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Jun
28
Sometimes I feel like Vanessa Williams.
Wikipedia sums it up:
Vanessa Williams is the name of three contemporaneous African-American singers and/or actresses who are sometimes confused …
My name, Christopher Hedges, is also the name of a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist. It’s also the name of another person in my own county, according to our county’s online docket – and several other people in my state, as well as across the nation, according to Zabasearch.
Sometimes there is confusion because there are so many people named Christopher Hedges.
I remember arriving at an Indiana court one day for hearings on my commercial litigation cases and finding out that there was a trial in another courtroom involving another Christopher Hedges. There was a second or two of confusion when I checked in with the court staff as they figured out that there were two people named Christopher Hedges in the court at the same time for different matters.
We’re sometimes separated by a middle initial, just like the various Vanessa Williams.
We’re also sometimes confused.
I often get comments on this blog praising Christopher Hedges, the journalist, who writes opinion pieces that take on the powerful elites in our political system — like his most recent post taking on the mainstream media, the GOP and Barack Obama.
When I was in college and working on an semester-long internship in Washington, D.C. during the First Gulf War, people asked me if journalist Christopher Hedges was related to me when news broke that he had been captured by the Iraqis. I had to explain there was no relationship.
I feel a little like Vanessa A. Williams. Somewhat famous, but overshadowed by the more famous of the trio — Vanessa L.
Remember Vanessa A.? She was the actress on Melrose Place, but wasn’t the most famous Vanessa Williams — Vanessa L. Williams of Miss America fame and who is now starring in Ugly Betty. I remember seeing her name on the opening credits of Melrose Place and wondering if she was the beauty pageant winning Vanessa Williams.
I’m sure people think the same thing when they find my eponymous blog. “Have I found the famous Christopher Hedges?” they must ask themselves.
It’s all good.
Sometimes it’s nice to have a name that is somewhat common, but also associated with someone making a difference in his profession. It could be worse. At least the name isn’t associated with anyone infamous.
The most famous Vanessa L. Williams
Video: Sexy Vanessa L. Williams
Jun
22
Why does the Herald Times Online cling to subscription model?
Filed Under blogging, internet, life online, local newspapers | Comments Off
Does anyone know why the Bloomington Herald Times Online is still password protected? It’s not like news is going to be kept locked inside the city limits of Bloomington.
Maybe the thousands of Hoosiers fans willing to pay for access keep the subscription model worthwhile despite the fact that it keeps many people out of the Herald Times Online website?
Why not move beyond the confines of the limited subscriber base and open up the newspaper to the world? More web traffic would mean higher advertising rates for online advertising and expanding readership beyond just Monroe County, Indiana. More web traffic usually translates into higher revenue!
Is the Herald Times Online the last newspaper in America locked away behind a subscriber-only iron curtain? The New York Times opened its doors in an effort to increase advertising revenue. And, there was some talk about the Wall Street Journal doing the same — although most of the news and opinion is freely available on the WSJ site.
The subscription only model just keeps the newspaper low in the rankings for news sources people rely upon in Indiana.
Who is going to link to the newspaper if readers outside of Bloomington cannot read the news stories? Since news is plentiful, people just find their news elsewhere and there are plenty of options for local news from Bloomington, Indiana. I’d love to be able to read and link to the Herald Times every so often — especially since I’m hoping my kids attend college at my alma mater.
If the Herald Times Online desires to have a subscription only model, why not free up the local news content — it’s probably not the real money maker — and require paid access to Indiana University basketball stories where loyal Hoosier fans are willing to pay a premium for access to Hoosiers news.
In the meanwhile, here are my favorite / alternative news sources from Bloomington news:
The Indiana Daily Student and its fine Sample Gates Blog.
And, for court information, the State of Indiana’s Odyssey Case Management System (limited to Monroe County and Marion Co.’s Washington Twp.)
