Tim Skubick on the hot seat!

i like your questions. (n/t) (0.00 / 0)

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by: nirmal @ Wed Dec 13, 2006 at 15:17:50 PM UTC

journalism (4.00 / 1)

I also really appreciate what he had to say about journalism and politics.  There's way too much interest in the "horserace" and not enough on the issues.

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by: nirmal @ Wed Dec 13, 2006 at 15:29:31 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Yeah, but... (0.00 / 0)

Simply identifying a problem doesn't mean you're not a part of it.  Skubick characterized the whole blammed thing like a horserace throughout.  And his own book seems very similar; there's nothing for him to cover aside from the "horserace": i.e., "See Dick and Jen Run."

Yeah.  So it's nice to see he acknowledges that it's a problem.  But that doesn't exempt him from putting the slop in the trough to keep his job relevant.

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by: quaker21 @ Wed Dec 13, 2006 at 20:02:05 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Don't Waste Your Time and Certainly not your $ (4.00 / 4)

I read See Dick and Jen Run today and was very disappointed. Between the writing constantly trying to sound hip like refering to Election Day as "E-day" and DeVos sometimes as DDV or John Truscott as J.T. I found the level of self-love throughout nauseating, from his finding a scoop, to candidates laughing at his remarks or "getting" his jokes, it was just sort of rah-rah look at me. Aside from that the editting was rather poor, with breath where there should've been Breathe, other misspellings and misquotes (that are obvious as you notice a word missing that makes it make sense, not that the tone would've changed) but it is just sloppy. Also, I felt that it sort of missed the mark with it only being insider analysis and forgetting that it is voters not Tim Skubick who decide. I thought the Governor throughout the campaign made it very clear and was very appropriate in saying often, voters are the only polls that count, and other things similar to that, yet Skubick made it come down to what the insiders in the various camps were saying and what polls indicated, missing the point that the people of Michigan (none of whom we hear from directly or even indirectly) decided the election. A good election wrap up was Evan Thomas of Newsweek's Election 2004 a book in that style and with that level of proffesionalism and writing would have been a far better read than this book of driving up and down I-96 looking for a "scoop".

  Visit my blog where I call election day Election Day not E-Day

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by: dwishinsky @ Wed Dec 13, 2006 at 17:04:53 PM UTC

No editor? (4.00 / 3)

One way Skoob's publisher might have cut costs is to let his authors edit their own books.  Brian Lewis made a tidy chunk of change when he sold Sleeping Bear Press to a large New York house, but those rounds of golf at premier courses do add up.

Gentle MichLib reader inquires: "No editor?  Eartha, surely you jive!"  Sadly, no.  A regional book is considered successful if it sells 3,000 copies, which doesn't leave a lot of room for overheads like quality control.

Too bad--if I were asked to be Skubick's editor, I could have had the best time of my life with only a 79 cent Bic round stic full of red ink.  Part of a good editor's job is to gently correct the ego excesses that dwishinsky cites above.  Tim's not the only writer with this problem, believe me.

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by: eartha651 @ Wed Dec 13, 2006 at 19:24:21 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Skubick's first book was filled with mistakes (4.00 / 1)

"Off the Record" read like a first draft (alternative explanation: Skubick disdains the idea of an outline). It was also filled with spelling, grammar, and usage errors. My favorite was the term "Gregorian knot" to refer to the school funding issue. Incredibly, that book was published by the University of Michigan Press.

Speaking of regional books, our "Michigan Breweries" is now in print, and my wife and I spent many hours weeding out errors, both factual and stylistic, before sending the manuscript on to the publisher, Stackpole Books. A few oopsies still got through to the copyeditor but they were nowhere close to what I saw in "Off the Record."

A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always count on the support of Paul.

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by: Hy Dudgeon @ Wed Dec 13, 2006 at 20:02:05 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Congrats, both of you (4.00 / 1)

Stackpole is a good house that takes marketing seriously, even for regional books.  I'm a beer enthusiast and sometime homebrewer, so your book is on my must read list.

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by: eartha651 @ Wed Dec 13, 2006 at 22:22:44 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Thanks, Eartha (4.00 / 1)

To get the best price on the book, go to our site, www.beerfestivals.org, and click on the picture of the book. Amazon is selling it for one-third off.

I had no idea you were a brewster. Indeed you are a Renaissance woman.

A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always count on the support of Paul.

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by: Hy Dudgeon @ Thu Dec 14, 2006 at 00:36:58 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Good Interview, Bad Book (0.00 / 0)

i got the chance to read your interview Matt. Good job. I still don't like his book though.

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by: dwishinsky @ Thu Dec 14, 2006 at 17:47:22 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Good job Matt (0.00 / 0)

Thanks for this. Very interesting- gives me a bit of a different perspective on Skubick, but also reinforces some of the things I thought before, too.

And nice to know that he is reading here. ;-)

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by: wizardkitten @ Wed Dec 13, 2006 at 18:53:35 PM UTC

Kudos, Matt! (4.00 / 1)

Good questions; not-so-good answers.  I've only read the excerpt so far, but will listen to the full interview after work.

So I'll hold further comment until then.  And believe me -- if I were in Lansing tonight, I would SO be at Eastwood.  Soooooo be at Eastwood.  And I know people who work in the Chapbook Cafe there, so I could have an arsenal of tomatoes by my side. :P

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by: quaker21 @ Wed Dec 13, 2006 at 20:08:46 PM UTC

Well, when you do (4.00 / 1)

get around to reading the whole thing, please don't pull any punches.

Tell us how you really feel about Our Timmeh. ;-)

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by: eartha651 @ Thu Dec 14, 2006 at 05:39:17 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Don't Forget ... (0.00 / 0)

Skubick is still leading the pack at the "Michigan's Worst 25" voting going on right now at the Michigan Caucus but fighting it out with Kid Rock.

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by: MichiganCaucus @ Wed Dec 13, 2006 at 20:23:25 PM UTC

ACK! (0.00 / 0)

Kid Rock is now in first with 66 votes, Skubick with 43. Who knew that Pamela Anderson could have such a large effect?

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by: MichiganCaucus @ Wed Dec 13, 2006 at 20:26:31 PM UTC

[ Parent ]