Bacon-cats journalism: Putting the theory to practice

Remember the oh-so-funny Op-Ed war between Gene Weingarten and Alexandra Petri in the Washington Post about bacon-cats journalism a couple months ago?

In summary, Weingarten, whose blast against "branding" begot this column, waxed nostalgic about how content used to be driven by more than grabbing eyeballs. He then lamented that online eyeballs seem to have an unquenchable thirst for bacon-strapped cats.

http://www.scalzi.com/cattapebacon2.jpg

Petri rebutted, saying journalism used to accommodate lengthy features on conditions in the corn market because, for decades, no one really knew what people were reading. Is it more noble, she asked, to give the reader what we now know he or she wants?

Principles aside, these writers have both proven it's a lot of fun to talk about writing about cats. But isn't all this talk about writing about cats a bit of pussycat journalism, after all? Check out the urbandictionary definition, which describes a cat that “no longer looks under bushes and hides in a tree. It is satisfied with the little effort, and enjoys snoozing whenever it can.”

So please, e-mail my latest cat story to your grandma, and remind her she only gets ten clicks before having to buy a digital subscription. (The CA is now assigning value to one's eyeballs.)

And if you didn't get your fix with the two cats whose lives were saved by a kidney transplant, then check out my coverage of last year's cat show.

<^_ _^>

P.S. Here's a sneak peak inside my cubicle. Not even staged:

Christmas crime and adult onesies

Sometime after Snuggies and before the Forever Lazy, my mom mailed me a present. She was REALLY excited about it and asked me to call her as soon as it came in. The box was small, unassuming, and the labels seemed insignificant. Nothing breakable, nothing perishable.

It may or may not have been Valentine's Day.

Crime is spiking about this time, and the Memphis Police Department urges citizens to be hyper-vigilant about personal safety practices during the holiday season. The Memphis mayor will address concerned residents in Cooper-Young tomorrow about a recent rash of break-ins. He said he wants to hear from folks before prescribing possible remedies. What areas do police need to target? What practices might be most effective?

What other rising trends could make for correlations?

Hmmm.

Not saying this is causative, but there has been a noticeable rise this holiday season in "lounge wear" that resembles prison uniform.

Adult onesies are criminal.

Half-Marathon Jitters

I'm too nervous about the race tomorrow to write anything yet, but I'm hoping that after the race I'll have lots to post. Today, I will stare at the course map, think about spaghetti, go through my music playlist...I haven't really trained, so I am just hoping to make it to the finish line.

Wish me luck!