Magzalez’s eyes on media

Ya know, I had a bad feeling when I heard that Nintendo Power was moving from an in-house Nintendo publisher to Future U.S., Inc. But, I gave the new publisher a chance because I knew that it was one of the leading companies in its field.

But when the first issue from the new publisher came out, I knew that there was a turn for the worse ahead. Just like every newspaper and magazine, NP had a very distinct voice–funny, sarcastic, witty, whimsical. And from the first issue under Future U.S., NP got a bad case of laryngitis that I don’t think it’ll recover from any time soon.

Still, there were perks to the new move. For example, one more issue a year. And it was a good issue–a holiday issue. It brought a reprise to some reviews as well as lists of games for every type of gamer. I love lists.

Then there was the third issue by [No] Future U.S., which I never got, and that sent me into a spiral of depression and anxiety.

But what really put me over the top with this whole situation is the Nintendo Power Web site…or lack of Web site. If we step into the Wayback Machine, you could see what I mean.

• Nintendo Power: Aug. 11, 2007
• Nintendo Power: Today

“…we have very exciting plans for a bigger and better NintendoPower.com.” That is exactly what the Web site says and exactly what the first address from the new editor said in the first new string of issues. I don’t see it, and I’m starting to wonder if I ever will.

I miss the real Nintendo Power.

I was a little late to the whole RSS thing. I never realized how helpful it could actually be. Whenever I see other people’s RSS I always see hundreds of feeds with thousands of posts. I just figured it would be a clutter.

When I was interviewing for my job at the University of Florida Web Administration office, I was asked how I look at blogs and my favorite sites. I knew what they wanted to hear. I told them that I did not use RSS however. After that I got to thinking there was something I was missing out on. And, of course, I was. So, here is my very short list of RSS subscriptions. I like to keep it compact and manageable:

Online Journalism:

• Online Journalism Blog: Paul Bradshaw’s comments and analysis of the going’s on in online media
• Teaching Online Journalism: Mindy McAdams’ advice and comments about online media with a special emphasis on media production
• Ponto Media: António Granado’s Portuguese-language blog about online media; he provides plenty of interesting, helpful links

Sports:

• Dolphins in Depth: Armando Salguero has been a Dolphins beat writer for The Miami Herald forever. This is his not-very-well-written-but-still-interesting blog.
• Random Evidence of a Cluttered Blog: Greg Cote’s very funny and very entertaining Dolphins blog
• Tennis Served Fresh: this is the closest thing I have to a good Tennis blog; I am still looking for one great Tennis blog. I’ve only just started reading this one; I need to give it more time.

Other:

• Noel’s Scene: my girlfriend’s blog about music and artsy fun stuff in Gainesville, Fla.
• Reeling with René Rodríguez: The Miami Herald’s senior movie critic’s blog
• Super Smash Bros. Dojo: Daily updates on the comings-along of Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Is there anything else you might recommend?

One of my favorite magazines, Nintendo Power, announced in their November issue that they will be changing publishers. The magazine, which has been published and distributed by Nintendo of America for nearly 20 years, is joining forces with Future US. Managing editor Scott Pelland wrote that NP had outgrown its parent company.

Future US distributes other gaming magazines of note including PC Gamer, Official XBOX Magazine and Playstation: The Official Magazine.

NP subscribers received an e-mail today from Future US about the switch. Future US and Pelland promised the same insider content that NP has always provided, a bonus issue every year and a new, beefed-up NintendoPower.com. The news about NP’s Web site isn’t saying much considering the site is almost non-existent. It will be interesting to see what NP’s new online ventures will be.

The switch is an exciting time for NP, I’m sure. It also begs the question of whether Nintendo of America was pushing too much on them. Though the switch could mean a bigger, better and unbiased NP, I also can’t help but think that people shouldn’t mess with a good thing.

I always used to read blogs, but not consistently. Since I have started blogging, I’ve been paying more attention to other blogs because just like reading the newspaper makes journalists better writers, reading other blogs makes a blogger a better writer.

So here are some of my favorite blogs, not all of which are about journalism:

• Teaching Online Journalism: Mindy McAdams is an online journalism teacher at the University of Florida–a former teacher of mine. She knows all there is to know about Flash. She also has very useful insight regarding journalism across all media.
• Online Journalism Blog: Paul Bradshaw has plenty to say about the business of online journalism as well as tips for being a better journalist. I once read someone commenting about Bradshaw saying he was a British Mindy McAdams.
• Smash Bros. DOJO!!: This is sort of a blog. It provides daily updates regarding the upcoming release of Nintendo’s highly anticipated Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii. The writing is kind of weird, but it is very visually stimulating, and plus, I can’t wait until SSBB comes out.
• Random Evidence of a Cluttered Blog: This blog is written by Miami’s favorite singing writer, Greg Cote. Cote is a sports columnist for The Miami Herald, and he is funny as hell. The funniest thing I have ever read in a blog came from Cote’s comments on the running back situation for my Miami Dolphins. “Take away Ricky Williams’ extraordinary 2002 season and this franchise really hasn’t had a dominating runner since Csonkasaurus roamed the Earth.” I also have a special place in my heart for Cote because we got locked out of the Dolphins locker room together one day during training camp this summer. Cote asked me how we were supposed to get inside. I told him I didn’t know, and then we laughed.

I’ll finish this discussion another day. Let me know some of your favorite blogs or how this blog could be better.