|
April 9, 2006 | About that Glass Vase - and the News THERE is this thing called the MSM. It includes television, the big newspapers, many smaller newspapers that are owned by big chains, as well as the news magazines (Time, Newsweek, US News and others), and is characterized by a few sites on the web: CNN.com, MSNBC.com, and anything else that is linked to a national TV network. The abbreviation MSM is for "mainstream media" and guess what, every now and then, some bit of it is true. The problem with the truth the way it's presented in the MSM is that you have to assemble it like you would put a glass vase back together after it had fallen. It takes a long time, you definitely need patience, and at the end, you get something not quite vaguely resembling the original. In fact, it's been smashed and reassembled so many times, nobody has a clue what the thing is supposed to look like. Another troubling thing about the MSM is how tight the mesh is, that is, the barrier between what happens and what gets through. When information makes it from one side of that barrier to the other, it's a little like smashing strawberries through a strainer and calling that washing them off. And what we see is filtered based on how much people are going to like it (ratings), and when you combine the ratings system with news you get something so disgusting that it should be banned by the health department. Along the American ride for the past 40 or so years, there has been an alternative media developing in the United States. It grew out of the social movements of the 1960s, and was designed to provide other viewpoints on events and politics. But because it was confined to print, and print is so expensive, and the United States so big, it was difficult for it to really get anywhere. In half a decade of utter political madness, counting back to the impeachment because that's really when it began so its really more, the voice and message of the alternative press has focused and sharpened itself. The Internet has made it possible because writers need an audience, and the Internet has done more than anything to put The Washington Post and the blog of an interesting commentator on the same level. Before I became an astrologer, my own journalism career was an interesting hybrid of alternative media and MSM. I have founded several of my own news outlets, and written for many of the tried and true alternative outlets as well. In addition, as an independent journalist, I've often had the benefit of my articles being "picked up" by the MSM, and on occasion having my work tracked and followed, gaining national coverage of issues I was developing. The number of times my work has been covered in The New York Times would make most mainstream journalists envious. But my first loyalty has always been to small, independent news outlets that are committed to relating their message their way. And when given the option, I have preferred to create my own news organization to fill a niche that nobody else has noticed. Enter Planet Waves. This web magazine actually began as a horoscope column, which has always come with a topical essay. When I started writing horoscopes, it seemed natural enough to present that with some more in-depth commentary on the planets, news events or something going on in inner space. Out of that grew the Planet Waves concept, which includes a steady stream of horoscopes as well as coverage of the planets from the viewpoint of an observer on Earth -- that is, real life perspective. We don't skimp on either, which keeps both parts of our audience satisfied -- those that like a lot of news, and those that prefer a lot of astrology. And if you happen to like both, you cash in. To Planet Waves, I bring my perspective as a trained, experienced and fully credentialed investigative news reporter (and editor), as well as my skill and viewpoint as an astrologer. The result is that from Planet Waves, you get an angle in life like no other. The writing team that has gathered around this idea includes some of the most talented journalists I've ever known. All the writing on Planet Waves is created from the perspective that those who watch the planets need to be aware of life on the planet's surface, and those of us on the surface need to keep an eye on the heavens for additional news, information and confirmation of what we're seeing. I could hardly imagine a more relevant concept for a news source in these wild, strange, mystifying years of the 21st century. We have consistently shown that that our astrological analysis is often months ahead of the news, we have spotted trends and reported many specific events long before they actually developed. And our after-the-news commentary helps make sense of the chaos that seems to move too fast to understand. What we lack most of all -- and what is the most difficult thing to find -- is perspective. And if I had to sum up in one word what Planet Waves offers, that is it. More than inspiration; more than information; we strive to see the world in context. But mostly what you get is a lot of really great astrology writing, from the weekly horoscope to the birthday report to our excellent annual horoscope pages, which are still relevant. I'd like to personally invite you to subscribe to Planet Waves direct email service, and see what we've got going on. For about a dollar a week, you'll get our three-times a week service (called Planet Waves Weekly), as well as access to our subscriber homepage, and the Parallel Worlds annual page, and the fun new Lemonade horoscopes area. This may seem like a lot of information, but it's presented in a way that's easy to follow, and we connect the dots so you get the relationship to everything else. The horoscopes are easy to find and come out at least twice a week. Here's how to sign up quickly, safely and easily -- and if you don't like making online purchases, there is an 800-number you can use right on this page: http://planetwavesweekly.com/sales/home.html Here's what our subscribers have to say. These are real, unsolicited comments about how people feel about Planet Waves and why they support this project -- http://www.planetwavesweekly.com/feedback.html Thanks for checking in. We look forward to being your primary source of cosmic news and personal astrology in the months ahead. Please write to me if you have any questions or comments -- francis@planetwaves.net Catch you soon, Yours truly -- P.S., Planet Waves is guaranteed. In fact, I'm tempted to offer a "double your money back" guarantee, because the point is, nobody's ever going to have to use it. But we are indeed guaranteed, so your investment in our publishing adventure is safe. But your old ideas about reality are not! So subscribe today! PPS, note, the most recent issue is posted a couple of blog entries down, in blue type. | ||||||
|
