Name: Editor

Delusional Magazine Editor Fired For Sexual Harassment Hey, remember that time your boss asked you to hold his hand and go with him to his favorite "make-out spot" and you didn't mind because he was being totally "paternalistic and nonsexual"?

No? Well, neither does the intern who was recently harassed by Marc Smirnoff, founder and editor of The Oxford American, the South's answer to The New Yorker since 1992. The magazine's board of directors fired Smirnoff last month, 10 days after a staff retreat during which he yelled at subordinate staffers and attempted the aforementioned "nonsexual" jaunt to his own personal Lover's Lane.

The New York Times reports that after conducting an investigation, the board concluded that staff members regularly felt sexually harassed, humiliated, and generally intimidated by Mr. Smirnoff and other editors.

It's difficult — perhaps impossible? — to imagine a worse way Smirnoff could be handling his termination. Let's break down a few ways in which one should not respond to sexual assault claims:

1. Acknowledge events took place, but deny that they were "harassment":

...After insisting that the intern ride back to Conway with him, he asked her if she wanted to hold hands. She declined, he said, saying she'd rather "hold hands with a dead dog." Still, he told her he wanted to take her to his favorite make-out spot.
...
During a conversation with the same intern earlier that week, Mr. Smirnoff said, he hugged her and kissed her on top of the head.
None of those things constitute harassment, he insisted.
"It was acceptable to her in that moment," he said, saying that she did not object to his behavior at the time. "My take of it was that we were trying to see if we could revive our relationship, professional and personal."

None of that is harassment, eh? What would constitute harassment? Rape?

2. Compare your managerial skills to The Office:

"I understand that I walk a fine line with my joking, my banter," Mr. Smirnoff said, comparing himself to the bumbling boss played by Ricky Gervais on "The Office." "I have made bad jokes. My intent with regards to that humor is just as important."

Dude: If you're humorlessly comparing yourself to a show that lampoons rather than endorses the actions of the most inappropriate boss ever, you're probably fighting a losing battle.

3. Act like a Sad Literary Man:

Slouched in a living-room chair, gesturing wildly and sprinkling his sentences with quotations from Shakespeare, Mr. Smirnoff gave a detailed account of the July 4 party on Petit Jean Mountain, a short drive west of Conway.

Oh. My. God.

4. Act Like an Angry Literary Man:

Smirnoff and his longtime girlfriend, Carol Ann Fitzgerald, who was also fired, have published a 53-page document titled "Our Story of Losing The Oxford American" on a website called "Editors in Love." (We know, we threw up in our mouths a little, too.) The report is like a mix between Gossip Girl (photos of underage interns with beer and notes like, "Enzinna sends urgent text messages to "best friend" (managing editor) Carol Ann Fitzgerald to persuade her to call him about his termination meeting with Smirnoff on following day."), Confessions of a Shopaholic ("Smirnoff hosts 4th of July party for editorial staff at cabin on Mt. Petit Jean. Smirnoff uses OA credit card for food but not alcohol. Editorial assistant Walker Beauchamp collects money from interns and buys/brings alcohol to Mt. Petit Jean" and, I don't know, my Grandma? ("WHEN RAISING YOU, DID YOUR MOM OR DAD TELL YOU THERE IS ONLY ONE SIDE TO EVERY STORY?")

There is also Smirnoff's "PERSONAL LIST OF THINGS HE WILL NEVER DO." On this list is "Never publish a photograph of a beat-up truck covered in kudzu," "Never visit a strip club," "Never publish the word 'eclectic' in a music review" and "Never watch The Matrix." Oh, there's also "Never sexually harass anyone." IT IS NOT EVEN NUMBER ONE! It comes after "Never buy a video game."

Smirnoff clearly has more issues than a Flannery O'Connor character, but his most egregious crime is not understanding what harassment means. From his website:

For all my foibles, serious and otherwise—which include patting and rubbing the heads of interns I am especially close to and trust, hugging them at times, sometimes hoisting them up (publicly and comically), occasionally touching feet or arms or shoulders, shooting portraits of them (I just began contributing photo essays to The OA website)—I have NEVER sexually harassed an intern (or employee) at The Oxford American.

Quick, someone come up with the best Shakespeare quote about delusion.

Editor Fired Following Harassment Accusation [NYT]

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/intro12.jpg?54167" alt="cross platform video editing"/>Editing video in href="../service/linux/">Linux can be a right pain in the posterior. Most software is unstable or simply not powerful enough to get the job done, for example when editing HD video. Naturally a well-specified PC is your best friend when it comes to resource-intensive processes like video editing, but that’s not to say you’ll need a showroom model to get the job done.

href="http://www.kdenlive.org/">Kdenlive is a free and cross-platform video editor that will probably mean more to your average Linux user than href="../service/windows/">Windows or href="../service/mac/">Mac types. The shortage of stable, usable and powerful editing suites on the Linux platform is the main reason for this.

If you’re searching for a decent, all-in-one solution for editing video on your Linux system then Kdenlive might just be the program you’re looking for.

Workspace & Features

If you’ve ever edited video before then you’ll probably feel instantly at home with Kdenlive, which is a typical href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-linear_editing_system">non-linear video editohref="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-linear_editing_system">r. If you’re a newcomer to the world of video editing then the interface shouldn’t put you off either./> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/overview1.jpg?54167" alt="cross platform video editing" width="580" height="351" />/> The editor supports capture from a variety of devices, including href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video4Linux">Video4Linux compatibles and Firewire cameras as well as screen capture from the desktop. You can check if your device is supported on href="http://www.kdenlive.org/video-editor">this compatibility list.

All the favourites are there – the timeline, a monitor window (with tabs for switching between individual clips and the whole production), file browser, transition window and a menu full of options and features. Overall the workspace is clean, attractive and responsive; if a little limited at times./> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/timeline.png?54167" alt="cross platform video editing software" width="580" height="256" />/> The program has a fairly extensive range of features, including a very handy transcoder. Transcoding video is as simple as adding source files to your project with the Add Clip button, right clicking your selection in the file browser and choosing Transcode. Kdenlive can do transcode to the popular DNxHD editing codec in two clicks and completely removes the need to download href="../tag/5-easy-to-use-freeware-video-converters/">additional href="../tag/5-easy-to-use-freeware-video-converters/">converters or doing it manually via command line./> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/transcode.png?54167" alt="cross platform video editing software" width="343" height="444" />/> Cutting up your freshly transcoded video into clips for arrangement on the timeline isn’t difficult, especially if you use the handy keyboard shortcuts. By default “I” is your in-point, “O” is your out-point and “Ctrl+I” creates a clip from your chosen area. Then it’s just a simple case of dragging your newly made clip onto the timeline.

Kdenlive also includes stop-motion capture, which by default worked using my laptop’s webcam. If you have a video device that is configured for use with Linux then there’s little reason you wouldn’t be able to use it for stop-motion here too.

Transitions, Effects & Usability

There’s a decent array of transitions and effects included with Kdenlive, and once you’ve read href="http://www.kdenlive.org/test-book/first-project/now-video/using-clips-your-project/removing-clips-timeline/splitting-clips--0">the how-to, adding them to the timeline is a fairly easy affair. Some users might find the naming and function of some effects and transitions confusing, as they don’t really give much clue as to what the selection does. This makes Kdenlive feel a little less user friendly than it could be at times./> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/monitor.jpg?54167" alt="cross platform video editing software" width="517" height="514" />/> Another thing that makes the program seem slightly unintuitive are the effects, and their applications. Instead of being able to change the volume of a clip by default in your timeline, volume is instead an effect that needs to be selected and applied. Fortunately you can keyframe it, but it’s nowhere near as quick or straightforward as some of the more advanced (and admittedly costly) non-linear editors out there.

On the Ubuntu 10.10 system I’m currently using, Kdenlive was incredibly stable. I’ve not actually enjoyed this level of stability from a Linux video editor ever, and I’ve tried nearly all of them. Whilst editing together a 7 minute 720p video with effects, transitions, images, additional audio and a lot of source videos the program crashed once in the entire editing process (don’t hit Save whilst you’re previewing your creation).

The only “major” problem I had were my sub-clips (selections of video within other files) somehow hid themselves and there was no clear way of getting them back. Eventually I worked out that creating a new sub-clip from the same source video reveals them again, but it’s annoying all the same./> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/render.png?54167" alt="cross platform video editor" width="413" height="522" />/> When it comes to rendering you’ve got plenty of pre-defined output options, so choose carefully before you commit. Rendering always takes a while, and the more grunt your PC has the less time you’ll have to wait.

There’s also a decent community sharing custom creations including href="http://www.kdenlive.org/rendering-profiles">render profiles and href="http://kde-files.org/index.php?xcontentmode=683">transitions, though these can be downloaded within Kdenlive from the drop-down Settings menu./> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/downloadstuff.jpg?54167" alt="cross platform video editing" width="580" height="349" />

Download

If you like the look of Kdenlive then you can download the following versions:

href="http://www.kdenlive.org/user-manual/downloading-and-installing-kdenlive">Linux – Packages available for Debian, Ubuntu, Slackware and more as well as href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/tag/compile-install-tar-gz-tar-bz2-files-ubuntu-linux/">source code and instructions on compiling.
href="http://www.kdenlive.org/user-manual/downloading-and-installing-kdenlive/pre-compiled-packages/mac-os-x-packages-macports">Mac – From Macports.
href="http://www.kdenlive.org/user-manual/downloading-and-installing-kdenlive/live-demonstration-dvd-or-usb-storage">Live CD – Burn Kdenlive to a CD, DVD or USB stick and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/tag/download-50-cool-live-cds/">boot as an OS (perfect for Windows users).
href="http://www.kdenlive.org/user-manual/downloading-and-installing-kdenlive">VirtualBox & FreeBSD – Versions for virtual machines and the FreeBSD OS.

Conclusion

I really like Kdenlive, even though it doesn’t feel quite user-friendly enough for everyone. Whilst it does have its bugs, quirks and annoyances it is still the most stable video editor I’ve yet to use on the Linux platform. For this reason (and its decent array of features) I’d recommend Kdenlive as a very workable solution, though if you are thinking of undertaking a project then don’t forget the software’s limitations.

If you’re looking for alternative Linux video editors, Kdenlive was featured alongside href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/tag/7-free-open-source-video-editor-for-linux/">6 others in this article.

Have you tried Kdenlive? Did you like it? Any better editors out there? Anything nearly as stable around?

Image Credit: rel="nofollow" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=73909939">Shutterstock/>/> Follow href="http://twitter.com/MakeUseOf" target="_blank" >MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/kdenlive-stable-versatile-free-crossplatform-video-editor-linux-mac-live-cd/">Kdenlive – A Stable & Versatile Free Cross-Platform Video Editor [Linux, Mac & Live CD] is a post from: href="http://www.makeuseof.com">MakeUseOf

More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/cross-platform/" title="cross platform" rel="tag">cross platform, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/live-cd/" title="live CD" rel="tag">live CD, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/open-source/" title="open source" rel="tag">open source, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ubuntu/" title="ubuntu" rel="tag">ubuntu, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/video/" title="video" rel="tag">video, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/video-converter/" title="video converter" rel="tag">video converter, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/video-editors/" title="video editors" rel="tag">video editors/>