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Tuesday, September 19, 2006

The worst of Times

Posted by on September 19 at 10:52 AM

This morning’s New York Times has the weirdest ad spread for … itself. The thing is a 24-page standalone section with only the words “THESE TIMES DEMAND” on the front, and the natural follow, “THE TIMES” on the inside page, with the claim, “In the following pages—and in the months ahead—we will introduce you to reporters who don’t simply cover a story; they uncover it.”

In the months ahead, there will be more spreads like these? Because this one alone seems rather desperate, confirming some of the doom-and-gloom reportage in this recent Vanity Fair story, “Panic on 43rd Street.”

OK, maybe the prediction of the Times’s demise is radical. But it’s worth considering what exactly goes down if the Times goes down. The good news is that, judging from this advertising spread, the fine arts have nothing to lose. The bad news is that the reason why is that there are no fine arts in the Times.

Across the 24 pages, we get splashy promotions of two film critics, a rock critic, a pop critic, a jazz critic, and the editor of the “style” magazine, T, but nary a mention of an art, theater, or classical music critic, writer, or editor.

What these times don’t demand, it seems, is anyone who can write thoughtfully about any cultural product besides movies, popular music, shoes, and home furnishings.


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The New York Times is the most important Newspaper in the world. It has been and always will be. As I Jew I find any criticism of The New York Times anti-semitic. Only people like Mel Gibson criticize The New York Times.

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