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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Nov. 25, 2005
/ 23 Mar-Cheshvan, 5766
Extra! Extra! Read All About You!: Pandermonium strikes the newspaper industry
By
Gene Weingarten
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
My column today is about you personally, and about how cute your cat is. Or dog. Or, if you don't have a pet, it is about your kid, who is the smartest and best-behaved child I've ever known, unless your child is an adult, in which case you should be very proud of all he has accomplished. Or she.
Wait. Hang on a minute. Gotta get a grip here. We newspaper journalists are getting a little desperate for readership these days. The newspaper industry is undergoing a period of strategic self-appraisal, which is a business term for "blinding terror." Every day, newsrooms across the country are hearing about declining circulation, and this always seems to come as a shock. We journalists a famously skeptical and analytical group of people just can't seem to understand why people aren't buying as many subscriptions as they once did, and are instead reading our online versions, which we give away free.
The Web, in general, seemed to take newspaper publishers by surprise. They knew that they had to become a part of this bold and exciting new technology, on the theory that they'd eventually figure out how to make it pay. They are still trying to figure it out. (When they do, it will be a big story, which they'll immediately post on their Web site for maximum readership.)
Me, I'm not that personally worried about declining circulation. As the comics pages alone amply demonstrate, there will always be a market for infantile humor. No, I'm more worried about the things that newspaper editors are trying to do in an effort to stop the decline in circulation. Editors seem to believe that the way to attract more readers is to be nicer and more responsive to them, reversing a hallowed, hundred-year tradition in which journalists treated readers like fungi. Back in the crusty old days when newsmen gargled scotch from tankards, smoked cigars as thick as bratwurst and pistol-whipped sources into talking readers were essentially seen as nuisances. When a reader came into a newsroom with a complaint, he would be sent from desk to desk, finally being directed to the "complaints department," which turned out to be the fourth-floor urinal.
Today, if you have a complaint, the publisher himself will come to your house, apologize, wash your car, do your dishes, and so forth. Desperate, is what we are.
Desperation often leads to disaster. Some months ago, the Los Angeles Times tried a grand experiment in which it permitted readers to actually add their own commentary to the paper's online editorials. This worked splendidly for a whole, entire day, with thoughtful people posting erudite, respectful observations, until the porn began. By day three, when the experiment was discontinued, the vaunted online Latimes.com editorial page looked like the sort of Web site advertised with subject lines like HOTT BU$TY V*XENS PERFORRRM WTH L!VE GO*ATS ON V!A!G!R!A.
Just the other day I learned of something even more disturbing. To show how much it values its readers' viewpoints, the Spokane (Wash.) Spokesman-Review has begun a program called the "transparent newsroom." The editors invite the public to news meetings, encouraging them to watch and even participate as the editors discuss the news of the day, their plans for coverage, etc. With no disrespect to the members of the public you know who you are I think this is a terrible idea. If a horse produced by a committee comes out looking like a camel, a horse produced by a committee that is being assisted by well-intentioned, earnest, helpful, highly opinionated members of the public who happen to have this kind of time on their hands, if you know what I am saying, would come out looking like a . . . like a . . . like a . . .
"a wildebeest!"
I am quoting Doug Clark, who is a metro columnist for the Spokesman-Review. I'd phoned Doug and asked him to finish my simile. All kidding aside, though, I figured that, as a team player, Doug must be pretty doggone proud of his newspaper's new policy of openness. I asked him for his view of the transparent newsroom.
"My view? Well, I try not to look that way," he said. "It's a little to my right, so if I just look straight ahead, I can avoid ever having to see it. All I see is my old movie poster for something called the 'Cattle Queen of Montana.' Ronald Reagan is in the background, and Barbara Stanwyck is in front with her hand on a six-gun, and the poster reads, 'She strips off her petticoats and straps on her guns!' I prefer focusing on that. I can get all the inspiration I need right there about how to deal with the public."
Okay, maybe there's hope.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Gene Weingarten writes the Below the Beltway humor column for The Washington Post. To comment, please click here.
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