Having recently been dumped by Time, I naturally had great hopes for this week's much-anticipated makeover of Newsweek. Both surviving newsmags (US News is said to exist still in some form, but no one I know has seen it lately) are in an Internet panic like that affecting newspapers. Newsweek has always been a bit faster on its feet. But judging from its first issue, the new Newsweek is not going to be the instrument of my revenge, alas.
In his editor's letter--one of many traditional newsmagazine features that have survived the scythe of change--Jon Meacham says, "We are not pretending to be your guide through the chaos of the Information Age," which concedes a lot of ground from the get-go. Why not at least pretend? Why else would people pick it up, let alone subscribe? The newsmags face a choice. Actually, they've faced it since long before the Internet. Should they try to provide a complete picture of what happened last week? Or should they stop worrying about that and hope to find appeal in trends, service pieces, fine writing, muckraking exposes, provocative argument, and other traditional non-news magazine fare? Whenever they have an existential crisis--and this is not the first--they always make the wrong choice.
Meacham--a very smart and thoughtful guy, which in my experience is not necessarily true of all newsmagazine editors (all two, that is)--actually says that his model is "the great monthlies of old" like Harper's and Esquire. He says the building blocks of the new Newsweek will be "two kinds of stories": the "reported narrative" and "the argued essay." So what's wrong with that? Well, to start, those grand old monthlies at their primes had a smaller paying readership than Newsweek has at its supposed nadir. So duplicating their greatness could be a pyrrhic victory. Furthermore, while it's not impossible to get readers by peddling sheer enjoyment, it's a lot easier to peddle necessity, or at least usefulness: You need this magazine to sort out the world for you and to make sure you haven't missed anything. In short, you need it to be your guide through the chaos, as Meacham so eloquently describes what he intends to avoid. And when something like the Internet comes along to make the chaos even more chaotic, you need your trusty guide more, not less. Possibly the dumbest slogan ever for a newsmag was one used briefly by Time a few years ago: "Make time for Time." Make time for Time? Who has that kind of time? If you can convince people that reading Time will save them time, then you may have a deal.
That said, Meacham's vision of a magazine full of exciting narrative and provocative arguments isn't terrible, if he could pull it off every week. Sadly, though, he has been defeated by what Mikhail Gorbachev used to call "the approaches of the stagnation period." He says he wants "provocative (but not partisan) arguments." Which would be what? "Let's paint the Capitol dome dark brown"? Or, "Try cooked carrots--they're not too bad"? It's not easy to be provocative if you're looking over your shoulder for the partisanship police. But Meacham's problem is more basic than that: The new Newsweek, judging from the first issue (which Meacham calls "a model of the form"), bizarrely resembles the old Newsweek more than the new Newsweek Meacham describes. It is cluttered with departments and headlines and labels and tiny features, all of which imply some hierarchy or order in the editors' minds, but only add to the chaos in the readers'. Its longer pieces follow all the stale conventions of newsmagazine prose.
What, for example, is this graphic on the letters page? Why, for that matter, is there still a letters page? It's the first page of content you come to. Five one-paragraph comments on the issue published two weeks ago--room for little more than a thumbs up or down. On the Internet, thousands of people have their say immediately and at length. And then a self-parody: "Your thoughts on swine flu" –the cover story two weeks ago--"in six words." Hali McGrath of Berkeley, California, submitted, "Blah, blah, swine flu, blah blah." And Newsweek published it.
But back to the graphic. It lists what I guess are five articles from the issue two weeks ago, each attached to a percentage. A thin line heads east from the second item ("16% ‘The Path of a Pandemic'"), turns south, and ends up at a pie chart (38% neutral, 21% positive, 41% critical). A tiny footnote says, "Does not add up to 100 due to letters received on other topics." Oh, I get it, I think. This is a breakdown by topic of letters--letters!-- received about the issue two weeks ago, plus a breakdown of one topic (possibly the cover?) by approval. So now you know that twice as many people who wish to comment on "The Path of a Pandemic" than those who wish to comment on "Tom Daschle and Mitt Romney on Health Care" know where to find a stamp. Fascinating.
But enough about a two-week-old issue of Newsweek. Let's talk about a four-week old issue of Newsweek. The next page of editorial content is an "update" by the author of Newsweek's month-old cover story about former New York governor Eliot Spitzer. It discusses important ethical issues such as whether, in reporting that he and Spitzer had gone jogging together and Spitzer had pooped out, he should have mentioned that he is 20 years younger. Also, whether Newsweek, in publishing the original article, was wrongly participating in Spitzer's rehabilitation. "I didn't write about the process," he writes, "because I thought readers would find the story of private citizen Eliot Spitzer far more interesting than they'd find the story of how Newsweek journalist Jonathan Darman got the story." He'll know better next time. But is this article a "reported narrative"? Or is it a "provocative (but not partisan) argument"? Hard to say. The next page (labeled "Top of the Week") is Meacham's apologia (or is it a mea culpa, or maybe a cri de Coeur?). That means the first three pages of content in the new Newsweek are about Newsweek.
The next page of content is headlined "Scope," with the explanatory subhead "news, scoops and the globe at a glance," which is pretty much what Meacham had said Newsweek was not going to cover anymore. But never mind the headline. Most of the page is a picture of Miss California in a white bikini. I know she's Miss California because of a quote from Donald Trump just over her right shoulder, with the added information that he had "allowed [her] to keep her crown." Her breasts are covered by a table of contents of the Scope section. These contents include "InternationaList" (short dispatches from foreign parts; no list that I can see); a source-greaser (flattering profile of a figure who may prove useful) about CIA director Leon Panetta; something called the "Indignity Index," described as "an unscientific appraisal of dubious public behavior" (comedian Wanda Sykes gets a 12 for a rude joke about Rush Limbaugh, Keifer Sutherland gets a 68 for some kind of unpleasant encounter at a party); a short, serious essay by Melinda Gates about building institutions in underdeveloped countries to help poor people save money; and so on.
I say "and so on" as if there is some pattern or similarity here. But the only thing these various features have in common is nothing more about Miss California. It's been said that the test of a newsmagazine is whether you would grab it if you'd been trapped in a coal mine for a week and had one hour to catch up. And after a week trapped in a coal mine, perhaps an hour with a picture of Miss California in a bikini will be more useful than any explanation of why she's in the news. But the new Newsweek maintains the same irritating practice as the old one of half-explaining, which is no use either to those who already know the story or to those who don't.
For example, on the "Perspectives" page (quotes of the week) is a quote--"He's lanky, smart, tough, a sneaky stealth soldier"--identified as "Maj. Gen William Nash on Lt. Gen Stanley McChrystal, who was tapped to replace Gen. David McKiernan as head of U.S. operations in Afghanistan after McKiernan was asked to resign from his post." Got that? Through this blizzard of brass, we can discern the shadows of a story about Afghanistan. Maybe we should know all about it. But do we? In situations like this we used to rely on newsmagazines to help us bluff. But this quote is no help at all. The story seems to be about McKiernan's resignation, but the quote is about his successor. And what good is it to know that he is "lanky"?
My favorite feature in the Scope section, and possibly in this entire issue of Newsweek, is called (for no special reason that I can determine except for a failed attempt at a pun) "The Reign of Spain." And it consists of a handsome chart comparing the unemployment rate in Spain in December 2007 and in March 2009 with the unemployment rates in other countries on those same dates. Why Spain? Why those dates? Why these other countries? Newsweek's entire explanation: "Unemployment in Spain is soaring as the country sheds thousands of low-skilled jobs."
Next comes a section called "The Take," apparently a ghetto for Newsweek's columnists, who used to be sprinkled through the magazine. Reading six columnists right in a row might ordinarily be heavy slogging. But in this case the force and originality of their arguments and the beauty of their prose overwhelm any qualms. In fact, this magnificent section goes a long way toward justifying the entire misbegotten project. And I don't just say that because three of the six columnists are former colleagues of mine here at The New Republic. Or perhaps I do say it for that reason. Or is it the full-page photo of Fareed Zakaria in a white bikini that has numbed my critical faculties?
And so we progress to "Features," which seems to be longer articles on myriad subjects, many written by outsiders (Michael Bloomberg, Tina Brown…), who are prized because they bring an independent luster. Also, you don't have to give them health care. But the section's lead story is the magazine's cover story: an essay about and interview with President Obama by Meacham himself. This kind of thing was a staple of the old newsmagazine, and it follows strict rules. It always opens with an anecdote or telling detail that flaunts the magazine's access to the great, and illustrates whatever the point of the piece was supposed to be. Disappointingly, Meacham's reinvented Newsweek has not abandoned this stale formula.
Foreshadowed by the weak cover headline--"Obama on Obama"--Meacham's own opening anecdote is comically lame, reduced to using the temperature to gin up a bit of phony drama. Well, it seems that "last Wednesday, in the gathering cool of late afternoon," Obama was about to get on Air Force One to fly "to the heat of Arizona." He saw "a small crowd of schoolchildren and military personnel gathered with cameras and homemade signs" and went over to shake their hands. That's it, except for one more weather report: When he turned back to board the plane, "a breeze blew--and everyone scurried anew, to keep up with him."
Another piece in the issue--I guess it's supposed to be a "reported narrative … grounded in original observation and freshly discovered fact"--is about curing autism. "It's spring in Washington," the piece begins, "and Ari Ne'eman, with his navy suit and leather briefcase on wheels, is in between his usual flurry of meetings." It's spring in Washington. That doesn't seem to qualify as either an "original observation" or a "freshly discovered fact." Nor does it have any apparent relevance to the story that follows. Could it be a "provocative (but not partisan) argument"? And what about that blue suit? I have news for Newsweek: Washington is the blue suit capital of the world. Let's give them the leather briefcase on wheels.
I could go on. But you should buy a copy of the current Newsweek and judge for yourself whether the "argued essay" you have just read is "grounded in reason and supported by evidence." Don't forget to cancel your subscription to Time while you're at it.
Michael Kinsley is a former editor of The New Republic and the editor, most recently, of Creative Capitalism: A Conversation with Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Other Economic Leaders
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COMMENTS (121)
Great piece. Now that Time has "dumped" the K Man, can TNR PLEASE take him back? Just dump Kirchirk.
Great piece. Now that Time has "dumped" the K Man, can TNR PLEASE take him back? Just dump Kirchirk.
rantilicious!
rantilicious!
blah blah Michael Kinsley whines and bitches as usual blah blah
blah blah Michael Kinsley whines and bitches as usual blah blah
Ehh-hmmm Mr Kinsley your "Time" is showing. Perhaps you need to lighten up?
These days a sense of humor is more important than ever.
But just to keep the record straight I also submitted these "6 Word Thoughts"
Are you saying Newsweek isn't allowed to have a sense of humor?
For the record I also submitted these -
viral news
more scary
than virus
Obama says
"What? Swine Flu?
Seriously?!"
Ehh-hmmm Mr Kinsley your "Time" is showing. Perhaps you need to lighten up?
These days a sense of humor is more important than ever.
But just to keep the record straight I also submitted these "6 Word Thoughts"
Are you saying Newsweek isn't allowed to have a sense of humor?
For the record I also submitted these -
viral news
more scary
than virus
Obama says
"What? Swine Flu?
Seriously?!"
Well destroyed, sir.
Well destroyed, sir.
David Denby is *not* going to be happy with this snarky garbage, Mr. Kinsley.
David Denby is *not* going to be happy with this snarky garbage, Mr. Kinsley.
Too long; didn't read.
Too long; didn't read.
Hali McG: um...who exactly is it that doesn't have a sense of humor?
Hali McG: um...who exactly is it that doesn't have a sense of humor?
Here everyone, Wonkette has summarised this quite well so you don't have to spend your time reading it:
"So, Michael Kinsley apparently got fired from Time, and spends 2,000+ words in The New Republic bitching about how he doesn’t like the redesigned Newsweek, because he was hoping to move his column there, to get revenge on the editor of Time."
You're welcome, everyone! And remember, Mikey, snark only works when it's funny. This is just sad.
Here everyone, Wonkette has summarised this quite well so you don't have to spend your time reading it:
"So, Michael Kinsley apparently got fired from Time, and spends 2,000+ words in The New Republic bitching about how he doesn’t like the redesigned Newsweek, because he was hoping to move his column there, to get revenge on the editor of Time."
You're welcome, everyone! And remember, Mikey, snark only works when it's funny. This is just sad.
Such is my fate, to finally make it into the prestigious club of folks mentioned on a TNR blog, only to have it only be as a means of taking potshots at Newsweek. Tragic! Oy vey zmir! ;)
Such is my fate, to finally make it into the prestigious club of folks mentioned on a TNR blog, only to have it only be as a means of taking potshots at Newsweek. Tragic! Oy vey zmir! ;)
Obnoxious review aside -- and this one was unecessarily shrill -- I had my own doubts about a revamped Newsweek. Time seriously disappointed with their redesign a couple years back, and I figured Newsweek would not offer up anything different. Weekly newsmagazines out of NYC jumped the shark a long time ago.
Also, I watched Jon Meacham this week struggle to describe the mag's new direction to Charlie Rose the other night on Rose's show. Me and Charlie were unconvinced.
Obnoxious review aside -- and this one was unecessarily shrill -- I had my own doubts about a revamped Newsweek. Time seriously disappointed with their redesign a couple years back, and I figured Newsweek would not offer up anything different. Weekly newsmagazines out of NYC jumped the shark a long time ago.
Also, I watched Jon Meacham this week struggle to describe the mag's new direction to Charlie Rose the other night on Rose's show. Me and Charlie were unconvinced.
Very funny piece. It's touching to read all 6 of Newsweek's readers defend their beloved newsmagazine in this comments section.
Very funny piece. It's touching to read all 6 of Newsweek's readers defend their beloved newsmagazine in this comments section.
I'll always remember this particularly bitchy quote of Michael Kinsley's: “It’s a healthy democratic instinct to enjoy seeing the mighty fall, whether the mighty deserve it or not...Reagan’s comeuppance is democracy’s salvation...Dry those tears and repeat after me: Ha. Ha. Ha.”
So, Michael was dumped by Time. HA HA HA!
...
I'll always remember this particularly bitchy quote of Michael Kinsley's: “It’s a healthy democratic instinct to enjoy seeing the mighty fall, whether the mighty deserve it or not...Reagan’s comeuppance is democracy’s salvation...Dry those tears and repeat after me: Ha. Ha. Ha.”
So, Michael was dumped by Time. HA HA HA!
...
Readers of Wonkette are in no position to judge the quality of snark
Readers of Wonkette are in no position to judge the quality of snark
Half of Newsweek's staff appears to moonlight on far left wing MSNBC. This gives consumers the impression Newsweek condones the reek emanating from Olbermann, Maddow, Schultz, Matthews, Gregory, etc.
What does Newsweek expect? Of course consumers are canceling if you look like you are part of the MSNBC tripe.
Half of Newsweek's staff appears to moonlight on far left wing MSNBC. This gives consumers the impression Newsweek condones the reek emanating from Olbermann, Maddow, Schultz, Matthews, Gregory, etc.
What does Newsweek expect? Of course consumers are canceling if you look like you are part of the MSNBC tripe.
I know it's a ghastly thought for all you pompous liberals in the media - but here - suck on this
NOBODY REALLY CARES MUCH ABOUT ALL YOUR OPINIONS. THATS WHAT CHANGED NEWSPAPERS - THEY USED TO REPORT BUT NOW ARE HELD HOSTAGE TO EGO-MANIACAL EDITORS WITH AGENDAS (see the den of socialists at the NYT).
Sorry to rudley inform you little trollops, nobody is willing to pay you much, if any, for your vapid opinions. WRITERS PAY WILL DROP BY HUGE LEAPS THE NEXT 5 YEARS (and you socialist pigs will be crawling all over each other for 1/2 what you made in 2004 - how delicious).
You should all look toward Arianna Huffington, everybit as ruthless a businessperson as Dick(oh my god!) Cheney.
Her business m ... view full comment
I know it's a ghastly thought for all you pompous liberals in the media - but here - suck on this
NOBODY REALLY CARES MUCH ABOUT ALL YOUR OPINIONS. THATS WHAT CHANGED NEWSPAPERS - THEY USED TO REPORT BUT NOW ARE HELD HOSTAGE TO EGO-MANIACAL EDITORS WITH AGENDAS (see the den of socialists at the NYT).
Sorry to rudley inform you little trollops, nobody is willing to pay you much, if any, for your vapid opinions. WRITERS PAY WILL DROP BY HUGE LEAPS THE NEXT 5 YEARS (and you socialist pigs will be crawling all over each other for 1/2 what you made in 2004 - how delicious).
You should all look toward Arianna Huffington, everybit as ruthless a businessperson as Dick(oh my god!) Cheney.
Her business model does not pay - it's a vanity site, and let's face it, that's perfect for little mama's boys like MK. That's all he has ever been anyway - a vanity act whining at the moon. A happy MK? NEVER!!
PROFESSIONAL WHINER
PROFESSIONAL WUSSY
TYPICAL PUDDIN' HEAD LIBERAL.
Hey, all you guys didn't like the world with rich people - wait till you get a glimpse of what is next without them. Who do you think was supporting your arrogance to look askance at others and drive your agenda's?
I am so looking forward to seeing you guys try to get a real job.
Oh, the humanity.
THE PRESS DOES A FULL LEWINSKY ON OBAMA
I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING A FEW TART REPLIES FROM ALL OF YOU LIMP-WRISTED BELTWAY JERKS. It is comforting to know the only thing you will ever oversee is your keyboards and your own fetid fantasies.
cheers...gene wiley
Wow. Not one word about the horrible new font face they chose to use? The entire magazine looks like slick advertising content now.
Wow. Not one word about the horrible new font face they chose to use? The entire magazine looks like slick advertising content now.
The new Newsweek is indeed as bad as what Newsweek had become. I guess the magazine publishing world has room for only so many Obama propaganda sheets. Newweek should either be a news weekly or a New Republic competitor and not try to do both.
The new Newsweek is indeed as bad as what Newsweek had become. I guess the magazine publishing world has room for only so many Obama propaganda sheets. Newweek should either be a news weekly or a New Republic competitor and not try to do both.
Wait, I don't get it. Kinsley is snarky about Newsweek because he got bounced from Time?
Wait, I don't get it. Kinsley is snarky about Newsweek because he got bounced from Time?
Holy nitpicking, Michael Kinsley.
You deride Newsweek for saying, "We can't outrun the Internet" - saying they should at least try. But then you go in all the ways that Newsweek takes the time to reflect on itself, accusing it of not being forward looking (like the Internet). Well, which is it? Pick an argument and stick to it, for God's sake.
You attack the Darman piece because...why, exactly? It allows readers to take a look into the journalistic process? Because it gives more attention to Spitzer? No, you attack it because - holy of holies - Darman made an aside about running.
All that and more lead to an article filled with nitpicking of little details and asides, contradictory arguments th ... view full comment
Holy nitpicking, Michael Kinsley.
You deride Newsweek for saying, "We can't outrun the Internet" - saying they should at least try. But then you go in all the ways that Newsweek takes the time to reflect on itself, accusing it of not being forward looking (like the Internet). Well, which is it? Pick an argument and stick to it, for God's sake.
You attack the Darman piece because...why, exactly? It allows readers to take a look into the journalistic process? Because it gives more attention to Spitzer? No, you attack it because - holy of holies - Darman made an aside about running.
All that and more lead to an article filled with nitpicking of little details and asides, contradictory arguments that failed to look at the big picture.
You know what I thought when I finished your article?
'No wonder you got fired from Time.'
Kinsey loses some credibility by infusing the review with so much personal anger, and using the opportunity to take cheap potshots at TIME, but the new Newsweek is indeed unbelievably terrible.
Indeed, I cannot for the life of me tell the ads from the content, the indulgent amount of white space just looks pointless, those THE TAKE essays look so similar (slight, almost nonexistent graphic at top and miles and miles of text on white space) that it makes me want to read NONE of them.
But as a pop culture addict, I at least thought the four-page American Idol piece would be interesting, but it was RIDICULOUS. Here it is, in a nutshell.
IDOL 1: Hey, yo, how are you.
IDOL 2: Cool, and you?
THA ... view full comment
Kinsey loses some credibility by infusing the review with so much personal anger, and using the opportunity to take cheap potshots at TIME, but the new Newsweek is indeed unbelievably terrible.
Indeed, I cannot for the life of me tell the ads from the content, the indulgent amount of white space just looks pointless, those THE TAKE essays look so similar (slight, almost nonexistent graphic at top and miles and miles of text on white space) that it makes me want to read NONE of them.
But as a pop culture addict, I at least thought the four-page American Idol piece would be interesting, but it was RIDICULOUS. Here it is, in a nutshell.
IDOL 1: Hey, yo, how are you.
IDOL 2: Cool, and you?
THAT WAS IT FOR FOUR PAGES! "Reported narrative, grounded in original observation and freshly discovered fact that illuminates the important and the interesting"?!!! I had to check the date to make sure it wasnt April 1.
Wow. Just a sad Wow.
Blah, blah, nutroots trolls in the comments, blah, blah, rama lama ding-dang-dong.
Blah, blah, nutroots trolls in the comments, blah, blah, rama lama ding-dang-dong.
So the new "Newsweek" doesn't want to be partisan? That will be a welcome change (but not likely to happen). Newsweek has been a left-wing, socialist rag for decades.
So the new "Newsweek" doesn't want to be partisan? That will be a welcome change (but not likely to happen). Newsweek has been a left-wing, socialist rag for decades.
Toast: Yes, I noticed that as well. The font and use of color make the content look like a special advertising section. I noticed that many of the ads used a font very similar to the new headline font. Way too trendy.
Toast: Yes, I noticed that as well. The font and use of color make the content look like a special advertising section. I noticed that many of the ads used a font very similar to the new headline font. Way too trendy.
The NEW Newsweek STINKS! My subscription is history....
The NEW Newsweek STINKS! My subscription is history....
I totally agree that Save Time By Saving Time ought to be Time's new motto.
I totally agree that Save Time By Saving Time ought to be Time's new motto.
I found the issue quite inspiring in a Keystone Kops sort of way, with a vibrant half time spirited pep talk by the editor for his losing team and then they swing open the doors of the locker room and coach yells, "Let's go get 'em with provactive nonpartisanship!" and we immediately bump into a scantily clad full-page color photo of Miss California, the new Trumpette.
I found the issue quite inspiring in a Keystone Kops sort of way, with a vibrant half time spirited pep talk by the editor for his losing team and then they swing open the doors of the locker room and coach yells, "Let's go get 'em with provactive nonpartisanship!" and we immediately bump into a scantily clad full-page color photo of Miss California, the new Trumpette.
Seriously, take a look before you knock M.K.'s remarks; they're actually very restrained. European edition p.40, out of nowhere a boxed instruction to turn the page, (a thought which by p.40 has probably already occurred to many readers): "NEXT" (complete with helpful arrow to show which direction to turn said page)"On The Hunt For Joseph Kony". Turn over and there Mr Kony is. Once more on p.47: "NEXT" (+ arrow), but this time there's a clever twist: "Why Bow to China by Christian Caryl" isn't there, or anywhere. This issue is treasure trove of such gems.
Seriously, take a look before you knock M.K.'s remarks; they're actually very restrained. European edition p.40, out of nowhere a boxed instruction to turn the page, (a thought which by p.40 has probably already occurred to many readers): "NEXT" (complete with helpful arrow to show which direction to turn said page)"On The Hunt For Joseph Kony". Turn over and there Mr Kony is. Once more on p.47: "NEXT" (+ arrow), but this time there's a clever twist: "Why Bow to China by Christian Caryl" isn't there, or anywhere. This issue is treasure trove of such gems.
Didn't TNR have a letters section in its print edition until really recently? Did TNR get rid of it just in time to mock Newsweek's letters section? I like the letters section -- they should bring it back.
Didn't TNR have a letters section in its print edition until really recently? Did TNR get rid of it just in time to mock Newsweek's letters section? I like the letters section -- they should bring it back.
What is one to make of this? Obviously this guy is unhappy. He's been fired from so many jobs I can't keep count; but he's always failed upwards. That's a talent in and of itself. If Newsweek or Time is on the table in the waiting room at the dentist’s office, I'll look at it. Otherwise who in their right mind wood pay six bucks for this irrelevance?
What is one to make of this? Obviously this guy is unhappy. He's been fired from so many jobs I can't keep count; but he's always failed upwards. That's a talent in and of itself. If Newsweek or Time is on the table in the waiting room at the dentist’s office, I'll look at it. Otherwise who in their right mind wood pay six bucks for this irrelevance?
The school of "weather reporting," not to be confused with Weather Report or even The Weather Channel, was atmospheric smoke and mirrors brought to the mainstream first by Theodore White, then late of time.
You could look it up.
You ought to take a shot at Slate--and you ought to look back at your original concerns about timeliness and other issues online. Online journalism was a total mystery to you, jus as reinvention is to Meacham. Your perspective would be useful now and in retrospect. I think you would have been the first to admit that, like Meacham in print, you have not figured the damn thing out.
Best, The Con Man!
The school of "weather reporting," not to be confused with Weather Report or even The Weather Channel, was atmospheric smoke and mirrors brought to the mainstream first by Theodore White, then late of time.
You could look it up.
You ought to take a shot at Slate--and you ought to look back at your original concerns about timeliness and other issues online. Online journalism was a total mystery to you, jus as reinvention is to Meacham. Your perspective would be useful now and in retrospect. I think you would have been the first to admit that, like Meacham in print, you have not figured the damn thing out.
Best, The Con Man!
"Great piece. Now that Time has "dumped" the K Man, can TNR PLEASE take him back? Just dump Kirchirk."
Hire Kinsley, promote Kirchik banish chadM.
"Great piece. Now that Time has "dumped" the K Man, can TNR PLEASE take him back? Just dump Kirchirk."
Hire Kinsley, promote Kirchik banish chadM.
@gene wiley -- Really?? Aren't you just talking about yourself? Your writing style and over use of CAPS hint at mediocrity. You obviously don't know how to make a point with your intellect and must resort to YELLING? (psst....that's what caps are for.) Were you meaning to yell?
Your post just looks like someone threw letters at the screen, which could be used as a metaphor to describe your impotent outrage....all jumbled and lack of direction. All those words and not one paragraph break!?
Can I ask you a question? How do you feel about gypsies? Or, Jews for that matter? Just curious.
Aren't YOU just upset that you can't get ahead by just being average? Or, white and male? (Not that M ... view full comment
@gene wiley -- Really?? Aren't you just talking about yourself? Your writing style and over use of CAPS hint at mediocrity. You obviously don't know how to make a point with your intellect and must resort to YELLING? (psst....that's what caps are for.) Were you meaning to yell?
Your post just looks like someone threw letters at the screen, which could be used as a metaphor to describe your impotent outrage....all jumbled and lack of direction. All those words and not one paragraph break!?
Can I ask you a question? How do you feel about gypsies? Or, Jews for that matter? Just curious.
Aren't YOU just upset that you can't get ahead by just being average? Or, white and male? (Not that Michael Kinsely is great, he's not. He's better than bad, but not by much.) Sorry, we're looking for someone a little more talented. And while we are all moving ahead and doing better and better, you'll be trying to justify your tired way of thinking of cursing the next person who does better than you. That bothersome sensation that something is amiss is called Cognitive Dissonance. Google it.
Sorry, Gene, if you comments meant to incite, they didn't work. They just make us feel sorry for you, your significant other and any offspring you may have. Not to mention your gay lover. :-)
Newsweek is still in business? Who knew?
It is kind of reassuring to see that Obama is on the cover, though...hadn't seen him in a while, and you begin to wonder if he's okay.
Newsweek is still in business? Who knew?
It is kind of reassuring to see that Obama is on the cover, though...hadn't seen him in a while, and you begin to wonder if he's okay.
I picked up Meacham's book about Andrew Jackson at an airport kiosk to read while traveling. The first 30 pages were so inanly repetitious, indicating an unbearable lightness of writing, I left it at the hotel and read 'In Style'for the trip home.
I picked up Meacham's book about Andrew Jackson at an airport kiosk to read while traveling. The first 30 pages were so inanly repetitious, indicating an unbearable lightness of writing, I left it at the hotel and read 'In Style'for the trip home.
What is killing the media is not the Internet - it's advertising. Advertising has mutated from a useful notice of new products to a pathological quest for ever diminishing returns. And the media are bought up by investors interested only in having a platform to host their advertising, which is their real interest. You might have a viable news magazine if it were run by someone who wanted to run a news magazine and be content with it earning a profit. But if its principal mission is to earn advertising revenue and appeal to the demographics that advertisers want to reach, it will inevitably fail.
What is killing the media is not the Internet - it's advertising. Advertising has mutated from a useful notice of new products to a pathological quest for ever diminishing returns. And the media are bought up by investors interested only in having a platform to host their advertising, which is their real interest. You might have a viable news magazine if it were run by someone who wanted to run a news magazine and be content with it earning a profit. But if its principal mission is to earn advertising revenue and appeal to the demographics that advertisers want to reach, it will inevitably fail.
I think Michael is terrific. I cannot believe he was fired by Time Magazine (now should I cancel my subscription?).
Let's face it, all magazines and newspapers are caught up the crushing economics of our time. I still love newspapers and magazines, as long as the journalist has a brain in their head. My local Florida papers are all AP wire copy and pretty lame article about nothing, so it's a no brainer that they should go down with the ship, but Time and Newsweek were once our greatest magazines. I still like them both, but they are getting as slim as I am.
Whatever Michael Kinsley has to say, I will listen. He is brilliant and funny - and pragmatic (and I went to elementary schoo ... view full comment
I think Michael is terrific. I cannot believe he was fired by Time Magazine (now should I cancel my subscription?).
Let's face it, all magazines and newspapers are caught up the crushing economics of our time. I still love newspapers and magazines, as long as the journalist has a brain in their head. My local Florida papers are all AP wire copy and pretty lame article about nothing, so it's a no brainer that they should go down with the ship, but Time and Newsweek were once our greatest magazines. I still like them both, but they are getting as slim as I am.
Whatever Michael Kinsley has to say, I will listen. He is brilliant and funny - and pragmatic (and I went to elementary school with him).
In the immortal words of David Duke:"Kinsley, you cheap little worm". Or, as Pat Buchana says:"Kinsley is whar democrap women think is a mans man" Weasle.
In the immortal words of David Duke:"Kinsley, you cheap little worm". Or, as Pat Buchana says:"Kinsley is whar democrap women think is a mans man" Weasle.
I received this ridiculous mag again this month; i have called several times to stop my subscription, but the magazine still arrives at my door and I throw it out. Why do you ask? Because I am tired of seeing the president on the cover. I don't see how you can be making money if people are not paying for the magazine.
I received this ridiculous mag again this month; i have called several times to stop my subscription, but the magazine still arrives at my door and I throw it out. Why do you ask? Because I am tired of seeing the president on the cover. I don't see how you can be making money if people are not paying for the magazine.
Who IS Michael Kinsley?
I thought He was Dead.
Hey Michael the world passed you by
Who IS Michael Kinsley?
I thought He was Dead.
Hey Michael the world passed you by
If Obama is on the cover, I am not buying or reading the magazine. In fact, I wouldn't pay that price for a magazine I liked. Let me know how this works out for them.
If Obama is on the cover, I am not buying or reading the magazine. In fact, I wouldn't pay that price for a magazine I liked. Let me know how this works out for them.
Of course, the main reason for the decline of newspapers and magazines is the internet. But...I still think the significant increase in political bias of the print media has played a role. They really don't report political news as much as they try to shape public opinion by slanting their coverage.
I subscribed to Newsweek for years...but had to cancel last year as I just couldn't take it any more. The rag was nothing but a cheerleading poster for Obama...it was so ott it was almost a parody.
So circulation has tanked and Meacham tries something new. IMO he should just rename the thing "Obamaweek" and be done with it. He would at least guarantee himself a reliable (albeit tiny) audience.
Of course, the main reason for the decline of newspapers and magazines is the internet. But...I still think the significant increase in political bias of the print media has played a role. They really don't report political news as much as they try to shape public opinion by slanting their coverage.
I subscribed to Newsweek for years...but had to cancel last year as I just couldn't take it any more. The rag was nothing but a cheerleading poster for Obama...it was so ott it was almost a parody.
So circulation has tanked and Meacham tries something new. IMO he should just rename the thing "Obamaweek" and be done with it. He would at least guarantee himself a reliable (albeit tiny) audience.
Lanky!
Lanky!
I didn't realize people took Newsweek or Time this seriously.
I didn't realize people took Newsweek or Time this seriously.
I spent 2 1/2 years in Eastern Europe and one of the massive benefits was a free subscription to Newsweek. The version they publish over there is so bizarre and radical with a distinct anti-American leaning designed to appeal to their reader of that area that I realized finally that no, it isn't a news magazine, it's a rag. And frankly I no longer need somebody to tell me about something that happened last week anymore. I know about it today.
Good luck to them. I'm sure they have decent people that need the job.
I spent 2 1/2 years in Eastern Europe and one of the massive benefits was a free subscription to Newsweek. The version they publish over there is so bizarre and radical with a distinct anti-American leaning designed to appeal to their reader of that area that I realized finally that no, it isn't a news magazine, it's a rag. And frankly I no longer need somebody to tell me about something that happened last week anymore. I know about it today.
Good luck to them. I'm sure they have decent people that need the job.
Sounds like a bunch of sour grapes from someone living in publishing's past. When the media decided that they were they story, instead of reporting on the story - they lost relevancy and became just another opinion rag. The media's suck-up to Obama during the campaign was proof positive of the loss of any claims to objectivity or journalistic professionalism. So the magazines die - who cares, other than those who were on the payroll?
Sounds like a bunch of sour grapes from someone living in publishing's past. When the media decided that they were they story, instead of reporting on the story - they lost relevancy and became just another opinion rag. The media's suck-up to Obama during the campaign was proof positive of the loss of any claims to objectivity or journalistic professionalism. So the magazines die - who cares, other than those who were on the payroll?
My mom told me about Henry Aldrich, Fibber McGee's closet, and The Shadow. I tell my kids about Time and Newsweek.
My mom told me about Henry Aldrich, Fibber McGee's closet, and The Shadow. I tell my kids about Time and Newsweek.
Obama on Obama? Isn't this what we get every time he steps up to the teleprompter? Why would anyone want to read this?
Obama on Obama? Isn't this what we get every time he steps up to the teleprompter? Why would anyone want to read this?
Gosh that was good!!!
Gosh that was good!!!
A lot to do about nothing... dude, get a life. Hoe your garden, buy a dozen pencils with erasers on both ends, whatever it takes to stfu.
A lot to do about nothing... dude, get a life. Hoe your garden, buy a dozen pencils with erasers on both ends, whatever it takes to stfu.