Come Monday (Cosmic Forces Permitting), Be Prepared for the Relaunch of BagNewsNotes!

What’s in store…

>> An exciting new look by rockstar designer Naz Hamid of Weightshift.

>> Greater emphasis on what makes the BAG the BAG: the pictures and the discussion.

>> An archive you’ll have fun playing around with and losing yourself in whether you’re a history buff, a media junkie, a photographer, a media studies student, or just a fan of The BAG.

>> A dedicated photojournalism section, BagNewsOriginals, steered by long-time BNN contributor, Alan Chin. (Yes, that’s Shaw and Chin in Chinatown, captured a few weeks ago, in a snow storm, from an iPhone, while hatching great plans.) We’ve got a powerful lineup showcasing World Press and Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Suau on the economy; Erin Treib on the war and its warriors; Jason Andrew on the road with the Tea Party; BAG’s distinguished contributor, Nina Berman, fresh off her Whitney Biennial success, with a brief refresher on Wall Street’s bust-before-last; and much, much more.

>> A Salon section managed by the talented photographer and multimedia producer, Sandra Roa, formerly of the Lens Blog, mixing audio slideshows and live chats, all focusing on key images of the day, and kicking off with an audio slide show featuring Ashley Gilbertson and a close-up look at the bedroom shrines of fallen US soldiers.

>> New contributors, including: acclaimed photojournalist Chris Hondros conducting exclusive interviews; leading visual academics Bob Hariman and John Lucaites deconstructing visual culture; Pete Brook illuminating the prison industrial complex; former White House photographer and now Columbian visual conscience, Stephen Ferry, on media’s pictorial stereotyping of the third world; visual activism by Stan Banos; and thoughtful insight from Salon moderator and visual rhetorician, Cara Finnegan.

We can hardly wait for you to join us.

(photo: a friend)