Burning Man: Huge Mainstream Media Hit

It’s not like the mainstream media is just discovering Burning Man or anything. In 1995 and 1996, I wrote about the event for the Ojai and Ventura Voice, and then in 1997, I wrote about it for the Ventura County Star, a traditional daily paper in a conservative California county.

But this year it seems like EVERYONE is reporting on Burning Man–in print, online, you tube and television. Pictured is Rosel sewing on the sTeVe show in the mobile studio with a live studio audience on (in?)  the live television set TMSL: Deluxe Model 2013 during Burning Man 2013. (Lots more exciting news on this! Steve Knauff, Rosel and I, with help from many more, are teaming up to bring this giant TV mutant vehicle to LA Decom Oct 4 and next year’s Burn!)

There is so much mainstream media coverage this year that even Jack Rabbit Speaks included a listing of some of the articles in the recent newsletter (see below).

Instead of reporting on Burning Man this year in a bunch of blog posts like I really want to be doing, I am writing up my research–which is bringing me face to face with my background to being a reporter or a columnist with an academic or intellectual bent rather than a academic researcher. Write now, publish soon–that’s my motto of the moment. (If you can’t wait, read my paper about Burning Man and its shadow here).

Regardless, it has given me an excuse to hang out on the Burning Man Facebook pages, to watch too many Burning Man videos, and to read too many Burning Man related articles–all for the sake of research, and all which are distracting me from writing my own 20 some page paper that’s due Monday at midnight (yes that will be me burning the Monday midnight oil tomorrow…)

My searches include finding video content about Burning Man that has been transcribed; I haven’t figured out why some videos are transcribed and some aren’t. Like why isn’t this PBS news hour video above transcribed but Halycyon’s videos are? Why is this documentary about Burning Man’s economic and other impacts on Reno transcribed but other documentaries aren’t?

Want to read (or research!)  more about Burning Man? Try some of these:

“The Futile Exercise of Writing About Burning Man” – SF Gate
http://blog.sfgate.com/techchron/2013/09/06/the-futile-exercise-of-writing-about-burning-man/

“10 of Our Favorite Things From Burning Man” – Less Than 3
http://blog.lessthan3.com/2013/09/instaweekly-14-10-of-our-favorite-things-from-burning-man/

“Gays Make Up a Big Part of the Burning Man Festival” – San Diego Gay and Lesbian News
http://www.sdgln.com/social/2013/09/04/gays-play-big-part-burning-man-festival

“24 Hours at Burning Man” – Buzzfeed
http://www.buzzfeed.com/kevintang/24-hours-at-burning-man

“It Was the Biggest Burning Man Ever and This is What I Saw There” – io9
http://io9.com/it-was-the-biggest-burning-man-ever-and-this-is-what-i-1265412330

“5 Ways to Maximize Personal Growth at Burning Man or Anywhere Else” – Elephant Journal
http://www.elephantjournal.com/2013/08/5-ways-to-maximize-personal-growth-at-burning-man-or-anywhere-steve-bearman-troy-dayton/

“Blondtron Had More Fun at Burning Man Than Anyone In The Entire World” – VICE
(NSFW) http://thump.vice.com/words/blondtron-burning-man

“Burning Man’s Center Camp Café Brings Coffee to the Playa” – Barista Magazine
http://baristamagazine.com/blog/?p=9115

“How I Got F*cked by Burning Man” – Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leah-lamb/how-i-got-fcked-by-burnin_b_3904071.html

“Rembert Explains America: Burning Man” – Grantland
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9635924/rembert-explains-america-burning-man

“I Watched A Brave New World Get Built And Destroyed In A Week: Tales From Burning Man” – Junkee
http://junkee.com/i-watched-a-brave-new-world-get-built-and-destroyed-in-a-week-tales-from-burning-man/19270

“Pyramids Were Peaking This Year at Burning Man” – Fest300
http://www.fest300.com/blog/pyramids-were-peaking-this-year-at-burning-man/”

“Burning Man Artists – Why Do they Do It?” – Fest300
http://www.fest300.com/blog/burning-man-artists-why-do-they-do-it/

“Should I Share My Burning Man Photos on Facebook?” – Fest300
http://www.fest300.com/blog/should-i-share-my-burning-man-pics-on-facebook/

“10 Burning Man tents you shouldn’t go in for any reason whatsoever” – Thrillist
http://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/san-francisco/10-burning-man-tents-you-shouldnt-go-in-for-any-reason-whatsoever
“Running on Fumes” – New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/08/fashion/running-on-fumes.html

“The Facebook Billionaires’ Guide to Burning Man” – Huffington Post
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2413531/The-Facebook-billionaires-guide-Burning-Man-How-Mark-Zuckerburg-pitched-tent-founder-Moskovitz-hugged-spiritual-moment-Winklevosses.html

“Why Fear of a Tech Elite-Fueled Burning Man Burnout is Sooo Wrong” – CNET
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-57601986-235/why-fear-of-a-tech-elite-fueled-burning-man-burnout-is-sooo-wrong/

“Radical Inclusion, Plug-and-Play, & P.Diddy” – Halcyon, The Burning Blog
http://bit.ly/18Ny0Cn (includes VIDEO)

“Welcome to the Burning Man media frenzy. Here’s how we win it.” – Caveat, The Burning Blog http://blog.burningman.com/2013/09/afield-in-the-world/welcome-to-the-burning-man-media-frenzy-heres-how-we-win-it/

“Has Burning Man Changed?” – Ultra Stunt Danger Academy
http://ultrastuntdangeracademy.com/Has-Burning-Man-Changed/

“Get Radical: Notes On Self-Reliance, Inclusion And The Shared Experience” – Molly Ditmore, The Burning Blog
http://bit.ly/17v5wOo

And then maybe a little less mainstream…there’s

Decoding Burning Man 2013, Cargo Cult and the Mysterious John Frum – The Open Scroll
http://theopenscroll.blogspot.com/2013/09/part-1-decoding-burning-man-2013-cargo.html