Despite my concerns about the environment, I still subscribe to the physical, made of cut-down trees, LA Times Thurs-Sun. I spend so much time in front of a computer doing art and design(and answering email) that I relish reading the news at the breakfast table in my home or a restaurant. Don’t get me wrong, I love the convenience and democracy of new media and technology, but I worry about the quality of info in an age where “faster” seems to trump “better”. My concern extends beyond the quality of basic news journalism to the nature of written communication itself. I refuse to own a phone with email on it because I don’t need more distractions, I need to concentrate in order to make artwork and my A.D.D. is bad enough already. The editorial I linked by Neal Gabler from the Sunday LA Times analyzes some of the phenomena contributing to the deterioration of thoughtful communication. It cites, among others, Marshall McLuhan, the gentleman who coined one of my favorite phrases: “the medium is the message”.  Check it out… it is a reminder that better communication is superior to more communication. I bet Sarah Palin wishes she had read this before she Twittered “refudiate”.
-Shepard Fairey

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-gabler-zuckerberg-20101128,0,7889675.story