The Beat Goes On

Despite the fact that former Isthmus executive editor Marc Eisen won’t write for me (not yet, anyway), I thought it would be fun to let folks know what he’s been up to since he opted to become a staff cut. When the alt-weekly had to make some tough budget decisions this year, the veteran journalist decided it was time to try something else. Fortunately for all of us, Eisen had no intention to stop writing.

Since leaving Isthmus in August he’s picked up gigs with Milwaukee Magazine and The Progressive, even landing the latter’s November cover story, an interview with Berkeley professor and “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” author Michael Pollan.

Here’s how Eisen describes his very successful career, which is still very much in the making:

“I spent 30 years at Isthmus over two tours of duty. I also worked at The Capital Times, The West Bend News and The Racine Labor paper, and had a cup of coffee at The Janesville Gazette."

Here’s a bit about his personal life:

“My youngest daughter Hannah is a senior at East High and my oldest daughter Lauren ls a senior at UW-Oshkosh. Both have been instructed to not go into journalism. I'm married to Connie Kinsella, who is an executive with the University Medical Foundation."

Marc’s not the kind of guy that spends too much time contemplating his own navel. He’s too busy reporting and writing about the issues and ideas of the day, which is why I decided to ask him some unconventional questions. You could say I took the easy way out … or you could say that I was smart enough to know I’d be too easily beaten at my own game.

Since I left Isthmus I....have consciously made an effort to be less of an idiot with technology and to go to the Y regularly. There is no connection between the two except that my IPod is really loaded these days.

It never works when....I violate my deeply held belief to always anticipate—and avoid—situations where nothing will work.

The thing about journalism is....that lately I think of it more as an art than a craft.

The thing about journalism....is that the economic model that sustains it is collapsing with amazing speed.

The thing about journalism is….that the cyberspace version is very different from print—and in some ways deficient.

The thing about journalism is….that today people can create a media world—through TV, radio and the Internet—in which they never expose themselves to a single word that challenges their existing beliefs.

Barack Obama and John McCain....are engaged in the most important presidential election in 40 years: The winner will have to deal with the fact that America, after eight years of George W. Bush, is in decline.

I've always wanted to know....how neuroscientists and evolutionary biologists explain the internal monologues that run through our minds. Think of James Joyce's stream of consciousness. Wait, you mean you don't hear those voices?

If I ever wrote a memoir....it would be an act of extreme conceit. My life isn't that remarkable. Now, how I process my daily experiences in that internal monologue is another story. As a writer, I wish I could tap into that never-ending narrative.