Dec. 27 edition editorial cartoon

Dec. 20 edition editorial cartoon

collage

Big Brother, 22" x 30", collage of magazine on watercolor paper

All these clippings are from one issue of Newsweek back in 2006. Funny how this practice continues when it clearly violates our Fourth Amendment rights. I included the cool double truck graphic to explain the basics of the situation for the mis- or uninformed viewer while trying to comment on the situation with the rest of the clips.

I have used a similar technique before with photocopies of pictures, used multiple times at different sizes, but I wanted to see if I could create a singular message with only one issue and no copies. A lot of words repeated in various places anyway since this was the cover story. Several images are from ads and other stories. It was strange how they all could combine to speak with one voice like this.

This is a bit of a departure for me as far as media is concerned, and I contemplated adding paint or ink. Not decided fully yet. I'll sleep on it, wake up and see the piece with new eyes in the morning. I think I might be adding more with ink. I think washes of paint would cover up too many of the words and be too heavy-handed. I spent a lot of time choosing what to include even before I went to arranging the pieces.

Also, FYI - The Bush administration's wiretapping started BEFORE Sept. 11, 2001, so think about it when Congress votes.

quote

"Never think that war,

no matter how necessary,

nor how justified,

is not a crime."

- Ernest Hemingway, American author, 1899-1961

What you won't read about in Florence

This is the first in-depth, non-feature article I have written. It published in the Dec. 6, 2007, News & Press. The deadline on the article was last Thursday/Friday, so if there have been new developments, please post links to them in comments.

Dec. 18, FCC might hand freedom of information to big corporations
What you won't hear or read about in Florence, and why

Mark your calendars. Tuesday, Dec. 11 is the last day the Federal Communications Commission is accepting public comment on proposed changes to the newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership ban.

The 32-year-old prohibition's repeal would allow a newspaper to own one television station or one radio station "but only in the very largest markets and subject to certain criteria and limitations."

Specifically, the proposed changes would lift the ban on newspaper/broadcast combinations in all but the smallest markets, those with 3 or fewer full-power commercial or non-commercial television stations. Nielsen Media Research, which defines television market areas, could not say how many markets have 3 or fewer stations.

In our area, the Myrtle Beach-Florence Designated Market Area, there are 7 broadcast stations (WBTW, WHMC, WUNU, WJPM, WPDE, WWMB and WFXB). Nielsen Media Research considers this a small market, but the proposed changes would classify it as a medium-sized market. This classification would allow a company to own both a television station and a newspaper. Of course, Media General already does.

Locally, Media General, a corporate conglomerate of 23 network-affiliated stations, 22 daily newspapers, more than 100 weekly newspapers and more than 75 online enterprises, owns both WBTW News 13 and the (Florence) Morning News.

The company acquired WBTW from Spartan Communications in March 2000 and the Morning News from Thomson Corp. in August 2000. While this sounds contrary to the current FCC cross-ownership ban, a loophole in the regulations allows television owners to buy hometown newspapers and operate them until the station's license comes up for renewal. In 2004, Media General has a temporary waiver pending until WBTW's license comes up for renewal again in 2012 or until the FCC lifts the ban.

According to the FCC, anyone can file an informal objection pursuant to Section 73.3587 of the Rules prior to Commission action on the application. However, companies are not required to notify the public in any way of waiver requests.

The FCC would not give out the details of the procedure companies must follow to obtain such waivers. The News & Press was given a copy of Media General's waiver request submitted with its 2004 license renewal application. In this application, Media General submits "that the benefits from its continued operation of WBTW(TV) far outweigh any potential harms from its common ownership of the station with the Morning News." In the 23-page document, the company gives examples of how the two have worked together, but it does not document why the same information gathered could not have been provided if the two entities were separate.

Media General cites competition from cable, The Sun News in Myrtle Beach, The (Columbia, SC) State, The Charlotte Observer, The Fayetteville Observer, as well as weekly papers, such as the News & Press, but fails to mention its ownership of three other weekly newspapers in the area.

FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin cites competition from cable, satellite and the Internet as a major reason to update the cross-ownership rules; however, the proposed channges don't regulate this competition or even mention it specifically. Martin also contends that the change will save newspapers from financial distress. According to the University of Southern California's Online Journalism Review, combined news operations don't save money on staff or operations nor do revenues increase significantly.

Additionally, the FCC claims that this revision of the rules won't significantly increase local concentration or harm diversity. Women, 51 percent of the U.S. population, own 5.87 percent of full-power commercial television stations or 80 stations in the country. Meanwhile, African Americans, 13 percent of the population, only own 0.6 percent of stations, just 8 stations. Is that diversity?

"An informed citizenry is at the heart of a dynamic democracy," but can big corporations deliver? As far as quality is concerned, Media General points to the five awards earned by WBTW in 2004, but doesn't mention success on the print side. On the other hand, a study by Free Press found that cross ownership reduced news output by about 25 percent in markets where a cross-owned station leads other stations in the market, such as this one.

Why does this matter?
When one company owns large chunks of the media landscape, it can influence opinion on a much wider scale as well as decide what information people don't need to hear or read. People worry about the government censoring free speech, but what about companies? With the kind of megaphone and financial power wielded by corporations, items that would otherwise be newsworthy slide through the cracks. Case in point: there were more than 70 layoffs across Media General's Publishing Division in August, five of which affected the Carolina Publishing Group (which includes Florence Morning News, Lake City News & Post, Marion Star & Mullins Enterprise and Hemingway Observer). These layoffs were not front-page news like every other layoff event in the Pee Dee.

What else isn't being printed?

In a New York Times op-ed column last month, Martin wrote that, "as watchdog and informer of the citizenry, newspapers are crucial to our democracy." True, but who will keep an eye on the watchdog?

Have an opinion?
The time to tell the FCC is now. Go online to www.fcc.gov or mail comments to Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20554.Label comments MB Docket No. 06-121. Comments should be filed by Dec. 11. The FCC will vote on this rule Dec. 18.

In the interest of full disclosure, Lisa Chalian-Rock, a former Media General employee, owns shares of Media General stock.

more free trade

Does it mean more job losses?

shut up and sing

While I haven't seen that film yet, I know what the Dixie Chicks mean. The corporate world is telling us to be good little boys and girls, keep working and don't question anything. Well, I can't always do that as an empowered woman and an intelligent adult.

first edit cartoon

This is my first editorial cartoon at my new job. :)

update

Long time, no blog. My apologies. After serious cramming for the two PRAXIS tests on Nov. 17 and a rush at work, I have been too busy to post, but later this week I will have two new drawings to post.

innocence lost

While watching Before You Enlist: The Real Deal on Joining the Military on Free Speech TV (available on Dish Network), I couldn't help but think of my brother in Egypt. He joined the National Guard this year against my family's objections. We exchanged letters while he was in training, and I worried even more. He acts like going to war will be a video game. Recruiters even use video games at events to help the cause. Former recuiters also have said they are told to do whatever it takes to make their numbers.

The best advice from this film was that potential recruits should talk to veterans, around town, in the VA hospitals, on the street and get the real story of serving in war. You can find a VA hospital near you here.

Today, on Veteran's Day, I feel it's more important than ever to speak up and question why we are putting these men and women whom we respect so much into harm's way.

Are we in Iraq to perpetuate unrest so corporations can profit and steal from the Iraqi people and the American taxpayers? It seems that way when BlackWater independent contractors (or mercenaries) can kill without fear of retribution. My America doesn't stand for that. My America is based on the rule of law. The Constitution. Not profiteering. Not torture. As the network news extolls the heroes of the World Wars, where everyone had to serve and sacrifice during the war, they omit the veterans who would say don't to volunteer. Not now when America stands on the precipe of fascism where corporate interests rule, and the people dare not speak. Lest they be swept away, totured until they no longer know who they are.

And as I consider all this, I remember playing Nintendo, Sega Genesis and Atari games with my brother and cry.

photography in Savannah

Beautiful art, criss-crossing alleys, pockets of nature and the industrial edge at the fringe of the strip mall of bars. Feeling small in a big world, a shaking furry creature wanders through the city's maze and sees two sides to Savannah. A city that appreciates art and nature, sits at the mouth of the river as the "Hostess of the South" and struggles.

Texture and history are everywhere. There are too many stories here to tell or hear in one lifetime. Who lives here? Beyond the riverfront. Who carries the burdens of the city?

......

......

......

On a lighter note,

Parallel parking for cranes.

My brother leaves for Egypt today

The Decider Destroyed My Country, 16 x 20, Acrylic and paper on canvas

after one full day

I worked on this after my first full day at my new job, which was much more chaotic than yesterday. I'm not sure what to call these drawings yet, but I think I might collect them into a series and pitch the idea of a show to the Florence Museum , FMU or the new gallery in Darlington. I'd have to get them all framed, but I bet they would look good together if I can do about 20-30 more. Let me see if I can find some bigger Bristol paper....

first day of the rest of my life

While I don't claim to be a photographer, I do use a lot of digital pictures to capture things I might want to paint later. Here are a couple roses cut from my garden that I think would make a nice painting. I think I like the second one better because of the scale, but these may just languish among many other digital photos on my hard drive waiting to be painted. If I don't paint these individually, I might use them for some design work. You always need a romantic pair of flowers for something.

work in progress

This is an oil pastel piece I started last night. Not sure where it's headed, but I still like it so far.

ink series continued

These are more of the same ink series from the previous post. Somedays you feel this is all anyone sees when they look at you. Not your work, not your awards, not your drive. Then they tell you so, and you wish you could punch them. But you can't, and you want to vomit.

dishonesty, sexism at work

Two pieces in a series of ink drawings conceived after a trying day in Cube Nation. The first shows a topsy-turvy landscape with a beautiful sea and sky in the distance. Roots grab at the earth and sky. Scratches in the dirt and deep crevices carve the lines and shapes of my emotions.

The second is an even more expressionistic inquiry into the day's chaos, where one is high from potential advancement then thwarted and cut down by those same wordsmiths. Stamps of gray symbolize the smoke screen of the corporate bureaucracy. Hatched lines are wounds twisting and transforming into frustration.

fire threatens homes

Work in progress, Acrylic on canvas, 24" x 36"

I felt posting this work in progress was timely given the number of Californians worrying about the threat of wildfire engulfing their homes.

Last week, my own home was threatened by fire, and this painting grew out of that. I sat on the couch with my husband when we heard a whooshing sound. I opened the back door to see flames flames shooting up above the woods beside our mobile home. My husband ran to get the hose while I evacuated our animals into the kennel far from our home and the tree line and called 911. He called to the neighbors to get some help. Five of them came over with buckets and together, we extinguished the flames before our wooden fence or home caught fire with our neighbors' help. The fire apparently started because someone had burned a stump but not fully watered the smoldering ashes.

Having a fire safety plan helped us quickly evacuate had the fire reached our home. So if you don't have one, please make one, especially if you have animals.

new cut

SO after looking at this on screen, I think I might "crop" it like this whenever I get it framed. I think it creates better flow, creates a different feeling, focuses more on the details I like about it. Now, though, that white square space at the bottom right is distracting. Hmmm...
Feel free to comment.

Undetermined title, Oil pastel on canvas paper, Oct. 2007

This piece is about searching for an escape from daily turmoil. This is the first pastel I have done in some time, but I stayed up working on it for several hours one night after work. As noted, I haven't come up with a proper title yet, but I'm sure something will come to me sometime. I like the depth of the colors in the middle and bottom right, but the top is somewhat distracing to me. The eyes looking off-page bother me....

first post

Welcome to my first post on an ongoing discussion about art. My art. Art I see. Artists I know. Artists I like and dislike. How art develops. As well as discussions about design, composition and art in general. Politics and news, which are a big part of my life, will get integrated in these discussions also.

Enjoy.

In the meantime, check out my work at http://www.lisarock.com/.