Books A Quarter Less Insight
posted by on July 7 at 15:22 PM
From the book editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
Dear Colleagues,For three years, it’s been my joy to help unleash your opinions upon the world, or at least the corner of it in northeast Ohio. Thank you for making the books pages one of the smartest, most diverse, liveliest and unpredictable sections of The Plain Dealer.
Starting this Sunday, July 6, that joy is reduced by 25 percent. The pages are being cut to one and one-half. Nobody following the news biz can pretend to be surprised, but all of us can be sad, just the same.
The most important part of this email, however, is to stress that a reduction of 25 percent still allows us a passing grade, especially if we spend the real estate we do have more wisely.
The Plain Dealer has a really good books page. In fact, I think it’s probably the best part of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The letter ends with a request that people e-mail the Plain Dealer with requests to keep their book section at the size it is presently. Regardless of the glee that some people are taking in the print media’s demise, it’s sad that editors have to beg for letter-writing campaigns to convince people that their sections are important and relevant.
Screw paper, put it online. We need more decent journalists online, to offset the cut-and-paste wannabes at every online blog from Gawker to Gothamist.
Well, she doesn't have to beg for me to notice that it's important and relevant. But I never would have thought to look at the Plain-Dealer if you hadn't posted this, and I will now, so thank you.
@1: I really think there's something to be said for paper (especially when the Plain Dealer's webpage is so narrow and ugly) but I do think book review sections that are having their print allotments cut would be well-served to post more reviews online (maybe with a notice in the print edition of what books are reviewed online).
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