To Belle and Back

It must’ve been excruciating, not to mention overwhelming, to condense a hundred years of magazine writing into one publication. But the result, the May edition of The Progressive, founded and still based right here in Madison and edited by the extremely smart and dedicated Matt Rothschild, is a masterpiece—not to mention a collector’s item.

A powerful cover image of a white dove whose trailing footprints stamp peace signs across the page is a powerful introduction to a remarkable collection of excerpts from dozens of writers, activists, politicians and intellectuals through the years. Regardless of your personal politics, this magazine is worth reading for its historical significance if not its raw and uncensored social, political and economic commentary. At times it’s heady stuff, and in the “history repeats itself” category, many of the essays can be bitter pills to swallow.

The Progressive does not, has never and will never mince words, which is why the next three days of conversation and celebration are going to be so well attended. Starting with a concert tonight and ending with a star-studded sendoff by Robert Redford himself on Saturday night, the magazine’s 100th-anniversary fete is chock full of anti-Establishment fun.

While the Sundance Kid will have the last word this weekend, Yoko Ono nabbed the last page of the anniversary issue. A full-page ad featuring a small billowy cloud floating in the clear blue sky below her signature message, “IMAGINE PEACE,” graces the magazine's back cover. It’s simple, subtle and stunning—and, I imagine, it covered a huge chunk of the production costs!

With today’s report by the Wisconsin Women’s Council on a continuing gender pay gap—77 percent here and 79.9 percent nationwide—it’s clear The Progressive’s seasoned voice crying out for equal justice for all is as valuable in 2009 as it was in 1909. I’m sure the magazine’s co-founder and spirited suffragette Belle Case La Follette—and probably Yoko Ono—would agree on that.

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.