I have been fortunate to see my byline in countless print publications, from national trade magazines to regional newspapers. Yet after two decades as a paid journalist, you start to take the thrill of seeing your name in print for granted.
Chicago Magazine, January issue
Now, of course, journalists track their bylines by setting Google alerts. But as any professional hack will tell you, a digital byline is less than satisfying. There’s no sense of story placement — did it make Page 1? — and there is little sense of permanence even if the digital version can be found forever more.
This week I’m back in print for the first time in months and I couldn’t be more thrilled. Titled “Ten mostly great Chicago apps for your iPhone,” the piece runs in the January issue of Chicago Magazine. It’s a topic I’m quite familiar with and my first piece for the publication.
I’ll spare you a soliloquy about the state of print journalism — you’ve heard plenty already — but I will say this: If you get a chance to read the piece, I hope it is in the print edition. (You can’t find it online yet, a strategy that gets my stamp of approval.)
A printed byline remains a joy for a journalist who used a typewriter to file his first published pieces. Heck, I once stepped on my Chicago Tribune columnist’s mug on the No. 65 bus one morning on my way to the office. That was pretty cool.
I don’t pine for the old days and I don’t miss the tumult familiar with today’s newsrooms, where the digital future is smacking everyone in the virtual forehead. Still, I like the nostalgia associated with being in print and it was a treat to work with Chicago’s Jennifer Tanaka, a top-notch editor.
I won’t even plead for you to buy the January issue of Chicago Magazine (hitting newsstands this week — did I mention that?) but if you do, you’ll be happy. You may not care about iPhone apps but you’ll find the piece on Chicago’s top doctors worthwhile. There’s also a story on Chicago’s people of the year, with photos by Katrina Wittkamp, a former Tribune colleague.
Even if few people note bylines other than professional journalists, it feels good to be in print again. It is a personal thing, like most of today’s blogs.
2 Comments
Are you going to comment on the Verizon Droid? I may have missed it if you have done so already. Always enjoyed your columns in the Trib. Glad to have “found” you again!
Hi Jim,
Thanks for the nice comment. I think the Droid is a fine, fine phone. Here’s a piece I wrote for Appolicious.com on the Droid that you may find interesting.
http://tinyurl.com/yzfajnu
I also included the Droid in my list of “favorite things.”
http://bendablemedia.com/2009/12/a-few-of-my-favorite-things/
Bottom line: I recommend the phone.
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