Digesting the Daily XIV

Recent editions of the Daily Northwestern, the student newspaper of my alma mater, featured several media-, technology-, and activism-related items that might be of interest to Media Dieticians.

Comix Revolution to offer free comics
Owner hopes participation in national Free Comic Book Day will draw new readers to Davis Street store
(May 1, 2003)
Full disclosure: I went to college with Comix Revolution's owner Jim Mortensen. Together, we founded and ran the Northwestern University Comic Book Interest Group (or something like that), a student club that hosted on-campus talks by Gary Carlson and Chris Ecker, Larry Marder, and Scott McCloud before we got frustrated that the other members only wanted to buy and sell back issues.

Errors, writers' lack of interest obvious in Daily and nyou
(May 2, 2003)
Former Daily nyou editor and Forum editor Pete Mortensen writes in to air dirty laundry and sour grapes about his time editing the nyou section -- and to set Dan Eder, the writer who penned the piece on Free Comic Book Day, straight on the event, comics, and global culture. Were it not for Mortensen's -- curious whether he's related to Jim! -- sour grapes, his corrections and commentary would be welcome and well-intended, but as it is, his letter comes across as a crying jag. All Mortensen needed was a trigger and a target to vent frustrations that have little to do with the particular story in question. Interesting that it's comic books that set him off. Straw. Back. You do the math?

Cats gone wild
It was like the start of a bad porn flick. An innocent young journalist wandered through the long hallways of the Omni Orrington Hotel in Evanston. The only noise? A cleaning cart creaking ever so slowly past the dim lights and empty rooms. At the end of the hall, the door to the "Playboy Suite" slid open. The reporter was being "interviewed" by a former Playmate and professional Playboy photographer. "Can I record this?" was about to take on a whole new meaning.
(May 8, 2003)

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