The Scoop - http://www.bobharris.com/ Hi folks -- This isn't an article, but an explanation of where I disappeared to for the last few weeks, and where I might be disappearing to for a while to come. ___________________________ First, thanks to the dozens of you who wrote letters of concern for my welfare. No, the LAPD didn't haul me away, and I never did catch a rubber bullet. Not that I mind. I also appreciate the many kind notes regarding my convention coverage. Thank you very much for those. What happened was this: I resigned my gig as morning host for Working Assets' RadioForChange.com. They're the folks who got me convention credentials. The end of my print coverage was the result of my decision to end that relationship, and, frankly, the attendant disillusionment with what I was doing. (I didn't just walk and leave them with dead air, incidentally. I finished out that week and the one following, interviewing all the guests that had been booked while doing the shows from home. I understand they're still airing repeats of my program until they find a replacement.) I thought long and hard about whether or not I should make my reasons for resigning fully public. On reflection, I choose not to. Please don't write and ask. I won't go into details. I still consider the stated goals of KWAB and Working Assets to be worthwhile, and it remains my earnest hope that they will eventually be fulfilled. My concerns have been voiced within the company in every appropriate fashion, and I see no benefit in airing them further. That said, my reasons for resigning could not have been more obvious or unavoidable, and while I wish things might have worked out differently, I am certain that I did the right thing. ___________________________ There's a saying that when one door closes, another one opens. I made my decision to quit Working Assets Broadcasting while driving to a screening of Steal This Movie, the most excellent Abbie Hoffman biopic. Less than two hours after making my decision, I ran into the Program Director for KPFK, Pacifica Radio in Los Angeles. Their morning slot is currently in flux, and we exchanged business cards. Whether or not that relationship develops further -- and I'm not exactly eager to keep getting up at 5 am -- the universe certainly seemed to be encouraging me to consider my options. ___________________________ Other doors are indeed opening. My subversive little game show, Twisted, is being shepherded through the development process by people who know what they're doing. The first phase is an Internet version, debuting soon for a 10-episode run on a major website which specializes in selling projects through to television. As host, co-creator, and head writer, a pending TV deal would be a major opportunity. This is also fun: my friend Dan Perkins (aka Tom Tomorrow), creator of This Modern World -- my favorite political comic strip -- is now doing an animated version for a similar Internet/TV development model. I'm doing the voice of Sparky, the ascerbic little penguin in wraparound sunglasses. There's other stuff going on, but here's the point: I realize that part of considering my options includes reconsidering how much of my life I want to spend on these columns. I'm not sure how frequently I'll continue to write. While I enjoy the process, and I'm glad you guys mostly like the results, there are only 24 hours in a day, and doing these means not doing a lot of other things. I may go back to adapting radio commentaries into columns every two weeks; more likely, I may want to take a sabbatical for a few months or longer. I'll probably get back to a regular column before long -- I wouldn't do something for seven years if I didn't mostly enjoy it, honest -- but I have a screenplays burning a hole in my brain, there's music in my head that needs to get out, and so on. It's time for some of that to happen. There have also been some personal developments (mostly good ones, a few more difficult) that require my attention. Again. Those, of course, are personal. On a professional level, though, what happened with Working Assets left me feeling burned out and disillusioned with the political commenting deal, and there are just too many other things calling me right now. (Heck, maybe I'll even update my website!) Anyhow, taking some time off to pursue other things is really attractive right now. So if you don't receive anything for a while, that's the deal. Thanks for understanding. ___________________________ One last note as to the convention coverage itself: my intention was always to write approximately equal amounts of coverage of both major political conventions; I also intended to write separate installments covering both the Green and Reform party conventions, which were at least as interesting and full of amusing absurdities. I'm still delighted by the lunatic button I picked up from the Buchananites calling for the military seizure of "our" Panama Canal. And I'll never forget watching the Greens rejoice after Nader's speech by popping rubber balloons and dancing in a vast stream of confetti, ultimately leaving this environmental convention with an inch-high layer of crap on the floor to be cleared by the non-union immigrant laborers. There was a ton of stuff like that. I might still get around to turning my notes into columns, but as time passes, it becomes less and less likely. That said, that my coverage of the Democrats ended so abruptly should hardly be taken as an endorsement of Gore, Lieberman, et al. Far from it. That peaceful protesters right outside the hall (including non-violent homeless activists with permits to march and credentialed reporters who found themselves specifically targeted for violence) could be the recipients of rubber bullets, pepper spray, and swinging batons -- and their existence would be virtually unacknowledged from the stage by a party which presents itself as an effective political voice for the underclass -- is reprehensible. Moreover, that any so-called news outlet -- left, right, or center -- could be aware of the muzzling of the independent media, targeting of reporters, violence against our own citizens, and concomitant widespread abrogation of the Bill of Rights -- and choose not to inform its audience in a timely fashion, preferring, as was common, to air Hillary Clinton's self-serving blather uninterrupted -- is at least as contemptible. You needn't worry that I'm taking time off because I don't care anymore. I think, perhaps, I care about this stuff too much. ___________________________ Whether you're a recent subscriber or you've been reading these little screeds for years, I do not have the words to express my gratitude for your interest and readership. I hope you won't mind if I send a brief note when the game show debuts or something else large happens. I hope to write something you'll enjoy again soon. Bob Harris ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb
