THE EDGE OF
NEWS, NYT
TO IPAD APP
Gabriel Dance, art director for news for
the first tablet-only newspaper, explained
why he left the New York Times for The
Daily, an online publication, at a talk Feb.
4 at the UO.
“My mom asked me every day why I
did it,” said Dance of his decision to leave
an internet multimedia job at what he
describes as “the gold standard of
journalism” for the startup owned by
Rupert Murdoch and the parent company
of Fox News.
“I knew there was going to be a different
kind of ethos behind the journalism,” said
Dance. But Dance, a computer
programmer/ journalist/ designer, said the
iPad app attracted him with an opportunity
“to be right on the edge of journalism” and
the internet technology that is transforming
the news business.
“I wanted to get out in front of tablets,”
Dance said. The Apple iPad’s touch, tilt,
GPS and mobile technology offered him a
chance to “push my work to a new level,”
he said. “I wanted to personally challenge
myself and try something new.”
Dance said he also wanted to challenge
the dominance of the New York Times,
which has 12 times the staff as The Daily.
“Part of what I want to do is take a shot at
them,” he said. He said the competition
will push him and the Times to do a better
job. “Competition is good.”
Dance said The Daily also offers him “a
lot of control and say.” At the larger paper,
“there are so many people that it’s really
hard” to control a project, he said.
Students interested in Dance’s
successful career in a job market that’s laid
off thousands of reporters filled the EMU
Bin Linder Room to hear him talk.
“I hang my hat on programming,” said
Dance explaining how degrees in computer
science and journalism helped him land a
job fresh out of school at the NYT, where
many top journalists don’t get hired until
they are in their 40s.
Internet programmers, designers and
video experts, “These are fundamental
jobs in journalism that now exist, and I
don’t see going away,” he said.
Dance said there’s a lot of “doom and
gloom” about the future of newspapers,
but the internet offers the biggest
transformation since the invention of the
printing press. “I find that incredibly
exciting.”
Dance said staff at The Daily has been
working 12-hour days, seven days a week
on the “bleeding edge of the technology”
to prepare for the launch of the iPad
publication this month.
At the NYT, Dance said there was a lot
of design compromises in making the
website work on anything from desktops
to laptops to mobile phones. But with the
iPad-dedicated The Daily, “We know
exactly how you’re using our content, we
know it down to the pixel.”
Dance said the iPad has a lot of potential
such as the possibility that the device may
offer a forward-facing camera that could
allow internet users to interact face to face
with protesters in Egypt.
Although The Daily partnered with
Apple for the publication, Dance said the
online publication has no inside
information about what Apple might offer
in the future. “Apple is as tight-lipped with
us as with anyone else.”
The reception for The Daily has been
mixed, with some pundits wondering
whether with top quality publications like
the NYT free online, The Daily will really
be able to sell enough app subscriptions to
keep people like Dance employed. Already,
a hacker has provided an online index
(www.bit.ly/gyTSRF) that allows people
to read the publication for free with a web
browser, although without the multimedia.
Dance appears to be thinking ahead.
“Let’s say in five years I can come back to
the New York Times and say, why don’t I
run your application?” He said, “I hope to
maybe go back one day.” — Alan Pittman
CAUSA SEEKS
LEGISLATIVE
REFORMS
Leaders from CAUSA, Oregon’s
immigrant rights coalition will be speaking
to local elected officials Thursday, Feb. 10.
CAUSA is asking elected officials to work
with them during the current session of the
state Legislature on the issues of driver’s
licenses and in-state tuition for the
immigrant community in Oregon.
Local officials planning to attend
Thursday’s event include Springfield
Mayor Christine Lundberg, Eugene Mayor
Kitty Piercy, City Councilor Andrea Ortiz
and Lane County Commissioners Rob
Handy and Pete Sorenson.
“We expect a crowd of at least 500
people,” said CAUSA representative Erik
Sorenson. In addition to the community
leader’s appeals, there will be time for
public testimonials. “People really want
their elected officials to know their story,”
Sorenson said.
According to Sorenson, allowing
undocumented immigrants to receive a
driver’s license or certificate is important
for the economy and public safety. “It’s
not just a social justice issue. Regardless
of legal status, individuals receiving
driver’s licenses pay DMV fees, pay auto
insurance and can continue to provide for
their families.” Sorenson said.
Since the senate blocked the DREAM
Act (Development, Relief and Education
for Alien Minors) last December, CAUSA
has been working towards new legislation
allowing undocumented college youth to
pay in-state tuition. Additionally, CAUSA
is working on health care access for all
children in Oregon, as well as on jobs and
the economy.
“We are encouraging people to contact
Oregon legislators to get these issues
passed this year,” Sorenson said. The event
takes place at 6 pm Thursday, Feb. 10, at
the First Congregational Church, 1050
East 23rd Ave.
CAUSA will present its 2011 Latino
Legislative Agenda Tuesday, Feb. 15, in a
briefing at the Oregon State Capitol. Those
attending the briefing will include
members of the Legislature, coalition
partners and leaders from the community.
— Heather Cyrus
MAD AS HELL
DOCS COMING
A group of Oregon Doctors who are
members of Physicians for a National
Health Program are on the road and
expected to arrive in Lane County in time
for Valentine’s Day. The caravan of “Mad
as Hell Doctors” traveled from Oregon to
the nation’s Capitol and back, stopping at
26 cities for rallies and to deliver a message
to elected officials that “We want health
care for people — not profits for the few!”
The Monday, Feb. 14, events begin
with a 5 pm march from the corner of 7th
Avenue and Pearl Street to Room 177
Lawrence Hall on the UO campus for a 6
to 8 pm program of music and discussion
about the new Oregon single-payer bill.
SEX TALK CONTROVERSY
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM
TRISTAN TAORMINO WWW.PUCKERUP.COM
Award-winning author, former columnist for The Village Voice, editor and sex educator Tristan Taormino was
invited to give the keynote speech “Claiming Your Sexual Power” at OSU’s upcoming Modern Sex Conference. Three
weeks ago Taormino was “uninvited” by administrators. After a controversy ensued, other arrangements have been
made for her to speak in Eugene and Corvallis.
In response to calls and emails protesting the cancellation, OSU’s Vice Provost for Student Affairs Larry D. Roper
sent out an email explaining, “It became clear to those providing taxpayer funding for the conference that the speaker,
in fact, is also a self-described pornographer.” Roper writes that OSU’s Student Affairs leadership felt that using public
funds to bring Taormino to the conference was “an inappropriate use of those funds.”
The conference, which takes place at OSU Feb.16, will feature workshops on “Fabulously Fetish” and “Finding
Your Clit,” and sessions on “Native American Constructions” and “Porn as a Feminist Tool.”
In response to Taormino’s cancellation, UO Honors College instructor (and EW contributor) Jennifer Burns Levin
says, “I questioned the premise that Oregon taxpayers should be protected against her views because she makes adult
films.” As an Oregon taxpayer, Burns Levin says that she would “love to hear a lecture on feminist pornography and
how it challenges an industry known for its exploitation of women.”
She adds, “Preemptively withdrawing promised funds from a speaker on the grounds that she was too controversial
in a time of legislative budget cuts sets a bad precedent, in my view, for others speaking on controversial topics.”
Burns Levin, who has a doctorate in English and is a sexuality studies scholar, then set about inviting Taormino to
the UO instead. She succeeded. Taormino will speak on “My Life As a Feminist Pornographer,” at 7:30 pm
Wednesday, Feb. 16, in 180 PLC. She will discuss her definition of feminist porn, what she is trying to accomplish
with her films, the cancellation of her keynote appearance at OSU and why it was an “anti-sex statement” as well as
why a feminist is the most “dangerous” kind of pornographer.
OSU students also objected to Taormino’s disinvitation and raised money for her to speak in Corvallis as well. The
students raised funds from student activity dollars for Taormino to give the talk she had originally planned at the
Modern Sex Conference. She will speak the night before the conference, at 7 pm Tuesday, Feb. 15, in LaSells Stewart Center at OSU.
For more on Taormino’s UO talk go to http://wkly.ws/114 and for more on the OSU conference check out http://wkly.ws/113 — Camilla Mortensen
EUGENE WEEKLY FEBRUARY 10, 2011 7