Cultural Critic is a Former Chicago Reader Columnist and AAN Editorial Award Winner.

Tom Frank, editor of the cultural review The Baffler, and author of “The Conquest of Cool” will be the guest speaker at the AAN/Medill Alternative Journalism Writing Workshop, Friday, September 17, at 5 p.m.

Frank’s semi-notorious essay “Alternative To What?” in The Baffler #5 epitomizes his belief that the outward trappings of rebellion have been so thoroughly co-opted by corporate media that true “alternatives” in music, film or journalism, are almost invisible today. He wrote, “The real disappointment lies in (scholars’) abject inability to recognize ‘popular culture’ anywhere but in the officially-sanctioned showplaces of corporate America; their utter dependence on television to provide them with an imagery of rebellion.”

The AAN/Medill Alternative Writing Workshop at the Medill School of Journalism in Evanston, Ill., September 17-18, is open for registration. For a current workshop schedule or to register online with a credit card click here.