Bitch Mourns fellow Indie Mags

The most recent issue of Bitch Magazine featured an article honoring the many independent mags that have tanked in the past two years. Journalism is changing and it’s a rough time for even well-established publications, much less independent zines already on a shoestring. Among the honored dead were Punk Planet, the Animal Liberationist No Compromise, Lesbian sex magazine On Our Backs, and the media-savvy Stay Free! Each represented paradigms rarely seen in mainstream media and while many are survived by blogs, anthologies and media projects, their loss is significant blow. The fact that they all perished in 2006 and 2007 is sobering and might augur years to come. Happily, Bitch itself is marching forward. 

Overall an excellent issue of Bitch with everything from geeky women, unschooling moms, and Christian rock of all things (don’t ask, just read it). An ad for a Women’s Media conference in Cambridge caught my eye. It’s called Women, Action and the Media aka WAM 2008 and it’s happening this March. The keynote speaker is none other than Helen Thomas! I’m definitely considering going, and will report here if it all works out.