Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Where in the World is Mark's World?

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

To give you an idea of the trip at hand, the above map should serve as a handy guide. Click on it to make it even bigger!

After a heartfelt farewell to the cats and Mary, I got about 10 hours of road ahead of me today. I plan to wind my way from Illinois over to Indiana and down into Kentucky and, then, Tennessee. I toyed with the idea of hanging at Graceland in Memphis, but I want to get a little further south. On Thursday it's into Georgia and then deep into Florida with at least a rest stop in Ormond Beach to see the parents.

This, by the way, is a near-identical trip that my niece Angela and her husband Fred will take a mere 48 hours later as they celebrate their first anniversary with a trip to Daytona! How bizarre is that timing?? Maybe we'll all hook up this weekend...

I have my camera phone and when I hit a wireless connection somewhere, I will post some shots of the sites along the way. Stay tuned!

More later,


Mark

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Ready to Move Out!

I'm reminded, for some odd reason, of the checklist that Robin would go through as Batman powered up the Batmobile on the old TV show of my youth:

Robin: "Atomic batteries to power. Turbines to speed."
Batman: "Roger, ready to move out."

Likewise, I am ready to move out. For weeks now I have made a mental checklist of all the things I needed to do/pack/buy. The realtor/handyman/painter team is signed. The Pod is filled and stored while the new iPod and clothes will soon board the Sportage. I've bought enough caffeine for an around-the-world trip.

Two days. One man. 400-plus tunes. Plus, turbines to speed, if, indeed, that actually is anything on an actual car...

For the third time in my life, I'm leaving Illinois. I left after college graduation and headed to Dallas, Texas in 1982. I returned with a drawl. I left in 1988 for upstate New York and returned four years later after meeting wonderful people including my future wife. Who knows what I'll encounter this time? But it is bound to be an adventure.

But I have nearly everything I need: A wonderful wife, two cats, an iPod. Well everything but a job. That's waiting for me in Florida and I cannot wait to get there!

Don't get me wrong: If anyone ever offers you an extended period of mid-career sloth, take them up on it. It's a good way to find your old happy self, reset your bearings and recharge your batteries. But that life lacks the geometry of the daily work routine with its early rises and deli lunches and crises de jours. There is a selfish joy of accomplishing something with others that is hard to replace with book writing and occasional consulting gigs. Everyone wants to feel like they belong somewhere.

We feel like we belong in Florida.

On one hand, It's tough to leave so many friends and family behind. My brother and sister and I will have to work a little harder to stay close. But we will spend hours on the phone and now have this new fangled Internet thing to help out. As for other folks, well, when you live about an hour from Walt Disney World, you know you are going to have visitors. Plus, we have parents, aunts, cousins and a grandma all in Florida. Something tells me we won't get too lonely...

I just realized something the other day: This 14-year stint in Crystal Lake was the longest I ever lived in one place in my 46 years! Wow! Well, it must be time to move on, then...

Here's another life lesson: There are always new adventures ahead. It's natural to fear moving on or ahead or into another direction. It's often easy to just go with the flow especially if what's most important to you is the mortgage payment, the company car and some odd sense of prestige. But in the cool, dark, calm of the night, when the only voice you can really hear - the only voice that truly matters - is your own, it is then you realize that you are nothing if you are not true to yourself.

Folks who have known me for a while will pardon one more telling of this old confession: I look goofy in a beard. So, I have to shave routinely. To shave, I need a mirror. To use a mirror, I cannot be ashamed of the view. There are a lot of guys with beards - figurative and otherwise - who I often wonder about. But I am at peace with myself and my decisions and that's all that matters in the final analysis.

Likewise, your inner-voice is all that should matter to you. Onward and upward, as they say.

I'm leaving Wednesday morning for a two-or-three-day tour to Florida. Check in to chart my progress! The map goes up Wednesday morning!

More later,


Mark

Monday, May 29, 2006

A Quick Note to Grads

(FORMER EDITOR'S NOTE – Way back on May 14, 1986, in the Peoria Observer, I dedicated a column to the Class of 1986, giving them my version of a commencement address. Well, I have received so many requests that I republish it (mostly from those little voices inside my head) that I decided to dust it off, freshen up the references and update my blog. Congratulations to all graduates everywhere!)

It's graduation season and, yes, it has happened again.

Every year at this time I prepare a commencement address and, every year, I'm not asked to deliver it.

My old alma mater, Bradley University hasn't called. None of the local high schools have searched me out as a guest speaker. The middle schools haven’t called, either...

So, this year I’m publishing my speech on my blog. Feel free to use it, should you find yourself invited to give some kind of commencement address. I ask only that you credit your source (something like, "In occasions such as this, I am legally compelled to recall of the words of that great orator, Mark M. Sweetwood, who wasn’t asked to speak tonight even though he is probably sitting home this very minute playing 'Godfather' on his PlayStation2.'').

Greetings Class of 2006.

As you prepare to embark down the road to the real world, let me offer these words of wisdom: The road to the real world is pretty poorly paved. In fact, it is strewn with potholes, rocks and bits of gravel. Oh, yes, and there will be detours and obstructions. Just when your think you found the right road, you’ll be lost. As you travel that road, watch for the sign that says, "Real World, Next Exit." Take that exit, go down a block and turn left at the first stoplight. Go down that street about a quarter mile, until you come to the riverboat casino, which is down the street from the micro-brewery.

The real world is right in between there. You can't miss it.

I hope that helps you.

As I look around today, I'm intrigued to think of you as the leaders of tomorrow. Well, perhaps "intrigued" isn't the right word. Actually, I'm scared to death. To think that the very people who pay real money to download Shakira on iTunes will be the same people running the world in 10 or 20 years, well, it just sends shivers up my spine. As I look upon you, I see a sea of pizza box hats and gowns. What's this supposed to be: A convention of cross-dressing Domino deliverers? (Pause for forced obligatory laughter mixed with jeers). Uhm, not that there's anything wrong with cross-dressers... I loved "TransAmerica." Well, I would have loved it if I had actually seen it... The point is, I am open-minded enough to not have specifically avoided it...

Tonight, oh mighty Class of 2006 at (insert school's name here), you are crossing that bridge from silly mixed-up teens to adulthood. As adults, you will find new responsibilities. There's auto insurance, doing your own laundry (and keeping the blue "I Only Come to Wrigley Field for the Beer and to Boo Dusty Baker” t-shirt out of the sweat socks pile), qualifying for a mortgage and watching "The Home and Garden Channel," just to name a few.

Some of you will choose to go to college (if this is a college commencement, change this line to "Some of you will sober up."). Some of you will master a trade. Some of you will choose to raise a family.

Whatever path to the real world you choose, I want you to remember this: Don't be afraid of failure. Many of our most prominent doctors and lawyers are failures. Some don’t have the slightest idea what it is that they are talking about. In fact, without pointing fingers, there's a lawyer here tonight who used to think "Juris Prudence" was a Beatles song.

True, he's a failure as far as the law goes. But he still makes more money than broken down former editors who give commencement addresses. It's all so relative.

Oh, Class of 2006 at (insert name of school here), just as the acorn will eventually grow to be the mighty oak if it isn't devoured by the squirrels, so shall the Class of 2006 grow to be the mighty leaders of tomorrow, if you aren’t eaten by the squirrels. So be careful and close your windows at night, so squirrels won't sneak into your bedroom while you are asleep.

And don’t eat peanut butter at bedtime. It attracts squirrels, you know.

Anyway, the message I want to leave with "Generation KY" tonight is: "Do the Dew." Yes, I know that is a rather vacuous bit of logic that could lead to disaster. But you TV generation kids seem to like it, so I thought I'd just say it. Also, "Which Mac are you?" (Pause for answer.) How about: "Is it in you?" Hmmm...? Or: "Shinizzle my Frinizzles." Finally, and most importantly, "Step off, dude!"

Please, whatever you do in the years ahead, pledge tonight to end the proliferation of "Dude!"

Thank you and good night.

More later!

Mark

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Scary picture!

Yikes!

Our good friend and former colleague Suzanne Kathro snapped a picture of me and Mary Friday night at a gathering of friends at Buffalo Wild Wings in Algonquin.

Check it out here:

Yikes!

Mary looks wonderful as always. Me? That ain't my best side... LOL!

Anyway we had a great time catching up with some special folks. This past week I've either had lunch and/or beers or traded emails and/or phone calls with so many great people from the old Shaw Newspapers days. Truly, I was blessed by being among the best of the best. I was very fortunate to be a part of special teams for a couple of newspapers and I cherish the good memories.

It is so good to know who your true friends really are. This whole chapter of my life has been an invaluable life lesson. Thanks, everyone!

Next week, the new adventure begins in earnest! Get ready to play "Where in the World is Mark's World?" as I head south!

More later.

Mark

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Pandora's Blog

A while back I blogged about Pandora.com, a very cool, very intuitive music site that plays free music for you based on your listening habits. It's great for background music while working or writing or tuning out American Idol.

Well, Tim Westergren of Pandora was kind enough to invite me, as an early user of his great site, to a town hall-style meeting in Chicago last weekend to discuss the concept and help mold it for the future. I couldn't make it (packing!) but while jamming on the site the other day, I realized yet another cool add-on for my blog.

By use of a RSS feed, visitors to my site can not only see what my current Top 5 songs are, but can also play a sample or start their own Pandora "station." And my tunes will be automatically updated as I tag songs while listening to my stations on Pandora!

This works best for those of you with wireless connections, of course.

Once again, I urge you to check out Pandora as a great - and low-cost (actually, free) - alternative to my beloved iTunes:

Pandora

More later,


Mark

P.S. Of course, my new video iPod arrived today, so if my Pandora picks don't move much over the next day or so, don't be surprised... Ahhhhh... Every episode of "The Office" in one hand-held device....

Monday, May 22, 2006

Mining the Truth

Another mining disaster over the weekend jogged a couple of memories from last January's Sago mining disaster. Occasionally the book I am writing on the newspaper industry intersects with real-time topics. The media mine disaster earlier this year is a prime example.

Was I the only one a bit bemused by those editors nationwide who fell all over themselves to explain those erroneous headlines in January proclaiming 12 miners had survived a West Virginia mine explosion? In truth, only one person, Randal McCloy Jr., survived and eventually recovered many months later to share grim details of the final moments of his fellow miners.

We live in odd times for newspaper publishing and perhaps nothing demonstrates this like the crocodile tears shed on behalf of readers by apologetic editors. Editor & Publisher magazine quoted Wichita, Kan., Eagle Editor Sherry Chisenhall, who wrote an angst-filled note Jan. 4: "I'll explain why we (and newspapers across the country) went to press last night with the information we had at the time. But it won't excuse the blunt truth that we violated a basic tenet of journalism today in our printed edition: Report what you know and how you know it."

Emailed query from that era: "Does she really verify all of her AP stories before the press runs? Is it time for a reality check, Mark?"

Uhm, yeah.

The revelation that 12 of 13 miners had, in fact, died and that mine owner International Coal Group had suffered a horrible "miscommunication" came just before 2 a.m. CST Wednesday Jan. 4. That is a nightmare of bad timing for East Coast and Midwest newspapers in terms of press production. As Boston Globe editor Martin Baron told E&P: "At some point, you've got to print a paper."

The Chisenhalls of the world confuse terms like "truth" and "facts." Truth is, at best, a vantage point arrived at over time. Facts are, well, facts: "Knowledge or information based on real occurrences: an account based on fact; a blur of fact and fancy; something demonstrated to exist or known to have existed."

At the time of many newspapers' deadlines, it could be - and was - factually reported that many townsfolk were celebrating reports that their loved ones were safe. And there were sources ranging from a governor to a member of Congress to medical personnel to the Red Cross verifying the reports. That everyone, including the rescue team command center, was caught up in a perfect storm of confusion and that the ultimate truth was far different was revealed several hours later, as additional reporting added new facts.

The reality of deadlines provides a safe haven for newspapers - it always has. Remember: "At some point, you've got to print a paper." I even agree both wire reporters and newspaper editors who printed the "miracle" story could have better emphasized the word "unconfirmed" and focused more on attribution. That said, if newspaper editors are going to openly weep for letting their customers down, they ought to tell the entire story; fall on the entire sword.

If some newspaper folks felt like they got caught flat, much of it was their own doing. Allow me to explain.

For the past 40 years, newspaper owners have increasingly gravitated toward a one-size-fits-all, low-cost-at-all-costs concept. Luckily for readers and my sanity, the last two companies which employed me embraced different outlooks. Elsewhere, daily readership has declined -- down from 81 percent of all adults in 1964 to 52 percent of adults in 2005, according to the Newspaper Association of America. But this has not deterred some owners who wish to continue to enjoy 20-35 percent return on investment. To maintain that healthy percentage amidst declining profits and increasing competitors – first radio and TV and, then, the Internet and cable networks – accommodations have been made. Those "accommodations" - read: "operational cuts" - combined with a lack of vision played a role in the mining headline episode.

Consider:

• Newspapers once staffed overnight desks for late news. Few today still do. Why? They are too expensive and there's not much for them to do. Why not? Well...

• Newspapers used to publish several editions throughout the day - from a.m. to p.m. If deadlines forced you to go with one version of a breaking story, you could always update it on the next run. Not any more. Now, most newspapers are printed during a single run. Still...

• Many newspapers would once interrupt their single press run to customize the paper for geographic and/or advertising reasons. Thus, if a story needed to be updated, it could be when the press was stopped between zones. But a lot of zoning, too, has fallen victim to the budget axe. In the worst-case scenario, production could be encouraged to stop a run for a change, but...

• We've all heard the cliché: "Stop the press!" Even in newspapers' heyday, it was mostly the stuff of movies. Still, if it was rarely used then, the concept is completely foreign today. How many apologists declined to stop their presses, junk the erroneously headlined copies and reprint corrected versions because of the cost involved? (Think $525 per 1,000 copies to reprint the average newspaper's front sections). Instead, many of these companies "pushed" readers to their web sites, where there is nearly zero cost to update or correct information.

Perhaps it could have dawned on those of such limited vision that if their customers wanted their news delivered via the Internet, they'd quit newspaper delivery altogether. Oh, wait: Many are! Even without the less-than-subtle push...

Many of these hand-wringing editors are probably too young to recall overnight desks, multiple editions and the like. Maybe they think the current state of the industry is the way it always was. Why every erroneous-headline-afflicted newspaper east of the Mississippi River didn't at least re-run their newsstand editions, I'll never comprehend.

I imagine that somewhere, someone stopped a press, trashed a bunch of copies and delivered the right newspaper to a "wowed" reader. I have to imagine this because I have read of no specific stories. I know some newspapers managed to save partial runs and to them I say: Bully! To those who didn't try or didn't even know to try, I wonder what they are thinking or, even, if they ARE thinking. Where is the passion for your audience? Your customers? Your chosen field?

Lest I remind you of a previous blog:

"Today's media audiences expect whatever media they are accessing at the moment to be intuitive; to be in tune with their wants and needs; to anticipate their wants and needs; to redefine their wants and needs and to exceed their expectations. Which naturally leads us to today's tip: Big props if you can bring the "Wow!" factor. Then redefine the "Wow" factor. Then bring it again."

Cranking out an apology when you still have the ability to "wow" readers is NOT representative of an editor concerned with working in an intuitively inclined medium. It is cheap and lazy and, even misleading especially if you have not fully disclosed all the reasons that led to a specific headline landing on a specific porch.

I have a sense that newspaper readers are getting bored with apologies and hand-wringing, anyway. New mediums are "wowing" them. Too many newspapers seem intent on apologizing their way through the 21st Century. Sorry for this scandal. Sorry for that mistake. Sorry for this plagiarist. Sorry for that malfunction. Oops, we lied about how many copies we circulate. Darn, we got it wrong again.

Accountability can be impressive. Water can be refreshing. Too much of either creates a drowning effect. Hence, editors should apologize when necessary and explain when needed but spare the wah-wah-wahs lest they face even more scrutiny and calls for full disclosure from the likes of yours truly.

"On the Media" discussed many of these issues as well:
On The Media

More later,


Mark

Friday, May 19, 2006

The great 'War' debate...

When Neil Young's "Living With War" debuted a couple of weeks ago, I promised it would be met with great debate. I then posted some reviews.

Well, Neil's own website has taken those ideas to the next logical step with a new website: "Living With War - The Great Debate." On this website, all the reviews are printed with the "pro's" on one side and the "con's" on the other. It really is exhaustive and great fun to read. In fact, you can still access the album from my site (if you scroll down) and then you can listen while you read the reviews.

To access "Living With War - The Great Debate" go here:

The Great Debate

I know some believe I am over-hyping the album, but I think it is a fascinating discussion and, frankly, I am an unabashed Neil Young fan.

More later,


Mark

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Internet Explorer doesn't ...

... at least not here.

You apparently can no longer use Internet Explorer to explore Mark's World 2.0 in the beautiful wonder as God and I intended. You can still see some of the blogs, but you should see a column of separate material on the left and the brilliant blogs occupying the center/right side of the page.

I am working on it, but there may be few options. More and more sites no longer support Internet Explorer. I can - and will - upgrade my wife and my mom to at least OSX Version 10.3.9 so that they can update to Safari and Firefox. But PC folks out there, like my dad, well, you are on your own. Maybe your wife will let you use a technologically superior computer.

If you are running OSX Version 10.3.9 or higher and you need the Safari browser, download it here:

Safari


Likewise, if you are running OSX Version 10.3.9 or higher and you need Mozilla's Firefox browser, download it here:

Firefox

More later,


Mark

P.S. In an effort to remedy part of the problem, I removed the "Othello" game. Let me know if this helps!

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Blogging about my blog...

I received a nice email today which alerted me that an earlier missive here - "Don't Hate Me Because I Don't Care if You are Pretty" - received some discussion over at VisualEditors.com. It was posted there by one of the top newspaper minds of this era, Alan Jacobson from BrassTacksDesign.com.

Actually, you might recall, it was a great column by Alan entitled "If newspaper markets are so different, who do newspapers look so much alike?" which prompted my blog. If you haven't been to Alan's site to read that article or to check out the Bakersfield, Calif. project, then you need to get there right freakin' now!

Anyway, here's what they had to say about my windy diatribe:

VisualEditors.Com

More later!


Mark

P.S. It appears as if the new look works best with "Firefox" or "Safari" browsers. If this is working right, you ought to see a sea-side home overlooking the ocean in the far left corner. Please report any conflicts! In addition to a Google search and a better counter, I've added news updates which are superior to the old ones (and still free!)and a HTML-version of the game "Othello" for your entertainment.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

The New Look...

In response to all of the complaints about my boring, static, un-updated blog, I'm re-tooling Mark's World with a definite Florida flair. Above, you can google Melbourne, Florida (or anything else that needs a good googling!).

I've also added an updated counter (which took QUITE a spin yesterday!). Look for more augmentations in the days and weeks ahead! I have a great weather feature on its way...

Thanks for all of the kind notes over the past 24 hours. The announcements on my new job went out in three email waves in addition to here. It will likely take me a day or two to get back to all of you!

More later,


Mark

Friday, May 12, 2006

The Adventure Continues...

For more than a year, I have pondered my next career move.

I have called upon friends and relatives and former co-workers and mentors and picked their minds for their wisdom. I thank you all for your input.

Thanks to a spirited campaign which began in earnest last fall, I have talked to many prospective employers, large and small. I literally traveled from shore to shore. I burned up more cell phone minutes than I care to think about. From California to Texas to Pennsylvania to Massachusetts to Iowa to Florida: Calls and emails came in and I entertained a lot of ideas. I was interviewed in person and in the store and in the car and in my living room and even in Las Vegas. One day I did a phone interview from a hotel in Oakland during a lunch break from a day-long series of on-site interviews.

From the beginning, Mary and I decided that we'd prefer either staying in Illinois or heading down to sunny Florida - but we were open to any exciting challenge (especially in a warm climate). First, though, I had to decide what exactly I wanted to do.

I was a top editor of a 15,000 newspaper for four years and a 30,000-plus newspaper for 10 years. In both cases, I was lucky to be hired by great publishers (Neil Hopp and Bob Shaw) and surrounded by a terrific team that exemplified newspaper excellence and set standards that proved difficult to sustain in ensuing years after those teams moved on. I enjoyed that work and I will never forget the sheer joy of setting our own course for our own readers and generating industry acclaim as we took established newspapers and made them truly special. They were both great jobs. But, this is something I've already done.

I was also general manager and then publisher of a 15,000-circulation newspaper for three years. While this was heady work and forced me to utilize my brain in different ways, I am not sure I enjoyed that job as much as the editor gigs, frankly. Certainly, I was turned off by the polarizing effects of some of the politics incumbent on the role and it didn't help that we started off in a hole in terms of market success. But I loved that opportunity (and remain grateful to Tom Shaw) and loved that newspaper and its staff. I saw amazing work happen by sheer will as everyone's attention became focused on the the power of the market. It was a great job and we attained circulation and industry success previously thought elusive. In the end, though, the company chose a different direction.

Leaving me to weigh my choices.

So what to do? In the exploration of my future, I've interviewed as GM, as editor, as editor/publisher, as marketing director. I've met some terrific people and have had some great conversations about the future of the newspaper industry. I am bullish on print, but I am naturally suspicious of organizations that have either mandated outmoded quick fixes or taken to the smoke-and-mirrors game of less-is-more. I am not impressed with the overnight-success "content experts" who have sprung forth out of such well-intentioned concepts as the Readership Institute. I remain convinced - and my book will make testament to this notion - that any newspaper company that mandates its staff must listen intently to its specific market and respond accordingly will be guided toward continued success. There are, however, no shortcuts to that methodology (though, sadly, no shortage of train wrecks as a result of those seeking shortcuts). Listening and responding are time consuming and expensive. But they are as fundamental to a newspaper's life as oxygen is to a human's.

I remain amused at the notion that the newspaper industry is capable of saving itself; that the answers to profit decline and circulation meltdown lie in slavishly following so-called "industry trends." Newspapers will definitely go the way of the giganotosaurus unless executives take a cue from other models and adapt to a increasingly media-savvy audience. Print media can and must create an intuitive environment and mentality. I have said for years that just as the train industry was trumped by alternatives such as trucking because it failed to comprehend it was in the "transportation industry" and not a "railroad industry," newspaper executives have to wake up and realize they are members of the "media industry." Individually, newspapers are vital and thriving, but any notion of a "newspaper industry" is most assuredly dead. My book will serve as its eulogy.

So often, my career choice has been about a leap in faith. I'm taking yet another one. I'm heading back into the front lines.

A couple of months ago, I read about a fledgling newspaper group in central Florida called Hometown News after my Dad sent me a copy of the inaugural effort in Ormond Beach. Various former Scripps employees have put together a chain of free-distribution weekly newspapers that is - get ready to be stunned - growing! Yes, a growing newspaper group. Not just growing, but EXPLODING. The content is locally focused, like a good newspaper ought to be. It feels like "Neighbors" on steroids. They are filling a niche of voracious readers and advertisers long shunned by local-market-bereft daily newspapers. It is as if someone woke up one day and said, "You know what? Every publication in central Florida either caters to some big-metro mentality or tourists! We oughtta do something for the READERS!" And they have quickly grown in a few short years from a handful of newspapers to 19. With more on the way.

I will start there in June editing several newspapers in the Melbourne area. I am excited that I get to work with the likes of Tammy Raits, the news vice president, and Steve Erlanger, the publisher. Both have gone well out of their way to coax me out of my Illinois comfort zone and back into the trenches where I belong. I am proud to be affiliated with such good and talented people. I have talked to a lot of people in the past year and I can honestly say no one impressed me more with their passion for their work than Tammy and Steve.

A young organization will allow me the opportunity to learn from truly successful people who have built a brilliant model and still allow me to bring along some of my own notions (while finishing the book!).

The house goes on the market soon (after the fence/siding projects) and I will head out to Florida around Memorial Day while Mary stays back to deal with the rigors of real estate. I will likely take the hairy beast 'Tude with me while Mary and Louie market the house. 'Tude and I, meanwhile, will be shopping for a new home in the Melbourne area.

Thanks to all who have cared or inquired or both. Your ideas and suggestions and counsel was always appreciated, even if I didn't seem like the best audience. We are ready for that next adventure. As always, you're invited to stay tuned at www.marksweetwood.blogspot.com - and visit beautiful Florida!

More later,

Mark

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

ANNOUNCEMENT

STAND BY FOR AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT BY MARK SWEETWOOD REGARDING HIS CAREER....THE ANNOUNCEMENT WILL BE MADE AT 12 P.M. CST FRIDAY...

Monday, May 01, 2006

Living With Reviews

As predicted Friday, the new Neil Young album, "Living With War," is garnering a lot of attention. A quick scan at www.google.com saw links to these reviews:

Chicago Tribune

Fox News

Rolling Stone

The Guardian

New York Times

And, of course, my good friend Suzanne has weighed in with her views! Thanks Suzanne!

According to Dan Rose who is coordinating the massive - and ingenious - marketing plan for Neil's new album: "Currently, the following digital retailers are scheduled to have Living With War available for sale on (Tuesday), May 2: iTunes (pre-order), SonyConnect, Rhapsody, Napster, BuyMusic.com."

I have also read that digital downloads will be available at neilyoung.com.

More later!


Mark
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