Chal Ravens: Notes on Process [SPECIAL EDITION]

I’m Todd L. Burns, and welcome to Music Journalism Insider, a newsletter about music journalism. I highlight some of the best stuff I hear, read, and watch every week; publish news about the industry; and interview writers, scholars, and editors about their work. My goal is to share knowledge, celebrate great work, and expand the idea of what music journalism is—and where it happens. Questions, comments, concerns? You can reach me anytime at music.journalism.insider@gmail.com. And if you’re not already subscribed to the newsletter, you can do so at musicjournalisminsider.com.

Today in the newsletter: A new Notes On Process with Chal Ravens.

Chal Ravens: Notes on Process

The latest edition of Notes On Process is here! The idea of this column is simple: I invite a writer to a Google Doc where I’ve copy-pasted one of their pieces and added a bunch of footnotes with flattery, jokes, and questions. They reply to my queries, and then we provide you with a link to the doc where all of our marginalia is visible. The goal is to provide a window into the writing and editing process, so that folks can see how great writers think about their work.

Chal Ravens is one of the best chroniclers of electronic music around. Chal got her start around 2012 and has written for outlets such as FACT and the Guardian, helmed the Relevant Parties podcast, and much more. (We’ve also worked together over the years at Red Bull Music Academy and this very newsletter!) For Notes on Process, Chal and I chose a recent cover story in The Wire about Scratcha DVA. You can check it out here.

If you’ve missed out on previous editions of Notes On Process, they’re all right here.

The Closing Credits

Thanks for reading! In case you’ve missed them, I’ve published a number of special features in the newsletter, including articles about music journalism history, what music journalism will be like in 2221, and much more. You can check out all of that here.

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A Final Note

Thanks for reading! I also make playlists from time to time. You can check them out here if you’re interested. And, full disclosure, my day job is at uDiscover Music, a branded content online magazine owned by Universal Music. This newsletter is not affiliated or sponsored in any way by Universal, and any links that relate to the work of my department will be clearly marked.

Feel free to reach out to me via email at music.journalism.insider@gmail.com. On Twitter, it’s @JournalismMusic. Until next time…