Shutting this blog

Dear reader,

I haven't been able to write here for a long time and I'm thinking of shutting this blog. Until I find more time and interesting stuff to write about, I'm shutting it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading and commenting. The blog might make a comeback in a different avatar and I hope you will be as supportive as you have been.

Have a good one!

JPK

PS: Hopefully, I'll make some progress on my gross crime fiction now.

Changing the world of journalism? Apply to become a Knight Mozilla Fellow

(Image courtesy: mozillaopennews.org)

Much of journalism has changed. Whatever is left of the old world order, is being hacked to fit the new world. Clearly, the future of news is entwined with the future of technology. And if you are a tech guy with  a passion for journalism here's your chance to work with some of the world's best newsrooms (NYT, BBC, Guradian...)

"Eight newsrooms around the world will be hosting Knight-Mozilla Fellows in 2012/13. Now is your chance to be one of them. Starting on April 9, 2012 and closing August 11, we are looking for developers and technologists who want to change the world of journalism for the better."

 To apply, click here.

To get involved with the Knight Mozilla OpenNews community, see site.

Asian Women Photographers’ Showcase: Call for submissions for 2013

Exhibitions curated by Yumi Goto

Asian women photographers are invited to submit work for inclusion in a series of print exhibitions and projected slideshows curated by Yumi Goto (of Reminders Project and Photography Stronghold)  Exhibitions and screening will be part of the 2013 Chiang Mai Documentary Arts Festival held in Chiang Mai, Thailand from February 1st-14th .

The photo essays, series and bodies of submitted work may be about any issue, event or person but must have been photographed in the applicant’s native country. Completed bodies of work and ongoing projects are both acceptable.

Applicants who are ethnically Asian but were born outside of Asia are also eligible, but must submit a body of work photographed in their forefathers’ country. We have received numerous questions about this stipulation, so would like to provide the following random examples:

1. A woman brought up in France but born in Cambodia may submit work from Cambodia

2. An American woman with a Chinese mother and Filipino father may submit work from China or the Philippines

3. A half-Asian woman is also eligible

Please email Yumi Goto at  g.youme@gmail.com if you have any queries on eligibility and she will be happy to consider your specific situation.

Submission guidelines

3 winners will get a print exhibition at the festival  - 7   finalists will get their work projected.

Deadline Dec 1st 2012 

For more details see website.

Link via Blindboys.org

Let the games begin

Cartoon by Alok Nirantar.

Entries invited for "The Talk Short Fiction Contest"

Talk, the Bangalore magazine recently launched by former Yahoo! journalist Ramakrishna S R and few others like former Times of India journalist Prashant G N, is calling entries for a fiction competition. See picture below for details.

(Picture courtesy: Talkmag.in)

Have fun writing.
Cheers,
JPK

What to do on a weekend in Bangalore? Check out the Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum

Paid a visit to the Visvesvaraya Industrial & Technological Museum after many years on Friday. Like before, it was a brilliant experience, especially the fun science section.

(Head in a platter at the Museum)

See? If you are in Bangalore and have not been to the museum, you must. Children will love it. Geeks can spend hours there. But a couple of things were disturbing.

Firstly, nothing has been added to the Museum in many years and the place is badly in need of repair. For example, the dinosaur dummy on the ground floor is rundown, tacky and a sheer waste of exhibition space.

Second, in the Biology section, the panels on BT cotton are a bit controversial. The museum describes Bt and Genetically Modified crops in a positive way. Why is this a problem? The place is visited mostly by children and unless we want them growing up thinking GM crops are good, a more balanced view of the topic should have been presented.

Oh and guess what? I found this

(Columbian Printing Press at the Museum)

Its a Columbian Printing Press, one of the most popular iron hand press of 19th century. The press was invented by George Clymer of Philadelphia.

From the Museum's website


Opening Timings

Exhibition Hours: 10 am to 6 pm.
Open on all days of the year.(Except Ganesha Chathurthi and Deepavali)

Location

The museum is situated at Kasturba Road.

Admission Charges

General Visitors : Rs.20/-
Students/Organised Groups: Rs.10/-
Taramandal Show: Rs.5/-
Science Demonstration Show: Rs.2/-
3D Film Show: Rs.10/ for school group, Rs. 20/- for general visitors

Entry to the Museum is free for the army, navy, air-force and police personnel in uniform and the physically challenged and children below 5 years of age.

Update

Dear reader,

Greetings!

Just wanted to keep you posted on a small development. I've quit The Economic Times. Right now, I'm planning to do some freelancing and also take up a web project. I believe that moving from print media to the web is only natural. Though I'm a convert, one must say that traditional media is still very powerful in India and hence can not be ignored. I will share more details on the project soon. Thanks for helping out from time to time.

Have a good day.

Regards,
JPK

For the dead tree edition, is the writing on the "wall"?

Latest figures from the Indian readership survey and the chest thumping, grandstanding, front page proclamations that followed, will have you believe that Indian newspapers, unlike their western peers, are doing quite well. But then again, the Internet is emerging fast and perhaps five years from now, the numbers will look very different.

Someday, when the internet becomes as powerful and prevalent in India as it is in the west, this advertisement might make more sense. But it really is a sign of things to come.


Cheers,
JPK

Financial Times (UK) Marjorie Deane internships for 2012

From Financial Times

The Financial Times is offering Marjorie Deane internships for 2012, supported by the Marjorie Deane Financial Journalism Foundation. 

The awards are designed for promising journalists or would-be journalists who would benefit from up to six months’ work experience at the FT, writing about finance and economics. The prize includes a bursary.

Please apply with a short letter explaining your interest, a brief CV and an original article, no longer than 500 words, on a suitable subject.

 Applications should be sent to deaneintern@ft.com by Tuesday 31st July 2012.

Journalism has changed. And how! Take a look

Bored of the old fashioned ways of dumb news anchors? Folks at The Juice Media.com take it to a whole new level. Journalism has changed. And how! Take a look:



For better or for worse.



Link via Imran Khan.

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