Jon Katz | |
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| Born | August 8, 1947 |
| Occupation | Journalist |
Jon Katz (born August 8, 1947) is an American journalist, author, and photographer. He was a contributor to the online magazine HotWired , the technology website Slashdot , and the online news magazine Slate . In his early career as an author he wrote a series of crime novels and books on geek subculture.[ clarification needed ] More recent works focus on the relationship between humans and animals.
Katz initially worked as a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer , The Boston Globe and The Washington Post , and later as of the CBS Morning News. His media criticism, columns and book reviews appeared in such periodicals as Rolling Stone and New York (he was a contributing editor to both magazines), Wired, GQ, and The New York Times. [1]
Expressing "disenchantment with the world of old media", [1] he joined the now defunct HotWired, the online version of Wired magazine, to which he contributed articles on technology, culture and the media.
In 1999, Katz left HotWired to join Slashdot . Many of his contributions to Slashdot were focused on the youth subculture of geeks and social misfits.
Katz's first article for Slate appeared in December 2005 and he has since become a regular contributor to the online magazine. The majority of his writings at Slate revolve around animals and his rural life. [2]
Katz has written several novels as well as non-fiction works which cover topics ranging from geek culture to people's evolving relationship with animals. He wrote a successful series of mystery novels centered around the character Kit DeLeeuw, a former Wall Street financier turned private investigator, based in the fictional Rochambeau, New Jersey. His more recent work explores his own relationship with his dogs (and other animals) on his farm in upstate New York and broader issues of animals' place—both physically and emotionally—in the modern world.
Many of Katz' books have described his relationships with dogs. He began writing about them after taking in a difficult Border Collie, whom Katz credited with changing his life by causing him to take up shepherding and move to a farm. He has written extensively on the way we train dogs, arguing that most approaches fail because they are too inflexible, and because—as dog owners—we over-anthropomorphize our companion animals: "we give them too much credit, make them too complex, muddying our communications" by treating them as "soul mates" rather than understanding and respecting their animal nature. [3] "I can't imagine life without a dog", Katz said in a 2002 interview. "I don't think dogs are substitutes for people, but I must confess I often find them more reliable." [4]
Katz began to blog in 2007 and concurrently learned photography, using his photographs to illustrate blog posts. These photos feature portraits (primarily of animals) as well as landscapes and scenic shots taken on his farm and in the surrounding rural areas and small towns of upstate New York. Since shortly after initiating his blog, he began using his own photos as the cover images on all of his books.
Katz's writing was often criticized by Slashdot readers. [5] Some criticism was leveled at Katz when he posted an article about an e-mail message he purportedly received from a teenager named "Junis" in Afghanistan who had just rejoined the Internet in late 2001. Some Slashdot readers believed the e-mail message to be a hoax or parody designed to fool Katz. According to Katz, Junis wrote his e-mail from "his ancient Commodore computer", which he had "dug up" and was now using to download movies, pornography, and MP3s thanks to the recent liberation of Afghanistan. [6] Because of the unlikelihood of performing these activities on the Commodore 64, some Slashdot readers felt this demonstrated Katz's lack of technical knowledge about computers. An article in the Technology section of The New York Times discussed the Slashdot piece and its criticisms. [7]
Katz's books about dogs have received favorable reviews in the literary press, [8] but have been met with a hostile reaction in segments of the Border Collie community. Notable examples of this criticism have included Donald McCaig's review of The Dogs of Bedlam Farm in [The Bark] magazine, [9] and Penny Tose's review of Katz on Dogs in The American Border Collie magazine. [10]
Katz wrote a book on the controversial subject of the New York carriage horses titled Who Speaks for the Carriage Horses: The Future of Animals in Our World in which he supported the continuance of the carriage trade in New York City. The book was published by Roadswell Editions in July 2014.
Katz's marriage to Paula Span ended in 2008. He married artist Maria Wulf on their New York farm in 2010. Katz is the father of Brooklyn sportswriter Emma Span.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) is a registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States. In addition to maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions events for purebred dogs, including the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, an annual event which predates the official forming of the AKC, the National Dog Show and the AKC National Championship. The AKC is a non-member partner with the Fédération Cynologique Internationale.
The Border Collie is a working and herding dog breed. They come from the Anglo-Scottish border region and are used to herd livestock, specifically sheep.
The Shetland Sheepdog, often known as the Sheltie, is a breed of herding dog that originated in the Shetland Islands of Scotland. The original name was Shetland Collie, but this caused controversy amongst Rough Collie breeders of the time, so the breed's name was formally changed. This diligent small dog is clever, vocal, excitable and willing to please. They are incredibly trustworthy to their owners to the point where they are often referred to as "shadows" due to their attachment to family. This breed was formally recognized by The Kennel Club (UK) in 1909.
The Call of the Wild is a short adventure novel by Jack London, published in 1903 and set in Yukon, Canada, during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, when strong sled dogs were in high demand. The central character of the novel is a dog named Buck. The story opens at a ranch in Santa Clara Valley, California, when Buck is stolen from his home and sold into service as a sled dog in Alaska. He becomes progressively more primitive and wild in the harsh environment, where he is forced to fight to survive and dominate other dogs. By the end, he sheds the veneer of civilization, and relies on primordial instinct and learned experience to emerge as a leader in the wild.
A herding dog, also known as a stock dog, shepherd dog, sheepdog or working dog, is a type of dog that either has been trained in herding or belongs to breeds that are developed for herding.
Collies form a distinctive type of herding dogs, including many related landraces and standardized breeds. The type originated in Scotland and Northern England. Collies are medium-sized, fairly lightly-built dogs, with pointed snouts. Many types have a distinctive white color over the shoulders. Collies are very active and agile, and most types of collies have a very strong herding instinct. Collie breeds have spread through many parts of the world, and have diversified into many varieties, sometimes mixed with other dog types. Some collie breeds have remained as working dogs for herding cattle, sheep, and other livestock, while others are kept as pets, show dogs or for dog sports, in which they display great agility, stamina and trainability. While the American Kennel Club has a breed they call "collie", in fact collie dogs are a distinctive type of herding dog inclusive of many related landraces and formal breeds. There are usually major distinctions between show dogs and those bred for herding trials or dog sports: the latter typically display great agility, stamina and trainability, and, more importantly, sagacity.
The Smooth Collie is a breed of dog developed originally for herding. It is a short-coated version of the Rough Collie of Lassie fame. Some breed organisations consider the smooth-coat and rough-coat dogs to be variations of the same breed.
The Rough Collie or Scotch Collie is a long-coated dog breed of medium to large size that, in its original form, was a type of collie used and bred for herding sheep in Scotland. More recent breeding has focused on the Collie as a show dog, and also companion. The breed specifications call for a distinctive long narrow tapered snout and tipped (semiprick) ears, so some dogs have their ears taped when young. Rough Collies generally come in shades of sable and white, blue merle, tri-colored, and white.
The Bearded Collie, or Beardie, is a herding breed of dog once used primarily by Scottish shepherds, but now mostly a popular family companion.
Pal was a male Rough Collie performer and the first in a line of such dogs to portray the fictional female collie Lassie in film, on radio, and on television. Pal was born in California in 1940 and eventually brought to the notice of Rudd Weatherwax, a Hollywood animal trainer. In 1943, the dog was chosen to play Lassie in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer feature film Lassie Come Home. Following his film debut, Pal starred in six more Lassie films for MGM from the mid-1940s to early 1950s, then appeared briefly in shows, fairs, and rodeos around the United States before starring in the two pilots filmed in 1954 for the television series, Lassie. Pal retired after filming the television pilots, and died in June 1958. He sired a line of descendants who continued to play the fictional character he originated. In 1992, The Saturday Evening Post said Pal had "the most spectacular canine career in film history".
Lassie is an American television series that follows the adventures of a female Rough Collie dog named Lassie and her companions, both human and animal. The show was the creation of producer Robert Maxwell and animal trainer Rudd Weatherwax and was televised from September 12, 1954, to March 25, 1973. The sixth longest-running U.S. primetime television series after The Simpsons, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Gunsmoke,Law & Order and Family Guy, the show ran for 17 seasons on CBS before entering first-run syndication for its final two seasons. Initially filmed in black and white, the show transitioned to color in 1965.
Albert Payson Terhune was an American author, dog breeder, and journalist. He was popular for his novels relating the adventures of his beloved collies and as a breeder of collies at his Sunnybank Kennels, the lines of which still exist in today's Rough Collies.
Dogs in warfare have a very long history starting in ancient times. From being trained in combat, to their use as scouts, sentries, messengers, mercy dogs, and trackers, their uses have been varied and some continue to exist in modern military usage.
A Dog Year is a 2009 American made-for-television comedy-drama film written and directed by first-time director George LaVoo and starring Jeff Bridges. It was originally broadcast on HBO on September 3, 2009.
Lassie is a 1994 American adventure family film directed by Daniel Petrie, starring Tom Guiry, Helen Slater, Jon Tenney, Frederic Forrest, Richard Farnsworth, Michelle Williams and featuring the fictional collie Lassie.
Jean, also known as the Vitagraph Dog (1902–1916), was a female collie that starred in silent films. Owned and guided by director Laurence Trimble, she was the first canine to have a leading role in motion pictures. Jean was with Vitagraph Studios from 1909, and in 1913 went with Trimble to England to work with Florence Turner in her own independent film company.
Donald McCaig was an American novelist, poet, essayist and sheepdog trainer.
Lad: A Dog is a 1919 American novel written by Albert Payson Terhune and published by E. P. Dutton. Composed of twelve short stories first published in magazines, the novel is based on the life of Terhune's real-life Rough Collie, Lad. Born in 1902, the real-life Lad was an unregistered collie of unknown lineage originally owned by Terhune's father. Lad's death in 1918 was mourned by many of the story's fans, particularly children.
The Intelligence of Dogs is a 1994 book on dog intelligence by Stanley Coren, a professor of canine psychology at the University of British Columbia. The book explains Coren's theories about the differences in intelligence between various breeds of dogs. Coren published a second edition in 2006.
The New Zealand Heading Dog is a working and herding dog that uses its visual prowess, intelligence and quick movement to control sheep. Bred from Border Collies, Heading Dogs are a sturdy, long-legged and even-haired breed. They are generally black and white in color, but may also be tan.
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