even though they were callled... until the USA Today ran a major, full page story on the event and talked favourably about the local Baristi who went down to attend and do well. But with the USA Today story, THAT AFTERNOON, a Province reporter woke up, sniffed around, and made a few phone calls, resulting in a small article in the paper the next day.
When Lewis placed second in the United States Barista competition, they didn't even send a reporter down. They did a 5 minute phone interview.
Contrast that with the approximately 3.5hours I've spent talking to a NY Times editor in the past week or so. She doesn't even know what the article (s) may be about yet, other than one specifically about the consumer member inititative with the SCAA, but she is full on in reporter / gatherer mode, and I can hear the constant typing on the keyboard as we talk.
My experiences with US press have been extremely favourable, and to be frank, surprising and enlightening. For the most part, the reporters really do their jobs - asking tough questions, probing, spending, in many cases, several hours doing their interview. Mark Ramirez from the Seattle Times talked to me for at least an hour down in Seattle, and at least 3 hours in two phone conversations prior to his major story on the art of the Barista.
Meanwhile, we have the local Sun and Province who, if aroused from their sleepy desks, do a 5 minute phone interview, and then get half the facts wrong (in Lewis' short article about his USBC win, the paper got several things wrong, and when Sherri Johns sent them a request for correction email (a very polite one), they ignored it. Correct facts are not a priority at the Sun or Province, it seems).
And before anyone out there thinks I'm pissed because I don't have my name in the local paper, this is not why I am pissed at all - I couldn't care less if my name appeared in the Sun or Province. But I think it's a matter of local pride that we had a Barista who finished second in the US championships. I think it's a matter of pride that a local Barista won the first ever Canadian Barista Championship. And I think it's entirely newsworthy - I've read a lot of the Sun this past week, and come to realise more and more that they simply rehash their content - as an example, a woman was fired from Starbucks for having a nose-stud that she wouldn't remove. With her Indian background, she considers it discrimination. The Sun has been covering this for several days, and each day they seem to regurgitate the same quotes and the same info with only a few minor updates.
After seeing the performance level of many a reporter south of the border, the reason I'm pissed at the Sun and Province is not because my name isn't in the paper - it's because of how shoddy their reporting skills are. It's a crying shame.
Previous Ten Daily Rants |
Title |
Date |
Comments |
The continued fallout on auto gratuities |
5:35pm, 08/09 |
3 |
Final thougths on price gouging, auto gratuities coming soon |
12:50am, 03/04 |
1 |
The Real Reasons for Olympics Auto Gratuities |
7:20pm, 02/19 |
10 |
Vancouver Olympics - Nice Prices, Profiteer (gouger) Restaurant Listings |
12:15am, 02/18 |
9 |
More on Auto Gratuities |
6:45pm, 02/16 |
4 |
Price Gouging in Vancouver During Olympics (and Price Heroes!) |
12:20am, 02/16 |
25 |
Ideal Mac (or any pc) netbook.... |
8:05pm, 12/22 |
1 |
NetMacBook Hackintosh Update |
12:20am, 12/20 |
1 |
NetMac... er Hackintosh... er NetMacBook. Yeah |
5:20pm, 12/17 |
4 |
Balance Board Wii Game I'd like to see - Boxing! |
4:00pm, 07/26 |
0 |

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Mixelania Photos from Algonquin Park Photos from my trip to Algonquin Park this fall with my Mom and two brothers. War Stories Making Snow for the Fortress One of the worst jobs I ever had... till I got out. Webiffied Tools I Use The tools I use to build websites and lead a tech life.
iPod and iTunes Offline iMark's iTunes and iPod isn't iPlaying anything right iNow. Most Recent Songs Fiddlers Green by The Tragically Hip Around The Bend by Pearl Jam Here With Me (Rollo's Chillin' With the Family Mix) by Dido With arms open wide by Creed truffle pigs by Matthew Good Band
In the News
Burundi and Beyond - NY Times
Great article by Peter Meehan - provided some background.
St. Petersburg Times
Side mention in an article about good machines
AP Story on Espresso
Background and information provided
NY Times - Grinders Article
Especially proud of this one - got the reporter to focus on grinders
Globe and Mail
LOL - showing bad reporting, dude says I'm an American-based site!
The Olympian, WA
Talks about my love for the El Sal Siberia Pacamara
Seattle Times - Clover
Interviewed for comments on the Clover brewer
NY Times - How it Works
Background and information for various espresso machines
Time Mag Article
Just a brief mention, article about roasting beans.
NY Times
Front page article about consumers getting into specialty coffee.
Washington Monthly
Quoted reference to what I wrote in an article at CoffeeGeek.
USA Today - Barista Jam
Intereviewed for my thoughts on what the epitome of espresso is.
WSJ Article
The Wall Street Journal has interviewed me 3 times. This is the first time my name got in a story.
Reuters Interview
Interview with Reuters, Jan 2 - this is the USA Today version.
My Other Stuff
CoffeeGeek
Launched Dec 22, 2001, this is THE online community for espresso and coffee fanatics.
CoffeeKid Website
It's all new, as of March, 2002. My personal coffee obsession site.
WebMotif Services
My company's site - needs an update!
Amazon WishList
Hey, if you feel the need to buy me something, check here!
Daily Visits
enGadget
Great gadget site run by the guy who used to do Gizmodo.
Google News
This is how I get my daily news fix.
DPReview Forums`
The most active forums for digital photography online today.
Daily Zen
Need my Daily Zen fix!
Jalopnik
A blog about car stuff. Vroom Vroom.
MoCo Loco
An industrial design blog. Very cool stuff.
Friends and Family Plan
Beata Blog
Beata's got her own blog! She updates it most days.
Riddla on Flickr
Matt Riddle's flickr account, updated regularly
Irdy Photos
Irdy, my friend from Jakharta, on Flickr
Recent Acquisitions
Canon EF 24-105 f4 L Lens
The best lens I've ever owned. Super sharp and quick.
Canon 5D
A full frame dSLR, with luscious colour reproduction.
Alzo Digital Lights
Some amazing florescent cold lights for product photography
Canon Xsi dSLR
Amazing technology and image quality in a tiny package.
Canon 40D
Latest prosumer camera from Canon - a much better upgrade than the 30D
Fujitsu P1610
Great 2.2lb computer that does most of my travel / writing needs
28mm f1.8 Lens
A great lens for closeup work and full picture photography
Foodsaver Advanced
Finally got the right tools for freezing green coffee.
Canon 50mm 1.4
Most amazing lens I've ever owned. Produces stellar photos.
Canon 10-22mm
Super wide angle (full frame fisheye) zoom for my Canon 20D
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