While some true crime fans are heartbroken over the "rebranding" of Court TV to truTV and the mothballing of The Crime Library, those of us interested in patterns of human behavior will soon have other places to continue our studies, on TV and online.
The new cable channel Investigation Discovery will launch a true crime website focusing on forensics. Author Corey Mitchell (the brains behind In Cold Blog) and David Lohr (who wrote for the Crime Library) will blog at I.D. daily, and the folks running the show have asked your correspondent to chime in with daily content as well. I'll have that on my list of things to do starting Jan. 27.
Meanwhile A&E has not let us down. Tonight begins the seventh season of The First 48, the gritty non-fiction homicide investigation show - leagues better than fiction twaddle like Law & Order. You can get a sneak peek of the upcoming season of The First 48 on YouTube.
And there are certainly plenty of other places to get our true crime fix. Newspapers are expanding their true crime web offerings, especially in high-profile cases, competing directly with TV by putting content on the web. "As soon as any new angle, interview or photo appears, staffers race to post it online," remarked the Public Editor of the Chicago Tribune in a curious piece lamenting "tabloid" coverage. That's right - the Chicago Tribune, which has fostered a glorious tabloid history since 1847, has its nose up in the air.
Call it what you want, folks. Just don't call it quits!
Image via www.MyAlCaponeMuseum.com.
I'm just glad they haven't taken the Crime Library archives offline; some of the early stories are favorites of mine and I haven't had time to save them yet. I remember when Crime Library was just a wee site with just a few stories; I e-mailed them and asked if I could write something. They e-mailed back and said, "Sure, what do you want to write about?" and I freaked out and couldn't think of anything to say. So even though I never wrote for them, the Crime Library has a special place in my heart.
I'm also glad to see the blogging continue, and the new Discovery Channel site looks interesting.
kath
Posted by: kath | January 10, 2008 at 01:49 PM
I'm just glad they haven't taken the Crime Library archives offline; some of the early stories are favorites of mine and I haven't had time to save them yet. I remember when Crime Library was just a wee site with just a few stories; I e-mailed them and asked if I could write something. They e-mailed back and said, "Sure, what do you want to write about?" and I freaked out and couldn't think of anything to say. So even though I never wrote for them, the Crime Library has a special place in my heart.
I'm also glad to see the blogging continue, and the new Discovery Channel site looks interesting.
kath
Posted by: kath | January 10, 2008 at 01:51 PM
Laura! Did you tell us about this earlier? If not, *slaps with a noodle*. If you did and I forgot *slaps ME with a noodle* Good going!
Posted by: Jeri Westerson | January 12, 2008 at 12:02 PM
Are you using a pseudonym over at Investigation Discovery blogs? I can't find your stories! Can you post a link for us? Help!!!
Posted by: Deb | February 08, 2008 at 06:03 PM
You seem to have got the niche from the root, Awesome work
Posted by: watch lost online | October 30, 2009 at 07:46 AM