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| Illustration by ComedyBeat |
Comedy Beat launches signature Web site
New York, NY (ComedyBeat.com). ComedyBeat, a start-up entertainment news service, launched its signature ComedyBeat.com Web site on Jan. 17, 2010, the 304th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Franklin. The site provides original news stories, reviews, blogs and aggregated articles covering the comedy industry, from stand-up, film, television, cabaret and theater to education and labor issues.
The launching is the most logical next step for company co-founder Eddie Vega. While a student at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, he published several news articles about stand-up comedy from a business perspective and discovered an underserved market.
“There was no one publication that focused on the comedy industry,” Vega said. “The stories were all over the place, mostly in the entertainment or arts sections of newspapers or lost in general trade journals that did not focus on the subject of comedy but rather on specific industries like theater and film that sometimes did something with comedy.”
After completing the journalism program, Vega joined forces with co-founder Carl Unegbu, a Columbia alumnus who has a private law practice in Manhattan. They are equal partners in the venture. "There are so many stories crying to be told," said Unegbu, and "we are here to tell them."
Recognizing the growing importance of social media, they enlisted Diane Vacca, a colleague from the Columbia journalism program, to increase ComedyBeat's visibility. Vacca covers local issues for Community Media on Manhattan's West Side, including the theater district in Hell's Kitchen and the clubs in Chelsea. "In these uncertain times, comedy is essential, and we're here to help in every way we can."
Joining ComedyBeat as contributing editor is Carla Baranauckas, a member of the adjunct faculty at Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. A longtime observer of the comedy scene, she has previously worked for The New York Times, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald. “Let’s face it,” she said, “in these tumultuous times, the people who make us laugh are more important than ever and certainly worthy of news coverage.”