America Calling
Here's an interesting opportunity for one of my colleagues in the blogosphere.
A reporter for "Hi Magazine" is: "...looking for experts who can assess blogging as a transforming phenomenon on the Internet, the current state of blogs and the possibilities. I'm also looking for opinions that view blogs as a passing fad..."
What's most interesting about this, in case you've missed it, is the nature and purpose of "Hi Magazine".
Take a look at the mocked-up cover shot on the magazine's home page. It shows a vaguely Middle Eastern-looking hottie, staring sassily out of the page, dressed in generic Gap/U.S. college chick top and jeans. In the background are a couple of cheery Colgate-smiling archetypal J Crew models.
It's that "vaguely Middle Eastern" part that's the giveaway - and the Arabic script on the page. (You can get a close-enough translation of the text by punching the URL into the free service available at Ajeeb).
This new glossy is an "American Culture = Good" vehicle, being produced by the U.S. State Department (and funded by U.S. tax dollars). The target audience of the Arabic-language production will be teens and tweens throughout the Middle East.
In other words: it's essentially state-funded propaganda.
Here's Jon Carroll's take on it.
Unfortunately, I'm not really qualified to respond to the journalist's request (not being an American or American resident), but I'm sure someone out there might be keen to comment. Leave a note in the Comments, below, or drop me an email (michaelocc AT sympatico.ca), and I'll flip you the contact info.
I'll leave the intensity of the counter spin up to you ;-)
A reporter for "Hi Magazine" is: "...looking for experts who can assess blogging as a transforming phenomenon on the Internet, the current state of blogs and the possibilities. I'm also looking for opinions that view blogs as a passing fad..."
What's most interesting about this, in case you've missed it, is the nature and purpose of "Hi Magazine".
Take a look at the mocked-up cover shot on the magazine's home page. It shows a vaguely Middle Eastern-looking hottie, staring sassily out of the page, dressed in generic Gap/U.S. college chick top and jeans. In the background are a couple of cheery Colgate-smiling archetypal J Crew models.
It's that "vaguely Middle Eastern" part that's the giveaway - and the Arabic script on the page. (You can get a close-enough translation of the text by punching the URL into the free service available at Ajeeb).
This new glossy is an "American Culture = Good" vehicle, being produced by the U.S. State Department (and funded by U.S. tax dollars). The target audience of the Arabic-language production will be teens and tweens throughout the Middle East.
In other words: it's essentially state-funded propaganda.
Here's Jon Carroll's take on it.
Unfortunately, I'm not really qualified to respond to the journalist's request (not being an American or American resident), but I'm sure someone out there might be keen to comment. Leave a note in the Comments, below, or drop me an email (michaelocc AT sympatico.ca), and I'll flip you the contact info.
I'll leave the intensity of the counter spin up to you ;-)
