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Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Housekeeping Editor's Note

Posted by Christopher Frizzelle on Wed, Mar 6, 2013 at 9:00 AM

We're observing Slog silence from now until 11 a.m. while we have an editorial meeting, but look—we made an entire paper's worth of stuff for you!

Spring has sprung, and all kinds of new ideas are popping into our heads around the offices of The Stranger. It's like the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, only instead of cherry blossoms, the air is full of the fruits of our brainstorming! This is our 1,066th issue of The Stranger, and it's a testament to the journalistic diversity of our weekly offerings: From art reviews to music reviews, from historical pieces to this-just-in news breaks, each of this issue's winning articles represents its own particular slice of genre. From the down-and-dirty truth-telling of Savage Love to our exhaustively comprehensive (and exhausting to produce!) spring arts edition of our quarterly magazine A&P, I know you'll find something sweet in the pages ahead.

About four months ago, an infection resulting from a perforated eardrum started catching up with me, possibly caused by scratching the inside of my ear with an unclean pen cap. While my doctor, who happens to be one of Seattle's 107 best otolaryngologists, was vacuuming out my ear one afternoon on First Hill, we were talking about the unceasingly critical Public Editor column that usually runs in this spot, and he said, "It's like pouring negativity directly into readers' minds." That pretty much took all the credibility out of the Public Editor column for me (thanks, Dick!). Ever since then, I've been thinking about how I can help readers get their fix of introductory text to a given issue without being so darn Gloomy-Gus-ish. Not that we're averse to kicking up a little controversy now and then!

Of course, Seattle is well-known for its panoply of quality print publications—for a whiff of the way Seattle media is lighting up the literary map, just take a stroll through the Editor's Notes that kick off the content in Seattle magazine, Seattle Metropolitan, City Arts, or D-List. That cutting-edge copy clicked on a lightbulb in my head: Every great publication has an Editor's Note—except The Stranger! After running the idea up the flagpole to see if it would stick, every member of my staff said that only an Editor's Note would be able to stir the passions and challenge the cultural assumptions people make about The Stranger. If you're hungering for more of that "Stranger tone" you're used to instead of my own upbeat take here, don't worry: This issue, like every other issue of The Stranger, is a tantalizing journey into the lives and opinions of our writers. After all, our content creators are really what make this paper tick.

I hope you enjoy our new issue and this new side of The Stranger. Get ready for a great spring, and don't forget to buy an extra pair of party pants. You're going to need them.

Christopher Frizzelle
Editor, The Stranger

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Comments (30) RSS

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I wasn't sure if this was satire until I got to the "content creators" line.

Dom, Cienna, Charles, and all the good little boys and girls down at The Stranger are excellent folks, but I have a feeling that if you actually called any of them "content creators" to their face they would feed you to feral, hipster chihuahuas

Posted by psbirch on March 6, 2013 at 9:28 AM

buried...alive...in....bulshit...help.....me....so..much...bullshit....

Posted by Cato the Younger Younger on March 6, 2013 at 9:34 AM

Delicious. So good to be in touch with one's inner Julie Andrews.

Posted by The Accidental Theologist

on March 6, 2013 at 9:35 AM

I have all the party pants I need, thank you very much.

Posted by seandr on March 6, 2013 at 9:36 AM

When I saw the photo and the signature my first thought was that Frizzelle was dead or dying.

Posted by tee hee on March 6, 2013 at 9:37 AM

Love this. Three lines in I was thinking: This has got to be a parody of Seattle Magazine. Now I want to see Slog readers write letters to the editor along the lines of Seattle mag readers.

Posted by mitten on March 6, 2013 at 9:52 AM

That is one schmaltzy-ass photo. The signature is a nice touch.

Posted by Puty on March 6, 2013 at 9:52 AM

1066 and no mention of the Norman Conquest?

Posted by el ganador on March 6, 2013 at 9:53 AM

Guys, as if this is the REAL Christopher Frizzelle...another hilarious Stranger faux review!

And what does he have against regular commenter Gloomy Gus??

Posted by ArtBasketSara on March 6, 2013 at 9:53 AM

That photo needs more razzle dazzle. Here's some inspiration:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/whitneyjefferson…

Posted by UNPAID COMMENTER on March 6, 2013 at 9:56 AM

Let Gloomy Gus be critical
But we'll be Pollyanalytical.

"Lose That Long Face", Ira Gershwin/Harold Arlen

Posted by gloomy gus on March 6, 2013 at 10:01 AM

I see those "Bark less, wag more" stickers, and think Seattle needs one that says, "Bark less, whine more." Put your sorry's in a sack Seattle.

Posted by biffp on March 6, 2013 at 10:08 AM

Positivity is a lie.

Posted by LMcGuff

on March 6, 2013 at 10:14 AM

Channeling Graydon Carter, nice.

Posted by Superjivus on March 6, 2013 at 10:14 AM

The photo is so beautiful.

Posted by GWRAD on March 6, 2013 at 10:20 AM

The photo is sheer genius. Love the giant signature too. You approve this message!

Posted by Fnarf

on March 6, 2013 at 10:48 AM

I really liked how you got Charles to write this.

Best parody ever!

Posted by Will in Seattle

on March 6, 2013 at 11:00 AM

We may have the same ear doctor.

ALSO I WANT MY NEGATIVITY BACK. I NEED IT. The next Public Editor column should be written by your perforated eardrum.

Posted by icouldliveinhope on March 6, 2013 at 11:21 AM

just found this in the new Seattle Magazine editor's note, can't be a cooincidence...

"About a year ago, hereditary cholesterol issues started catching up with me and I gave up cheese, after my doctor told me, “It’s like pouring fat directly into your veins.” That pretty much took all the fun out of it (thanks, Marti!)" ...

Posted by librarycactus on March 6, 2013 at 11:38 AM

Here's the link: www.seattlemag.com/article/sugar-coated-…

Posted by librarycactus on March 6, 2013 at 11:40 AM

"running the idea up the flagpole to see if it would stick". I love this.

Posted by katrat

on March 6, 2013 at 11:52 AM

I flew into a mini-rage reading this post.

Posted by Gern Blanston on March 6, 2013 at 12:07 PM

"The result is a tantalizing journey into the lives of jet-setting Seattleites… For another whiff of the way we are lighting up the cultural map…"
--Seattle Met, http://www.seattlemet.com/editors-note/a…

Posted by hahahahaa on March 6, 2013 at 12:09 PM

I cannot tell if this is heart-felt or satire. What does this mean? Am I a bad person? Has my sense of irony so consumed me that I'm unable to openly accept anything at face value?

Thanks for ruining my morning with an identity crisis.

Posted by eclexia on March 6, 2013 at 2:11 PM

@19,23
Thank you, anonymous trolls, for restoring my faith in sarcasm!

Posted by eclexia on March 6, 2013 at 2:14 PM

I miss A. Birch Steen. That was some grade A snark. The replacements here on SLOG have never been as good.

Posted by Reverse Polarity on March 6, 2013 at 2:42 PM

New Sincerity is New Coke.

Posted by gttrgst on March 6, 2013 at 3:35 PM

I learned two new things today! First, I learned that if you comment on a story through the front page link, your comment does not show up on the Slog version.Then I learned what "pwned" means, thanks to someone's reply to my first comment.
Which was: "I love Public Editor, and I miss A. Birch Steen dearly. I can't tell if this new column is intended as sarcasm, or not. It sounds like something out of the Eastside Scene magazine. I know change is inevitable, but please don't change too much, we love you as you are, Stranger!"

Posted by BallardBoy on March 6, 2013 at 4:20 PM

Gloomy Gus is my favorite commentor on Slog.

Posted by M. Wells on March 6, 2013 at 4:47 PM