Alan Mairson
Breaking Through The Media Fog
Conventional wisdom says that access to media—social and otherwise—helps connect us to the world and to each other. But what if that's nonsense? What if media and most forms of virtual reality actually blind us to the wonder and beauty of our non-virtual lives? That question haunted me during my 19 years as a staff writer and editor at National Geographic Magazine, a picture palace where images have long reigned supreme. In this talk I'll share three anecdotes about how visual media—especially photography—can obscure the world rather than bring it into focus. I'll also suggest three ways to cut through the media fog that surrounds us all so that we might see a bit more clearly again.
About Alan Mairson:
Alan is a freelance journalist based in Bethesda, Maryland. He's also the founder and blogger-in-chief of Society Matters (www.societymatters.org)—a (slightly quixotic) attempt to crowdsource a new business model to help sustain National Geographic Magazine, where he worked from 1990 to 2008. Alan is also a husband, father, son, brother, baseball coach, Red Sox fan, cyclist, reader, and future-of-journalism-on-the-web junkie who is working hard to cut down on his own screen time.
Comments
Diane Cline August 26, 2009
Alan Mairson is an amazing public speaker and his topic is both timely and thought-provoking. I, for one, would attend just to get the chance to hear him!
Lynda DeWitt August 26, 2009
Alan lives and breathes this subject. He's thought and wrote about it more than any 50 people. He's smart and has a way of explaining this stuff that makes sense to those who are....well, in the fog. The biggest benefit of having Alan speak: he probably won't need a microphone. Big guy, big voice, big ideas...
Jennifer Roccanti September 1, 2009
He's a Red Sox fan. 'Nuf said. Would really love to hear Alan speak!
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