Radio
“Probably the most exciting thing to happen in radio,” says Ron Rodrigues, editor-in-chief of Radio & Records magazine, “was satellite radio.” That, for those of you still stuck in the drive-time, morning man, caca-doodoo era, would be a radio system where subscribers could choose between hundreds of commercial-free channels and keep a consistent signal, even while driving cross-country. The satellite radio company XM “had a late start and the timing couldn’t have been worse for them, with the economy and 9/11,” Rodrigues says. “Nevertheless, the traditional radio industry has sat up and taken notice of what XM has done — and will have to do so in the coming months.”
Architecture
The moment is freeze-framed in the mind of Robert Ivy, editor of Architectural Record, a New York City-based magazine that is one of the nation’s leading design journals.
The 54-year-old architect was fleeing lower Manhattan on foot and was halfway across the Brooklyn Bridge when he gazed back and was stunned to see the first of the World Trade Center’s twin towers collapse.
Now, nearly four months after what Ivy calls the “signal” architectural event of 2001, he is looking in a whole new way at the buildings his magazine displays in its glossy pages. It’s not just that these structures seem more vulnerable and less permanent. The collapse of the Trade Center “affects your view of time,” he says.
The twin towers “were, in a sense, a sundial,” Ivy explains. “We tracked the sun with them. They were part of our psychic landscape. They helped us understand a day as well as a place. And now, the place is inexorably altered. Our concept of time is altered.”
Though the Trade Center’s fall seems to eclipse all else that happened in 2001, Ivy’s view is that the triumphal reopening of the British Museum’s Great Court deserves attention too.
As reshaped by British architect Norman Foster, the museum’s inner courtyard, once open to the elements, is now a public space enclosed by a gossamer-light, curving glass roof. In Ivy’s view, the great glassy lid shows a new stage of the computer-aided design methods that first flowered in 1997 with the explosively curving forms of Frank Gehry’s acclaimed Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.
“All of a sudden we could do what we could not do before. It was freewheeling, as if a power had been unleashed,” Ivy says. “Now we’re seeing this ability evolve and mature. [The Great Court] is much more controlled and restrained. Yet the roof of that building is in some ways as complex as the folds of Bilbao.”
Television
The biggest industry change for 2001 was the changing financial model for television networks, according to Jordan Levin, president for entertainment at The WB. “Because of the soft ad market and subsequent losses due to the tragedy on Sept. 11, networks have had to take a new and closer look at the way they do business. This has led to a new fiscal responsibility resulting in less money thrown at blind development and the need for ways to get additional revenue streams from programming, including multiplexing [repeating new series episodes, as the WB does with `Charmed’ on sister cable network TNT].”
Baseball
Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf says that to him, the most surprising thing he saw in 2001 was “the sympathy, respect and love shown to New York and the New York Yankees following the attacks of Sept. 11.
“Our team was in New York when the attacks took place, and it is something none of us will ever forget. The Yankees visited Comiskey Park when play resumed one week later. I was amazed by the emotion of the pregame ceremony that first night back, and the positive response White Sox fans had for the Yankee team and the city of New York. It’s not often that the Yankees are cheered in Chicago, but Sept. 11 changed a great many things in this nation.”
Magazines
“In 2001, it was a very lackluster time in the magazine industry, and most of the growth we saw — which was considerably down from 2000– was brand extension such as McCall’s becoming Rosie,” says Samir Husni, CEO of Magazine Consulting & Research and a University of Mississippi journalism professor. “Of course, the really big news was the folding of Mademoiselle that had been with us for 65 years. This was a real death in the family. The other busts were in the technical fields and this pretty much followed the economy as a whole. The dot.com magazines became mostly dot.gone.”
Audio
The story that made headlines in 2001, according to Chris Copeland Gladwin, CEO of FullAudio, involved the record industry’s federal court case against Napster, the free Internet music swapping service. The major labels, of course, succeeded in shutting Napster down. But taking a longer view, Gladwin believes the equally big story was that digital music via the Internet continued its forward evolution.
Particle physics and cosmology
There were three relevant events in the field in 2001, according to Leon Lederman, the 1988 winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics, former director of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and resident scholar at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora.
“From astrophysics there came the astonishing, increasing rate of expansion of the universe and the recognition that to blame is a new and fuzzy concept — dark energy — which fills all space,” says Lederman.
“Out of the collisions at Fermilab and some other labs came the realization that the origin of particle mass . . .may be a discovery about to happen. The vigorous pursuit of the Higgs concept (an integral part of the picture of fundamental particle forces and dubbed the God Particle by Lederman), which also pervades all of space, began at Fermilab in 2001.
“And out of the physics of complexity there emerged the possibility that our universe may be far more complicated than ever imagined.
“In 2001, these three concepts, dark energy, Higgs and emergence seem to me to be related and will illuminate, however fleetingly, a path to our comprehension of the universe.”
Electronic publishing
Says Jim Milliot, senior editor for news and business at Publishers Weekly: “The electronic publishing of books, like we saw with Stephen King in 2000, really failed to take off in 2001 like everyone thought. In fact, there was really a shakedown of sorts, with many companies, which had tested the idea, scaling back or closing that side of their operation. This isn’t to say ePublishing won’t happen on a big scale in the future, but not like everyone thought it would last year.”
Film
The most intriguing breakthrough in filmmaking, according to Michael Polish, director of “Twin Falls Idaho,” was the Cine-Alta 24p High-Definition Camera by Sony. “This camera and its future models,” he says, “will change the landscape of filmmaking. Now that we can capture a high-quality digital image, stories will be told in new ways that we haven’t imagined yet. It would be comparable to what the compact disc did to analogue, and now with a thriving independent music scene, the do-it-yourself attitude with home recording studios will apply to digital movie-making on a very high-end level. Not that it hasn’t before with the Dogma movies. But the biggest change will come in the form of computer-generated imaging (CGI) and the way it is incorporated with this camera.”
Animation
“Obviously the biggest breakthrough in feature animation in 2001 was the creation of the new best animated feature film category by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences,” says Bill Desowitz, managing editor of Animation Magazine. “It’s taken many years to convince the Academy’s board that feature animation was deserving of the honor. And it coincides with the surprising blockbuster success of `Shrek,’ which gave computer-generated animation a further boost and put DreamWorks in the same league with Disney and Pixar. And even though `Final Fantasy’ failed to break through at the box office, it too pushed the technological envelope with its photo real-like human rendering.”
Gender
“The year 2001 marked a resurgence of men as men,” says Joe Kita, author and executive writer at Men’s Health magazine. “The events of 9/11 reminded us what we were made for: strength, power, saving lives, defending our honor, getting [mad] and then getting the job done. When you look back at the last few decades, you can see that men have been struggling to define themselves in a changing society. The traditional role our fathers modeled for us wasn’t accepted anymore. Then, when we tried to become softer and more like women, that just didn’t fulfill us as much. We have been searching for a new definition of manhood. Now, I think, we have it. It’s those firemen and policemen. It’s the guys in the WTC who died helping others survive. It’s the guys overseas right now fighting for this country. Ultimately, I think this will make men healthier. We no longer have to try to be someone else. We can be ourselves. The year 2002 will build on that.
Publishing
Says Calvin Reid, news editor at Publisher’s Weekly, “The continued prominence and effectiveness of the savvy self-publishers. Taking advantage of lower costs for publishing production and by using low-cost print on demand services like Xlibris and iUniverse, and using the Internet for publicity and sales, self-published authors are putting up impressive sales figures. Many of them are being picked up and repackaged in new editions by major publishers.
“Books by and about African-Americans, fiction and non-fiction, continue to be released in ever increasing numbers and with apparently undiminished sales. This trend has been going on for about 10 years or so. There is also a boom in self-published African-American authors. The books vary widely in quality but nevertheless attract word of mouth attention and sales through independent black bookstores.
“And then there was the momentary shift in reading tastes of the American public in the weeks right after Sept. 11. There was a rather startling transformation of the best-seller lists, with books focusing on Islam, terrorism, the Middle East and grieving and mourning, showing up and staying on lists for a number of weeks.
Paleontology
Sifting through the discoveries unearthed by dinosaur diggers in 2001, University of Chicago paleontologist Paul Sereno suggests, “The SuperCroc was a pretty big thing . . . because it was bigger and better than any dinosaur announcement that I’ve known of. I think it really grabbed people’s attention.
“But, then again, I’m embarrassed to say that because that’s, of course, our project,” says Sereno, whose team dug up the 110-million-year-old, 40-foot-long crocodile — a.k.a. Sarcosuchus imperator –in the Sahara and told the world all about it in the research journal Science.
Comics
For the first time since MAUS a decade and a half ago, comic books were taken seriously as both fiction (Chris Ware’s “Jimmy Corrigan”) and non-fiction (Joe Sacco “Safe Area Gorazde”), fully on a par with prose works (as evidenced by Corrigan’s win of The Guardian prize and Sacco’s Guggenheim grant). “That’s an epochal event so far as I’m concerned,” says Kim Thompson, co-publisher of The Comics Journal.
Museums
“In the museum world, one of the most interesting things to happen this past year was the response of museums to their communities’ unusual needs following the 9/11 disasters,” says Ed Able, president and CEO of the American Association of Museums. “Among those responses were: 1. Free admission days; 2. Providing a discussion forum for the community; 3. Providing direct social services to attack victims immediately after the events; 4. Joint activities of museums in a given city; and 5. Direct fundraising for 9/11 victims and their families.
Pizza
“In terms of the food itself, it was the `take and bake,'” says Jeremy White, editor of Pizza Today magazine. “It’s been around for years, since the ’80s. But there was a chain in Washington called Papa Murphy’s — they don’t even have an oven. You just take it home and bake it in 12 minutes. In the culture of today, people just don’t have time to wait for takeout. If you take your standard soccer mom, they’re coming back from practice or ballet; they can get the pizza and heat it up whenever they want it. Of course, you could get a frozen pizza but there’s a big difference between fresh and frozen. It’s a darn good concept.”
Small museums
“The biggest trend for small museums in 2001 had to be the increased collaboration with library, schools and other institutions for jointly sharing their resources,” says Janice Klein, director, Mitchell Museum of American Indians and chair of the Small Museum Administrators committee of the American Association of Museums. “For the non-profits, there’s not a lot of money out there these days and this has helped many of us extend our reach.”
Snacks
“There are two big ones,” says Tim McCook, spokesman for the Snack Food Association. “Back in May, Frito Lay introduced gourmet potato chips. They’re called Lay’s Bistro Gourmet. They come in four flavors: roasted garlic and herb, applewood smoked cheddar, bistro classic, and sharp cheddar and jalapeno. The second one, which was introduced just this month by Proctor & Gamble, is called Torengos. They are to tortilla chips what Pringles are to potato chips. I’ve had them and they’re pretty good. The can is supposed to keep them from breaking in transit and they are heartier so they can hold more dip.”
Soccer
“The biggest story in America for the year had to be (Denver millionaire) Philip Anshutz’s purchase of the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, giving him control of five franchises (including Chicago) in the 12-team Major Soccer League,” says Paul Kennedy, Soccer America managing editor. “He is almost single-handedly carrying the professional league.”
Mind-body health
“What we’re seeing is the importance of developing thoughtful psychological approaches to dealing with terrorism and trauma and the uncertainty that follows [events such as] 9/11,” says Dr. James S. Gordon, director of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington, D.C. and head of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy. “There is a heightened understanding of the need for people to talk about their experience and share their experience with others who have been similarly affected. Secondly, the work that I and my colleagues at the Center for Mind-Body Medicine have done in the Balkans in recent years with people who are either living in the middle of a war or have lived through a war . . . [is] suddenly relevant here in the United States. Techniques of relaxation, meditation, biofeedback and imagery that we used with people traumatized by war in the Balkans have all of a sudden become very pertinent and very helpful here for people who are dealing with what happened on 9/11.”
Theater
“I can’t really see the year except in light of Sept. 11. It had such an immediate impact on the theater,” says Steppenwolf Theatre’s Artistic Director Martha Lavey. “There was an idea of going forward, of New York spirit, in which the show-must-go-on attitude took on a larger resonance. People made sacrifices to stay open, and material, such as comedy, suddenly came into question. That and the opening of Tony Kushner’s play [“Homebody/Kabul”]. He was so prescient, working on a drama about Afghanistan as an important area in the world arena for several years. Had we been paying attention too, maybe we would have seen how volatile that part of the world is and how much it relates to us.”
Bicycling
“The year 2001 was one of the best ever for Chicago bicyclists. For the first time in its history, Metra started carrying bikes on a limited basis on its trains, and this was something we’ve wanted for a long time. It will be a great boon for bicyclists trying to get to new trails,” says Randy Newfeld, Chicagoland Bicycle Federation executive director. “Then, at the same time, the CTA started allowing bikes on its trains on weekdays for the first time during non-rush hour rides. In the past, this was only possible on weekends. Bicycling Magazine picked Chicago as the No. 1 bike-friendly city for 2001 in the over 1 million category, which was great.”
Birds
“There were a couple of big stories,” says Chuck Hagner, editor of Birder’s World magazine. “One was the sensation of David Sibley and `The Sibley Guide to Birds’ [Knopf]. He’s an expert bird-watcher and artist and what he’s done is gather together all the birds you can see in North America and their plumages. This book has broken through; it’s appealing to people who aren’t bird-watchers.
“The other was `Operation Migration.’ For a few years, they [a partnership of government and private groups] have been training cranes to fly from Wisconsin to Florida using an ultralight aircraft. This year, they led a small group of whooping cranes and they had awful weather all the way down. Nonetheless, there’s a good chance the birds know the route now and they’ll fly back from Florida. It’s an ornithological and ecological triumph.
“This has been an awful year where things that fly have been used to kill people. But here’s a story where a thing that flies — the simplest thing, an ultralight — has been used to restore a bird species that symbolizes peace. For years, cranes have been known as symbols of bridging between this world and the world beyond. When learning origami, Japanese kids make cranes.”
Libraries
“Several academic and public libraries began offering around-the-clock reference assistance via the Internet,” says John W. Berry, president of the American Library Association. “e-Reference made headlines in 2001 at the Cleveland Public Library with its `Know It Now’ launch and The Alliance Library System in Peoria (Ill.) had success with its launch of `Ready for Reference,’ which was a service for student, faculty and staff at central and western Illinois colleges and universities.”
