We are back at the blog.

As I told you earlier, I have been writing a book about Vegas (it has morphed into a novel) and wanted to dedicate myself totally to doing that last week.  My slowly accumulating manuscript needed some focus, because I am taking on a new responsibility that will be making serious demands on my time.

I did not plan to write for any Vegas based publications this year. But I changed my mind. I have been blown away by Vegas Seven, the new weekly that has wound up creating so much buzz in local media circles. I would like to say I am leading a charge, but I am jumping on a bandwagon with Vegas Seven. I just signed a contract to begin doing an entertainment column for Vegas Seven focused on the Strip and some other writing.  But outside of my tiny upcoming contributions, I am really excited about the existence of  this weekly and wanted to alert those of you (most of you, according to statistics) who do not live in Vegas about this publication’s existence.

I suspect most people in the Vegas media had low expectations (as I did) when they heard about the plan to launch Vegas Seven. Back when times were good, Vegas, briefly, had three weeklies (the third was called Mercury). But three weeklies proved unsustainable for Vegas even during the boom.

Economics aside, I did not think Vegas Seven would ever aspire to be worth reading. In Vegas advertisers often expect to control editorial and frequently do.  This can even happen after publication. Sometimes you can read a story in a print publication from Vegas and then go on-line to discover continuing alterations that in essence remove negative comments about advertisers. Of course, no mention of the changes are made. Always take a screen shot! I do.

My own approach has remained the same when it comes to covering Vegas. I don’t say that out of pride or, I hope, stubbornness. As at any job, I aspire to get better as years go by. But I do the job I do, because of the pleasure I get from interviewing people, looking into things, and sharing what I learn with you. That is not just my job but my joy. If I were covering Vegas for a publication that was not honest with readers I would no longer want to do that job. Vegas has the best material; it is a pity that readers often get advertising copy masquerading as editorial. Flashy fonts stuck to stale snark can’t disguise when a publication has become no more than  art supplied by a publicist attached to booster prose that only an advertiser could imagine someone reading. I did not expect Vegas Seven to be different. I was wrong.

Certainly Vegas deserves better (or, maybe we don’t, but I want to read better). This is not a town that frequently values the intelligence of readers. And, yes, Vegas Seven turns out to do so. The writer I have been enjoying the most so far is David G. Schwartz and here is a sample of his work looking at CityCenter’s first 100 days.

So, I hope you check out Vegas Seven. And, since you are reading anyway, take a moment to look for my stories.

Of course, I am still focused with art director Lanie Crossman to expand the offerings here on GoldPlatedDoor.com. And, the results of those effort should be showing up here soon (give or take some code comprehension issues).