Ernie:
I had the good fortune to tune in to C-Span at just the right time to watch / listen to two very worthwhile interviews. The first was with a couple in Santa Monica who run a small publishing company that specializes in books about Southern California. I had to marvel at what, it would seem, is their ideal marriage, both interested in the subject of the books they bring to market and fascinated with the many people they deal with, especially authors. And, of course, their mutual interests perfectly compliment their feelings for each other. They also made the point, in passing, that the market is always changing. They mentioned Rodeo Drive, which had scores of shops that doubled as tourist destinations -until the Great Recession hit. In the space of a year or two, half the stores were gone. Yet there is always something new that follows... The other interview was with LA Times reporter, Patt Morrison, a woman who has just written a new book about the history of newspapers in the US; it is called "Don't Stop the Presses." Several things she said were most interesting. Yes, I had to agree that reporters are not the enemy of the people that Donald Trump claims they are. And she is right to point out that reporters have traditionally provided a valuable service to the community, everything from discussing business opportunities in a city to warnings about high crime neighborhoods, to reports about church activities and about sports results and election returns. But she missed the entire thrust of why the public now distrusts newspapers and the news media generally. It is a truth she refuses to admit because, so it seems to me, she simply cannot bring herself to look objectively at biases among her peers in the press. It may be that reporters still serve their communities but other journalists, those who write opinion pieces, lie through their teeth day in and day out. This may not be overt but it takes form as dismissing as unworthy of fair treatment the views of the non-elite, the views of "rubes," the views of religious people, the views of conservatives, etc., and especially the views of independent-minded non-conformists who do not buy into majority anything. Journalist bias also consists of practices that lionize the marginalized groups that the Left regards as the wave of the future, everyone but white people, and, of course, males are the enemy and women are special even when they aren't and even when they may be true-believer ideologues or otherwise are bundles of prejudices. Still, Ms Morrison's comments were useful in other ways. She made the observation that newspapers were wildly successful in their heyday when they provided services that no-one else could offer. Like daily bulletin boards for sales of various & sundry, viz the Want Ads. Which, of course, is now a problem because of Craig's List and other online services. Morrison admitted that the newspapers did not understand the implications of the Internet and, consequently, lost badly as the web gobbled up significant slices of their turf. However, and there are other problems with today's newspapers, Morrison also brought home the point that the story of the death of newspapers is premature. They may yet invent their way out of the mess they now are in. The question all of this raises, it seems to me, is this: "What can the newspapers offer, something of obvious value, that no-one else can offer?" I will let one cat out of the bag because, if I was to launch my own newspaper it would be obvious from day #1 and no non-newspaper could match it: MAPS. Granted that this is not a market for 100% of the population, but what is? 10% of the population would be very good and this has far greater potential than that. What maps? Remember how USA TODAY got off to a rousing start with full-page full -color weather maps? "Everyone" was talking about this feature. Those maps put the paper "on the map" so to speak. Maps are best, by far, when they are large, as large as possible. Maybe with 50 inch computer monitors and really deluxe home printers such maps could be made accessible to home or business users, but in terms of economy of scale and marketability a newspaper is ideal. Think of a daily insert, full double page, as large as a road map and done professionally, full color. Sorry, but those little maps available via 5" mini-screens are pure nothing in comparison. What kinds of maps? Could be just about anything. The important thing is quality and attractiveness. something of obvious value. But how about: A map showing, in detail, every island of the Thousand Islands area of upstate NY Who would be interested? Everyone who thinks of "faraway places with strange sounding names," for starters. Appeal to American wanderlust. But also of interest to tourists and chambers of commerce and travel agents and so forth. That is for just one issue. Other issues might feature ghost towns of the Southwest, or obsolete place names, all kinds of familiar cities and towns but not by current names, identified, instead, by place names that were changed in the past. Or a map of current long distance bus routes still in operation in the US. A map of environmental problems or dangers. A map showing drive-in movie theaters across the USA. A map locating airports around the country. A detail map of Silicon Valley, ideal for hanging on your wall, one of those creations that shows little pictures of buildings or parks or landmarks. ----- So much for maps. What else can be presented full page, in a newspaper? Posters. Classic posters ideal for use in a store to provide a decorative motif, for example. All anyone would need to do is wait a couple of weeks for a different poster; than another 10 days or so, for still another, and so on. Maps would also be occasional, not every day, say 3 or 4 days per week. For 2 days each week there would be posters. Some might be new, created for 2019, and these could highlight, for instance, the fresh approach of a special artist. Vintage advertisements. Tourist posters. etc --------------------------------- What else? Charts, especially flow charts with multiple branches. Are you building a house or a store? I have seen flow charts that contractors use for major property developments. They are works of art as well as loaded with valuable information. They let you know exactly when the concrete company will show up to pour the sub floor, when the electricians will arrive, the plumbers the roofers, the landscape people, and so forth,. But all you need is a list? Like hell. Construction jobs are multi-dimensional and a lot happens every 24 hours, sometimes 4 or 5 sub-contractors on the site on a given day. These kinds of charts are ideal for organizing your time. You can see it all, at once, and if desired, there is sufficient detail such that you can focus in one some one thing, like the work of people laying tiles, and see exactly where it fits with everything else. You simply cannot do this with a computer. This should be sufficient to get the idea across, viz, a popular newspaper "centerfold." About which, why not do an actual centerfold now and then, say a gorgeous pix of a wedding in Israel, the bride wearing Yemeni fashions -which, BTW, are utterly stunning. Or how about the sexiest women in politics in Europe or India or Japan or Brazil? Sure, you can see a small picture via your computer, but the idea is something so good you want to hang it on your wall and show it off to guests. Something tangible, long lasting, of obvious value. ------------------------------------------- That is, it would be a great mistake to write off older technology As Arthur Clarke once said, there now are more sailboats in the world than at any time in history. Today's sailboats had to be redesigned but once this was done, they had a great future. I have the feeling sometimes that this is sort of like the 1984 election during a debate between Mondale and Reagan. The subject of age was brought up. Said RR, "I'm glad you mentioned this matter. And I want you to know that in no way will I make an issue out of my opponent's youth and inexperience." Who won the election? Hint: It wasn't Mondale. But, but, but, computers are the only conceivable future? Uhhh, no. For sure, computers will, forever be part of our future, but all of the future? Not a chance. For example, they would be very useful in helping to produce new kind of newspaper that solves the problem of newspaper relevance. Billy Editor-in-Chief. -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
