Society Matters

(via The future of advertising — and media — in one graph - The Washington Post)

“You speaking with the monks makes them truly scared,” he says, “They could get shot.” He makes the shape of a gun with his fingers, and puts it to his head, pulling the trigger. Then, in case of any misunderstanding, he repeats the gesture.

It’s a sign of how sophisticated the apparatus of control has become. …

via Society Matters

Dear John Fahey (Chairman & CEO of National Geographic),

Thanks very much for answering a few questions from the staff re: the sale of NG School Publishing to Cengage Learning. (See Q&A below, from the NGS intranet.)

If you have a minute, we’d love to ask a few more questions:

• Do you plan to sell off other parts of the National Geographic Society? If so, which ones — and when? If not, why not?

• If our ownership stake in the National Geographic Channel is only around 30 percent, then how do you realistically maintain editorial control of what’s on “our” Channel? After all, it isn’t ours, and never has been.  … Put another way: Do you ever tell News Corp, the Channel’s majority owner, to stop broadcasting shows that debase our Brand? If so, why should they listen?

• Why did Michael Rosenfeld, the longtime president of National Geographic Television, and Steve Burns, a veteran producer, recently leave National Geographic?

• Would you be willing to sit down with us for a 90-minute interview?

Thanks for considering this.

All the best,
Your friends @ Society Matters

_____

≡  Comments re: John Fahey’s post on the sale of NG School Publishing to Cengage Learning (via the NGS intranet):

… I’m open now for any questions!

5 Comments

1.  [KG]

   Posted JULY 7, 2011 AT 4:18 PM

   Hi John,
   As you can imagine, many staffers are wondering how this change will affect the jobs of our friends and co-workers in School Pubs. Will they become Cengage employees now?
   [KG]

2.  seth

   Posted JULY 8, 2011 AT 7:53 AM

   What percent will NGS own?

3.  jfahey

   Posted JULY 8, 2011 AT 8:10 AM

   Those details haven’t been worked out yet although the current NGSP staff will become employees of Cengage Learning.

   I should have mentioned that the transaction will settle around July 31. We need to wait for approval from the US Justice Department which we believe will be forthcoming.

   The vast majority of employees will continue doing the work that they’re currently engaged in.

   J

4.  jfahey

   Posted JULY 8, 2011 AT 8:20 AM

   Hi Seth,

   We’re retaining a 10% equity interest in the business.
   To give some context, this compares with 30% for the NG Channel in the US and just under 30% for NG Channel International. We have no ownership interest in all of our international magazine partnerships except for Japan which operates as a 50/50 joint venture. Interestingly, our level of engagement in the Japanese issue of the magazine is no different than all the others despite our ownership position.

   J

5.  [MG]

   Posted JULY 8, 2011 AT 2:25 PM

   Hi John, I’ll be interested in hearing how this partnership develops. As one who hasn’t worked in NGSP, I would also love to see some of the books they have and will be creating. Maybe they can have a “show and tell” some day.

   [MG]

John Fahey, Chairman & CEO of the National Geographic Society

More than 420 people want
John Fahey, Chairman & CEO of NGS,
to break his virtual silence

and explain why the National Geographic Society is:

• self-censoring stories about China
• befriending autocratic thugs
• recruiting for India’s army
• supporting a demagogue
• showcasing a profane provocateur
• fixating on Adolf Hitler
• marginalizing religion
• selling our Brand to a private equity fund
• letting News Corp ruin our good name
• and (unfortunately) much more.

For more information, please see Society Matters.

Refugee Children

Photograph by Muhammed Muheisen, AP  

Afghan refugee children play in an alley of a slum on the outskirts of Islamabad,Pakistan, on December 20.

Why We Love It

“Many photographers return from trips abroad with pictures of children, but few offer something beyond a cute smile or starving eyes. This image tells you more about the children’s daily life than most—the overturned carts serve as a playground for these children and perhaps shelter from the cold while waiting for their parents. Either way, this image has a refreshingly mysterious tone.”—Janna Dotschkal, assistant photo editor

thedailywhat:

The Year Of Living Photographically of the Day: In the twilight hours of 2011, photographer Michael Chrisman made his way to Toronto’s Port Lands to pick up the pin-hole camera he had trained on Hogtown’s skyline 365 days before.

The year-long experiment in extreme exposure yielded the “snapshot” above.

“I’m thrilled with it,” Chrisman told The Star. “It’s a very dreamy photo. This one has a soft and kind of foggy feel.”

What the publication refers to as a “time-lapse painting” took approximately 31,536,000 seconds to complete.

But that was the easy part.

“The biggest difficulty,” Chrisman said, “is trying to ensure the camera will be there when you return.”

This time he got lucky. And the result was worth the wait.

[thestar.]