1. 20 Mar



    We’re hiring!

    Digital Production Assistant

    TheWeek.com seeks a digitally savvy newshound to manage various editorial tasks essential to our growing web presence. This person will wear many hats, but his or her main focus will be on improving TheWeek.com’s presence on social media platforms and on tablet devices. Most importantly, this person will have a strong understanding of what makes a story sharable. 

    Tasks may include: 
    Helping maintain The Week’s various social media profiles
    Analyzing traffic trends
    Daily newsletter production
    Researching, writing and formatting stories 
    Formatting weekly magazine issues for iPad and other tablet devices

    Requirements: 
    Bachelor’s degree in journalism or related field
    Proven presence on and strong understanding of social sharing communities including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and others
    Familiarity with Content Management Systems and Google Analytics
    Proficiency in Photoshop and an eye for design
    Excellent news judgment and writing skills
    Basic understanding of HTML and coding a plus
    Ability to thrive in a fast-paced news environment where multitasking is a must

    This is a fulltime entry-level role based in our NYC office. To apply, please send your resume and cover letter to socialmedia@theweek.com. 

     

  2. 25 Feb



    We're hiring a business editor

    TheWeek.com is looking for a Business Editor to take ownership of the business coverage for its fast-growing, award-winning site — the online counterpart to The Week, the acclaimed national news-and-opinion magazine. This individual should be a highly organized news junkie with proven chops in the business journalism realm — and someone who can work successfully in the fast-paced environment of a breaking news-and-opinion website. Versatility is important — the ideal candidate should be enthusiastic about writing business stories of their own, and assigning and editing business stories written by other writers. Creativity is key, too. The ideal candidate will be a sharp-thinking self-starter who can imagine new and better ways to cover all things business for TheWeek.com.

    More details here

     

  3. 21 Feb


    According to White House records, Jimmy Carter watched 480 films during his four years in the White House — around 2.5 movies a week. The first one he watched: All the President’s Men, about the Watergate scandal that sank Nixon. He also became the first president to watch an X-rated movie in the mansion: Midnight Cowboy, which today doesn’t seem like much, but in 1969 shocked audiences with its sex scenes and drug use. (By the time Carter saw it, the rating had been changed to R.) The favorite films of every modern president

    According to White House records, Jimmy Carter watched 480 films during his four years in the White House — around 2.5 movies a week.

    The first one he watched: All the President’s Men, about the Watergate scandal that sank Nixon. He also became the first president to watch an X-rated movie in the mansion: Midnight Cowboy, which today doesn’t seem like much, but in 1969 shocked audiences with its sex scenes and drug use. (By the time Carter saw it, the rating had been changed to R.)

    The favorite films of every modern president

     

  4. 20 Feb



    We’re hiring interns!

    Seeking: 2013 summer editorial interns

    The Week magazine is seeking driven, enthusiastic web editorial interns to work out of our Manhattan office for two days a week starting in May or June. The ideal candidate is a bright graduate or undergraduate student pursuing a career in journalism who possesses solid research and writing skills and a knack for all things web. Interns will gain hands-on experience in a digital newsroom by assisting The Week’s team of editors in researching, pitching, writing, and promoting stories. Other responsibilities include moderating comments, building articles in the CMS, and other aspects of basic web production.

    Qualifications:

    • Excellent communication skills and editorial judgment
    • Ability to thrive in a fast-paced news environment where multitasking is a must
    • Familiarity with Wordpress, Moveable Type, or any other type of content management system
    • Enrollment in an accredited college or graduate program with the ability to gain credit for the internship
    • Digital experience and basic understanding of HTML and coding a plus

    Please send a cover letter, resume, availability, and two writing samples to Rollins@theweek.com with the subject line “WEB EDITORIAL INTERNSHIP.” This internship is unpaid, and candidates should be eligible for university credit, and be able to commit to working two eight-hour shifts per week.

     

  5. 12 Feb


    State of the Union Live Chat: Before President Obama gives his fourth State of the Union tonight, we’ll be chatting live with White House reporter Paul Brandus, founder of West Wing Reports.  Brandus is an award-winning journalist and independent member of the White House press corps. In 2011, he won the Short Award for “Best Journalist on Twitter.” He’ll be responding to your questions and comments about the President’s 2013 State of the Union address. Come chat! When: Tonight at 7:30 Where: The Week’s Facebook page What: A discussion about tonight’s State of the Union. What do you want to hear Obama say? What will he skip completely, and why? How will Marco Rubio’s response position him within the GOP?  How to participate: Tune in on Facebook around 7:15 to start submitting your questions and comments. Brandus will jump in at 7:30.  In the mean time, here are the 5 things Obama is likely to talk about in his speech tonight. 

    State of the Union Live Chat: Before President Obama gives his fourth State of the Union tonight, we’ll be chatting live with White House reporter Paul Brandus, founder of West Wing Reports. 

    Brandus is an award-winning journalist and independent member of the White House press corps. In 2011, he won the Short Award for “Best Journalist on Twitter.” He’ll be responding to your questions and comments about the President’s 2013 State of the Union address. Come chat!

    • When: Tonight at 7:30
    • Where: The Week’s Facebook page
    • What: A discussion about tonight’s State of the Union. What do you want to hear Obama say? What will he skip completely, and why? How will Marco Rubio’s response position him within the GOP? 
    • How to participate: Tune in on Facebook around 7:15 to start submitting your questions and comments. Brandus will jump in at 7:30. 

    In the mean time, here are the 5 things Obama is likely to talk about in his speech tonight. 

     

  6. 8 Feb


    • A miner covered in soot takes a short break inside an unregulated coal mine in Sabinas, Mexico. Every day, some 30,000 men go to work in these legal, yet ill-equipped and unsafe mines in the north part of the country. 
      PHOTO: REUTERS/Daniel Becerril

    • Children admire an albino python named Cheesecake behind glass at Malabon Zoo in Malabon, Philippines. Feb. 10 begins the lunar Year of the Snake, a decidedly less auspicious symbol than its predecessor, the dragon.
      PHOTO: REUTERS/Erik De Castro

    • A dog rests on a buffalo near Ravi River in Lahore, Pakistan. 
      PHOTO: REUTERS/Mohsin Raza

    12 amazing photos from this week’s news

     

  7. 5 Feb



    We’re hiring!

    Seeking: Digital production assistant

    TheWeek.com seeks a digitally savvy newshound to manage various editorial tasks essential to our growing web presence. This person will wear many hats, but his or her main focus will be improving TheWeek.com’s presence on social media platforms and on tablet devices. Most importantly, this person will have a strong understanding of what makes a story sharable. This is a full time position based in New York City. 

    Tasks may include: 

    • Helping maintain The Week’s various social media profiles (Tumblr included!)
    • Analyzing traffic trends
    • Daily newsletter production
    • Researching, writing and formatting stories 
    • Formatting weekly magazine issues for iPad and other tablet devices

    Requirements: 

    • Bachelor’s degree in journalism or related field
    • Proven presence on and strong understanding of social sharing communities including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and others
    • Familiarity with Content Management Systems and Google Analytics
    • Proficiency in Photoshop and an eye for design
    • Excellent news judgment and writing skills
    • Basic understanding of HTML and coding a plus
    • Ability to multitask in a fast-paced news environment is a must

    To apply: Send a cover letter and resume to socialmedia@theweek.com. In addition, please provide links to your website, Twitter, Tumblr, and any other accounts that might showcase your web presence.

     

  8. 24 Jan


    nedhepburn: I did some actual journalism and wrote an article about internet addiction for The Week magazine, and interviewed the head of an Internet Addiction Rehab. Here’s an excerpt.  Researchers have noted a rise in something called Digital Attention Disorder — the addiction to social networks and computers in general.  How does it work? More than 50 years ago, psychologist B.F. Skinner was experimenting on rats and pigeons, and noticed that the unpredictability of reward was a major motivator for animals. If a reward arrives either predictably or too infrequently, the animal eventually loses interest. But when there was anticipation of a reward that comes with just enoughfrequency, the animals’ brains would consistently release dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain that (basically) regulates pleasure. What does this have to do with the internet? Some researchers believe that intermittent reinforcement — in the form of texts, tweets, and various other social media — may be working on our brains the same way rewards did on Skinner’s rats.  “Internet addiction is the same as any other addiction — excessive release of dopamine,” says Hilarie Cash, executive director of the reStart program for internet addiction and recovery, a Seattle-area rehab program that helps wean people off the internet. “Addiction is addiction. Whether it’s gambling, cocaine, alcohol, or Facebook.” And thus begins my contributions to The Week!  Welcome!

    nedhepburn:

    I did some actual journalism and wrote an article about internet addiction for The Week magazine, and interviewed the head of an Internet Addiction Rehab. Here’s an excerpt. 

    Researchers have noted a rise in something called Digital Attention Disorder — the addiction to social networks and computers in general. 

    How does it work? More than 50 years ago, psychologist B.F. Skinner was experimenting on rats and pigeons, and noticed that the unpredictability of reward was a major motivator for animals. If a reward arrives either predictably or too infrequently, the animal eventually loses interest. But when there was anticipation of a reward that comes with just enoughfrequency, the animals’ brains would consistently release dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain that (basically) regulates pleasure.

    What does this have to do with the internet? Some researchers believe that intermittent reinforcement — in the form of texts, tweets, and various other social media — may be working on our brains the same way rewards did on Skinner’s rats. 

    “Internet addiction is the same as any other addiction — excessive release of dopamine,” says Hilarie Cash, executive director of the reStart program for internet addiction and recovery, a Seattle-area rehab program that helps wean people off the internet. “Addiction is addiction. Whether it’s gambling, cocaine, alcohol, or Facebook.”

    And thus begins my contributions to The Week! 

    Welcome!

     

  9. 11 Jan


    A flamingo shies away from the camera while in its enclosure at a zoo in Wuppertal, Germany. PHOTO: REUTERS/Ina Fassbender

    Smoke from a bushfire billows overhead as beachgoers frolick in Tasmania, Australia. The blaze reportedly destroyed more than 80 homes as temperatures in the small island state reached record highs. PHOTO: REUTERS/Joanne Giuliani

    A Siberian tiger sinks its teeth into a frozen chicken during a hot summer day at Rio de Janeiro’s zoo. Temperatures in the southern hemisphere city topped 95 degrees this week. Click through for a look at more of the week’s most impactful images from around the globe. PHOTO: REUTERS/Sergio Morae

    12 of this week’s best photos

     

  10. 4 Jan


    Top: A girl looks up to the sky after hearing the sound of shelling as she sits on a toy pony in the playground of Al-Tawheed school in Aleppo, Syria. Click through for a look at more of the week’s most captivating images from around the globe. PHOTO: REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman

    Left: A mahout, or elephant rider, climbs the animal while en route to the Chitwan National Park at Sauraha in Chitwan, Nepal. Elephants and mahouts are gathering in the city to participate in the Elephant Race event, where the large mammals will play in an exhibition soccer match and various other sports and activities. PHOTO: REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar

    Right: Reindeer herder Anna Jemmett from the Glenmore Reindeer Center calls out to attract a herd of roaming reindeer before feeding them in the Cairngorm Mountains near Aviemore, Scotland. The 150-strong Cairngorm Reindeer Herd is Britain’s only herd of reindeer. PHOTO: REUTERS/David Moir

    More of this week’s best photos

     

  11. 17 Sep


    Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Publicly, Mitt Romney and his allies are cautiously optimistic that the Republican challenger will beat President Obama in November; privately, Team Romney is apparently complaining to Politico about why they think their candidate is losing. “Only a fool would declare the race over at this point,” says Will Bunch at the Philadelphia Daily News, but Politico has served up a pretty “devastating perspective on a presidential campaign in total disarray.” Here, five highlights from Politico’s ‘devastating’ Romney campaign exposé

    Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Publicly, Mitt Romney and his allies are cautiously optimistic that the Republican challenger will beat President Obama in November; privately, Team Romney is apparently complaining to Politico about why they think their candidate is losing.

    “Only a fool would declare the race over at this point,” says Will Bunch at the Philadelphia Daily News, but Politico has served up a pretty “devastating perspective on a presidential campaign in total disarray.”

    Here, five highlights from Politico’s ‘devastating’ Romney campaign exposé

    (Source: theweek.com)

     

  12. 1 Aug


    Twitter has become the go-to place for people to gripe about, well, anything: Bad movies, political hypocrites, vegan restaurants, NBC’s coverage of the London Olympics, and much more. But recently, a top target of Twitter kvetching has been Twitter itself. The story begins on Friday, when Los Angeles–based British journalist Guy Adams tweeted a series of bitter complaints about NBC’s decision to delay airing the Olympics until primetime; on Sunday, Twitter suspended Adams’ account, citing a complaint from NBC; by Tuesday, after tweeps had excoriated Twitter, both NBC and the social network had relented and Adams returned triumphantly to the Twittersphere. What the Guy Adams controversy means for Twitter and the future of free-tweeting

    Twitter has become the go-to place for people to gripe about, well, anything: Bad movies, political hypocrites, vegan restaurants, NBC’s coverage of the London Olympics, and much more. But recently, a top target of Twitter kvetching has been Twitter itself.

    The story begins on Friday, when Los Angeles–based British journalist Guy Adams tweeted a series of bitter complaints about NBC’s decision to delay airing the Olympics until primetime; on Sunday, Twitter suspended Adams’ account, citing a complaint from NBC; by Tuesday, after tweeps had excoriated Twitter, both NBC and the social network had relented and Adams returned triumphantly to the Twittersphere.

    What the Guy Adams controversy means for Twitter and the future of free-tweeting

    (Source: theweek.com)

     

  13. 26 Jul


    “Media outlets should wake up and take note — because what Morgan Jones did last week just may be the future of journalism.” —Linda Sharps at The Stir. On the night of the massacre that killed 12 people in Aurora, Colo., 18-year-old Morgan Jones of Denver was up late playing a video game when he spied a Facebook update from his local news station reporting a possible shooting at a movie theater. Jones began a thread on the popular social-media news site Reddit that over the course of the night morphed into what many are describing as the most comprehensive timeline to emerge from the event, replete with minute-by-minute tweets from witnesses, reports from traditional media sources, and police scanner updates. Jones and his fellow Redditors also had some major scoops, unearthing the picture of alleged shooter James Holmes from the online dating site AdultFriendFinder.com, the first to show him with his distinctive red hair. Many commentators say Reddit’s coverage exemplifies a new breed of journalism, though some, like CNN’s Howard Kurtz, criticized the timeline as error-ridden. Is Reddit’s style of citizen journalism the wave of the future?

    “Media outlets should wake up and take note — because what Morgan Jones did last week just may be the future of journalism.” —Linda Sharps at The Stir.

    On the night of the massacre that killed 12 people in Aurora, Colo., 18-year-old Morgan Jones of Denver was up late playing a video game when he spied a Facebook update from his local news station reporting a possible shooting at a movie theater. Jones began a thread on the popular social-media news site Reddit that over the course of the night morphed into what many are describing as the most comprehensive timeline to emerge from the event, replete with minute-by-minute tweets from witnesses, reports from traditional media sources, and police scanner updates. Jones and his fellow Redditors also had some major scoops, unearthing the picture of alleged shooter James Holmes from the online dating site AdultFriendFinder.com, the first to show him with his distinctive red hair. Many commentators say Reddit’s coverage exemplifies a new breed of journalism, though some, like CNN’s Howard Kurtz, criticized the timeline as error-ridden.

    Is Reddit’s style of citizen journalism the wave of the future?