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Will Straw

@wstraw.bsky.social
1.6K followers 791 following 252 posts

James McGill Emeritus Professor of Urban Media Studies at McGill University. Scholar of cities, media, night Follow news of night culture at theurbannight.com or visit my research site at willstraw.com

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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
www.asso-h2c.fr/2026/09/09/a...
asso-h2c.fr
AAC – Colloque « Magazines illustrés en circulations (1850-1950), » Université de Lorraine, 24-25 juin 2027 – Historiennes et Historiens du Contemporain
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
spacedaily.com/b-an-arizona...
spacedaily.com
An Arizona city passed the world's first law restricting outdoor lighting back in 1958 to protect the view from a mountaintop telescope, and the accidental result is a modern city of 75,000 where the ...
A single 1958 ordinance protecting a telescope's view became an accidental blueprint for preserving something most cities have surrendered—a night sky dark enough to see the stars from your own backya...
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Notre ciel nocturne est en train de disparaître : un des enjeux du Sommet international sur l’espace 2026 theconversation.com/notre-ciel-n...
theconversation.com
Notre ciel nocturne est en train de disparaître : un des enjeux du Sommet international sur l’espace 2026
Parmi les défis à l’ordre du jour, l’un des plus urgents et des moins médiatisés, est la préservation du ciel nocturne, aujourd’hui menacé par la prolifération des satellites.
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
The National Trust for Local News expands to Vermont with acquisition of five publications www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/the-...
editorandpublisher.com
The National Trust for Local News expands to Vermont with acquisition of five publications - Editor and Publisher
The National Trust for Local News is expanding to a fourth state with the acquisition of the Vermont Community Newspaper Group, a family of award-winning weekly newspapers and digital platforms coveri...
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Let me recommend this very good, inclusive book.
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
phys.org/news/2026-08...
phys.org
From nightlife to life at night: Cities must stay open later to beat the rising heat
Summer in Europe is normally cause for celebration. Not this one, however, which will rank as one of the hottest on record. Wildfires have broken out everywhere from France to Greece, while intense dr...
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
www.britishscienceassociation.org/blog/darknes...
britishscienceassociation.org
Darkness, light, and the inequalities between them
Research Fellow at the University of Southampton, Hannah Dalgleish, speaks to writer and science communication expert Alan Barker ahead of her British Science Festival Award Lecture, 'Southampton and ...
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Andy Burnham has started to help the night economy, but must do more theconversation.com/andy-burnham...
theconversation.com
Andy Burnham has started to help the night economy, but must do more
New PM Andy Burnham cut business rates for pubs and clubs, which was a good start. However, much needs to be done to help businesses operating at night.
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
bigthink.com/strange-maps...
bigthink.com
How Earth's night lights became our most honest economist
A Cold War accident became a reliable tool for using artificial lights at night to map GDP, poverty, urban sprawl, and even illegal fishing.
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
english.seoul.go.kr/seoul-launch...
english.seoul.go.kr
Seoul Launches Its First Nighttime Economy Project, Transforming the Hangang River into a Round-the-Clock Destination -
The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) will transform the Hangang River into the first flagship project of the 9th popularly elected administration’s nighttime economy initiative, creating a 24-hour ...
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
lithub.com/organized-re...
lithub.com
Organized Rebellion: How Nightlife Evolved Throughout the Ages
There are times in a person’s life when the end of the week brings a welcome flurry of messages or phone calls: about parties, club nights, secret gigs, off-beat theatre shows, or just a cheesy but…
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
www.liberation.fr/lifestyle/vo...
liberation.fr
«Il y a une impression de dépossession de nos espaces de fête» : à Paris, la nuit queer broie du noir
Hausse des coûts, fréquentation en baisse, agressions… Alors que de nombreux lieux festifs fédérateurs pour la communauté LGBT+ ferment, les adeptes et les organisateurs s’inquiètent pour l’avenir d’...
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Oh my goodness
abc11.com
Raleigh incidents highlight growing national debate over teen takeovers
The cultural trend of so-called teen takeovers has popped up across the U.S. in recent years, influencing local policing and national politics
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Ha Noi mulls over establishment of entertainment zones to boost night-time economy theurbannight.com/2026/07/24/h...
theurbannight.com
Ha Noi mulls over establishment of entertainment zones to boost night-time economy
Ha Noi mulls over establishment of entertainment zones to boost night-time economy Source: Ha Noi mulls over establishment of entertainment zones to boost night-time economy Ha Noi mulls over estab…
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
The doorbell rang and this book was there. Félicitations à Adrien Rannaud et Mélodie Simard-Houde pour ce beau livre. I have a chapter on the difficulties faced by Quebec's celebrity-oriented press in making sense of the yé-yé music of the 1960s.
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
The article shows the ongoing move to close late-night groceries, claiming it will reduce noise and alcohol sales. But I've also collected dozens of the photographic nocturnes used to accompany similar stories, thinking I will one day do an exposition or something. info.fr/saint-etienn...
info.fr
Saint-Étienne : fermeture nocturne imposée aux épiceries du centre-ville
Deux arrêtés municipaux instaurent la fermeture obligatoire de 22h à 6h pour lutter contre les nuisances dans sept rues du centre.
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
english.seoul.go.kr/mayor-oh-se-...
english.seoul.go.kr
Mayor Oh Se-hoon Unveils Initiative to Turn Seoul’s Nights into an Economic Engine Through Night Economy Coexistence Zones and Moonlight Yajang -
The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) announced that it held its first regular executive meeting since the launch of the 9th popularly elected administration on Wednesday, July 15. Chaired by Mayor ...
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Opinion | On Canada Post and the shuttering of a community newspaper www.editorandpublisher.com/stories/opin...
editorandpublisher.com
Opinion | On Canada Post and the shuttering of a community newspaper - Editor and Publisher
The closure of Winnipeg’s Community Review isn’t just another newspaper casualty — it’s a warning about how public policy and government decisions can unintentionally undermine local journalism. In th...
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Report: Melbourne's night-time economy is the fastest-growing in Australia   - hospitality | Magazine theurbannight.com/2026/07/21/r...
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
UK: West Midlands Mayor calls on new Prime Minister Andy Burnham to appoint a Minister for the Night-Time Economy theurbannight.com/2026/07/21/u...
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
How LEDs Are Making Light Pollution Worse - IEEE Spectrum theurbannight.com/2026/07/21/h...
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
New survey launched: Smells Like Ageism - Age Bombs theurbannight.com/2026/07/20/n...
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
US: NC's largest cities poised to strengthen curfews amid growing 'teen takeovers' • NC Newsline theurbannight.com/2026/07/16/u...
theurbannight.com
US: NC’s largest cities poised to strengthen curfews amid growing ‘teen takeovers’ • NC Newsline
Large swarms of teens have gathered in communities across North and South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Georgia this summer. Some gatherings have resulted in fights and shootings, like an event…
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Le bruit au banc des accusés www.ledevoir.com/actualites/j...
ledevoir.com
Le bruit au banc des accusés
Les citoyens excédés par le tapage se tournent parfois vers les tribunaux, parfois vers la police pour le faire cesser.
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Les archives de Michou, figure de la vie nocturne parisienne, intègrent la BnF information.tv5monde.com/les-gens/les...
information.tv5monde.com
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
«Spurs Nights»: la danse en ligne comme espace queer www.ledevoir.com/culture/dans...
ledevoir.com
«Spurs Nights»: la danse en ligne comme espace queer
L’artiste Noël Vézina porte ces ateliers hebdomadaires, qui mettent l’accent sur l’unité plutôt que sur la conformité.
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
How cities fail at night transport - and why it's important www.itsinternational.com/feature/how-...
itsinternational.com
How cities fail at night transport - and why it's important
Humanist technologist Mehri Mohebbi explains why nighttime mobility is a critical ITS test
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
This is very interesting. www.rfa.org/english/kore...
rfa.org
Border cities bright at night as North Korea goes solar
Power shortages once darkened Sinuiju at night, but satellite images show a renewable energy boom is underway.
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
nextcity.org/urbanist-new...
nextcity.org
The Night Mayor’s Role Is More Than Violence Prevention
Op-ed: Treating nightlife economy management as primarily a public safety function ignores the full scope of what happens in cities after dark, from theatre to third-shift work.
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
I'm looking forward to the restored Letty Lynton. This is the copy I've had for years.
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Ces travailleurs étrangers qui restent éveillés la nuit www.ledevoir.com/economie/982...
ledevoir.com
Ces travailleurs étrangers qui restent éveillés la nuit
Les immigrants sont surreprésentés dans les quarts de nuit.
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Night media.
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
Pages from the personal scrapbooks of RKO "New Faces of 1937" dancer/actress Lorraine Krueger and 1910s-1920s "character dancer" Melissa Ten Eyck. I bought them online.
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
Working on my paper for the Film and Media Studies Association of Canada conference in a couple of weeks - talking in part about Melissa Ten Eyck, the Broadway "character dancer" of the 1910s and 1920s who retired into dance teaching and bit parts in Hollywood in the 1930s.
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
publishingperspectives.com/2026/04/on-w...
publishingperspectives.com
On World Book Day, Brazil’s ‘Bookstore Night’ Brings Readers Back to Bookshops - Publishing Perspectives
As grassroots bookstore initiatives gain traction, new national policies, cultural investments, and major events point to a broader shift in Brazil’s book ecosystem.
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Reposted by Will Straw
Duke University Press @dukepress.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Tracking the nineteenth-century photographer Félix Nadar’s many claims to technical priority, "Inventing Nadar" by @emilygdoucet.bsky.social examines the photographic first as a cultural and material process that has shaped the history of photography. Read the intro for free now: buff.ly/QFkDG4j
Cover of Inventing Nadar: A History of Photographic Firsts by Emily Doucet. A sepia colored old photograph of Paris from above showing a landscape of buildings and a fading horizon. Landmarks such as the “Arc de Triomphe” and “Les Ternes” are marked in a red script. The title is centered at the top in white. “Inventing’ is in a sans serif font and ‘Nadar’ is written larger in an italicized script. The subtitle is below in a white serif font with the author’s name directly below.
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
To celebrate joining the SHARP Starter Pack list, let me shamelessly mention my new book on Broadway Brevities and a mostly forgotten swath of Tattlers, Brevities, Follies, Hushes and other titles published at the lower rungs of New York's sensational press in the 1920s and 1930s. @sharpweb.org
mqup.ca
Nights in Fairyland
In 1925 the publishers of Broadway Brevities were tried for running an extortion operation targeting New York’s social and cultural elites. While the first version of the magazine whispered gossip in ...
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Une vie nocturne 2025 réussie à Ottawa, selon le maire de nuit ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/224...
ici.radio-canada.ca
Une vie nocturne 2025 réussie à Ottawa, selon un rapport
Le maire de nuit dresse un bilan 2025 positif alors que huit de ses dix recommandations ont été achevées et les deux autres sont en cours de réalisation.
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
www.youtube.com/shorts/G1meM...
youtube.com
Nights in Fairyland: Gossip, Blackmail, and the Many Lives of “Broadway Brevities”
YouTube video by McGill-Queen's University Press
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Thanks to everyone who came to my Toronto book launch last night. Apparently, though, there is an alternate FB event notice which has it as happening tonight (March 4th). I haven't been able to see this one, but apparently others have. I'm very sorry to anyone who viewed the wrong one.
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
theconversation.com/municipales-...
theconversation.com
Municipales 2026 : l’extinction nocturne de l’éclairage augmente-t-elle vraiment la délinquance ?
À l’approche des municipales de mars 2026, l’extinction nocturne de l’éclairage public pose la question du sentiment d’insécurité. Une étude inédite lève le voile sur les effets éventuels de ces écono...
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
Toronto Book launch: Nights in Fairyland: Gossip, Blackmail, and the Many Lives of “Broadway Brevities” by Will Straw The Living Room@Tranzac, 292 Brunswick Ave. Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026. Doors open at 7:00 pm Will Straw will speak in conversation with Professor Paul Moore (TMU)
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
milieux.concordia.ca/event/talk-a...
milieux.concordia.ca
Talk and Book Launch: Nights in Fairland by Will Straw - Milieux
Join the Media History Research Centre for the launch of Nights in Fairland, the latest publication by Will Straw. In its time (the 1920s and 1930s), the New York-based periodical […]
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Good investigative report on Live Nation and event-ticket monopoloies in Quebec. ici.radio-canada.ca/recit-numeri...
ici.radio-canada.ca
Voler le show : la culture québécoise au temps du big business
L'association du géant américain Live Nation à evenko, au Québec, menace-t-elle les petits joueurs du monde des spectacles de musique?
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
The little boy from Murray Harbour, Prince Edward Island, who became "The Wolf of Broadway" in the 1920s. One focus of my new book, out now. www.mqup.ca/Books/N/Nigh...
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
www.eldiario.es/spin/cenas-r...
eldiario.es
Entre cenas, reuniones clandestinas y crímenes violentos: así era la vida nocturna en la antigua Roma
Un estudio arroja información sobre cómo los peligros de la noche influían en la vida cotidiana de la sociedad romana
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
willstraw.com/books-i-read...
willstraw.com
Books I read in 2025
Version 1.0.0 Version 1.0.0 Version 1.0.0 Version 1.0.0 Version 1.0.0 Version 1.0.0 Version 1.0.0 Version 1.0.0 Version 1.0.0 Version 1.0.0 Version 1.0.0 Version 1.0.0
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Reposted by Will Straw
The Media, Inequality & Change Center @miccenter.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
In his recent essay for @ccc-journal.bsky.social, @victorpickard.bsky.social analyzes the capitalist logics at the root of many media-related issues and provides a framework for shifting to a less capitalist, more democratic media system. Read here: buff.ly/AYvibor
academic.oup.com
Eroding the market’s hidden hand: toward a Post-Capitalist media system
Abstract. Media-related problems facing democratic societies around the world today often stem from various kinds of market failures and structural limitat
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Will Straw @wstraw.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Yesterday, I received advance copies of my new book, a contribution to magazine history, LGBTQ+ studies and the history of gossip. www.mqup.ca/Books/N/Nigh...
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