| Brett Atwood | ||
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| Birth place |  USA |
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| Circumstances | ||
| Occupation | Journalist, Academic | |
| Notable credit(s) | Internet content expert (Linden Lab, Amazon.com, RealNetworks) | |
Brett Atwood is a print and online journalist, whose writings have appeared in Billboard, Rolling Stone, Vibe, Hollywood Reporter and other publications. In addition to his writing career, Atwood has held managing editor positions at leading Internet sites Amazon.com and RealNetworks. In 2001, Atwood's career shifted to academia. He is currently the journalism sequence coordinator and an assistant professor at the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication at Washington State University. He holds a M.A. degree in communication from University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. Atwood continues to work in the online space through an affiliation with Linden Lab.
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Journalism
During his five-year stint as new media editor at Billboard, he was among the first reporters to document the development of Internet-based digital downloading and streaming media technologies. His expertise in this area has resulted in numerous analyst and commentator appearances at several national print and TV outlets, including Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, CBS Evening News, USA Today and Wall Street Journal.
Online
At Amazon.com, he managed and developed editorial content for several of the e-commerce site’s operations, including the Computer & Video Games, Electronics and Toys stores. At RealNetworks, he managed content development for various music properties at the streaming media company, including MusicNet, LiveConcerts.com and RealGuide Music. In addition, he co-founded Internet music service Rolling Stone Radio with Rolling Stone magazine. At Linden Lab, he currently develops editorial strategy and content for Secondlife.com, the Web site component of the Internet-based 3D digital world Second Life.
Academia
Atwood currently serves as journalism sequence coordinator and an assistant professor at the Edward R. Murrow School of Communication at Washington State University, where he teaches courses in reporting and media writing. His Journalism 475 class focuses on Web-based media and convergent technologies. In 2006, he was the recipient of a U.S. Speaker and Specialist Grant from the U.S. Department of State. This grant enabled Atwood to travel to Minsk, Belarus to conduct workshops on Internet content development among independent journalists. Under the regime of Alexander Lukashenko, the government has all but suffocated traditional distribution outlets for independent journalists due to its intolerance of dissenting viewpoints.
