Author: Vinny Tafuro

Book Review: The Secret History of Weeds

  The Secret History of Weeds is an outstanding look into the untold history of women dating back to our early history. Author Julia Hughes Jones was inspired to research and write “Weeds” by the misogynist ideas of Martin Luther, who in 1533 wrote that “Girls begin to talk and to stand on their feet sooner than boys because weeds always …

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Journalism Must Shed Paper Cocoon

For over six years I have followed the newspaper industry’s struggle to maintain a sustainable financial foundation for journalism. From misunderstanding the nature of social media and disregarding consumer trends to highlighting Google’s Eric Schmidt offering to “help newspapers” in 2009 I have been an consistent advocate for the newspaper industry’s role in good journalism. In January 2012 I first described “An Innovative Opportunity for …

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Competition, Not Regulation Drives GMO Transparency

In March 2013 Whole Foods Market put “a stake in the ground on GMO labeling” by announcing that by 2018 all products sold by the grocery chain would be labeled indicating any included genetically modified organisms in order to provide full GMO transparency to customers. The announcement occurred around the same time as failed efforts by consumer activists to petition the federal government …

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‘Mad Men’ was a decade-long whale hunt antagonized by an economist

The series finale of ‘Mad Men’ closed a fictional window to the 1960s. Women’s and civil rights, The Beatles, Serge Gainsbourg and The Doors, the introduction of birth control and realization that cigarettes cause cancer. The series remained authentic by intertwining itself with events of the decade. The crash of American Airlines Flight 1, the assassinations of John F Kennedy …

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Iconic Brands Continue to Ignore Trend, Refuse to Innovate

News this week that Sears and Kmart will close 235 stores along with JCPenney’s continued decent reaffirm my belief that the true value of these iconic brands is being ignored. In the case of JCPenney, unimaginative executives struggle to increase sales with awkward marketing stunts in a retail industry that is returning to its roots. While the brands of yesterday are suffering slow …

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