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Thu, 8 May 2008
Video: The Future of Reading
Ezra Klein discusses Amazon's Kindle in print and video
By Posted at 09:00 AM
Ezra Klein discusses the cover story he wrote for the May/June issue of Columbia Journalism Review. To read that article, "The Future of Reading," click here.
Tue, 1 Apr 2008
The Grave Dancer
Sam Zell and Tribune's fate
By Posted at 09:00 AM
When the Tribune Company went private in December, Sam Zell completed a deal that many had said he couldn’t get done. Now comes the hard part—staying solvent.
In an unusual two-phase deal, an Employee Stock Ownership Plan set up by Zell borrowed nearly $8 billion on Wall Street to buy all 240 million of Tribune’s outstanding shares, taking the... Read More
Thu, 13 Mar 2008
Red Ink Rising
How the press missed a sea change in the credit-card industry
By Posted at 09:00 AM Comments (3)
One of the paradoxes of the business press is that while everyone should read it, since we all live in the economy, not everyone does. In fact, most people don’t. I suspect, if they look at financial publications at all, they flip through with a sense of disconnect. Forbes, Fortune, the Financial Times, and the agenda-setter for the financial... Read More
Tue, 4 Mar 2008
Happy All the Time
Fox Business Network's populist sensibility is refreshing, sort of, but nobody's watching. Here's why
By Posted at 09:00 AM
On January 4, Wall Street suffered big losses. On my TV, several non-celebrities had a lengthy and lively discussion about what, if anything, the Federal Reserve should do to fix the U.S. economy. The panel was critical of the financial community—which has been badgering the central bank to cut interest rates—for its narrow view of Fed policy. “What’s good... Read More
Tue, 8 Jan 2008
Transcript: "The Language of Strangers"
A town comes together to discuss the role of a community newspaper
By Posted at 09:00 AM
Author’s note: The tape recording of the newspaper meeting began shortly after the meeting started so, regrettably, this document does not include remarks by several community members. In transcribing the tape, I made the best attempt I could to understand each speaker, although at times it was impossible to hear each word. Rather than editing for the written page, my... Read More
The Language of Strangers
How a hotshot editor with big ideas failed to comprehend the soul of community journalism
By Posted at 09:00 AM Comments (5)
Not long ago, a large sign appeared in a pasture by a road not far from where I’m writing this. “Coming soon to this site,” it blared. You saw it and you thought: Oh, please. Not here. As you got closer, though, the smaller print became visible, and the thought was completed: “Absolutely nothing,” it said. This was thanks... Read More
Thu, 15 Nov 2007
If You Build It...
The Journal-Constitution gambles on a digitally driven makeover
By Posted at 09:00 AM
John C. Mellott, the affable publisher of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is moving his forearm up and down like a lever. “This,” he explains, “is the skillful management of a toggle.” Where is a photographer when you really need one? Of course, if I were a “mojo”—“mobile journalist”—for the AJC, I’d have my digital point-and-shoot at the ready, and then... Read More
Mon, 5 Nov 2007
Musharraf's Monster
In Pakistan, independent TV is young, powerful, and biting the hand that fed it
By Posted at 12:00 PM
One evening last June, during an oppressively hot summer in Islamabad, I attended a protest organized by Pakistani television journalists. A fiery stream lit Constitution Avenue—the broad thoroughfare is lined with the state’s most powerful political institutions—as a torch-carrying procession marched past the Supreme Court. The marchers chanted slogans against the military regime of Pervez Musharraf, vowing “endless war,... Read More
Thu, 27 Sep 2007
The Uncle Sam Solution
Can the government help the press? Should it?
By Posted at 09:00 AM Comments (5)
This past spring, the Columbia Journalism Review convened a panel of top editors and a media investor to discuss the somewhat tiresome topic of the future of newspapers. The situation is undeniably bleak. One need merely consult Romenesko, the media-news aggregator, to witness the freefall in circulation, the unending editorial cutbacks, and the closure of foreign bureaus at so... Read More
Tue, 25 Sep 2007
Play (Hard!) Ball
Why the sports beat must evolve
By Posted at 09:00 AM Comments (1)
Last summer, celebrity sports columnist Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote the latest in a series of articles denigrating the Chicago White Sox and its fiery manager, Ozzie Guillen. It was the sort of piece that Mariotti has written forever—when he first arrived in Chicago, the paper advertised their new hire on a billboard that read “Sports With... Read More
