I hold in my hand my last Newsweek. A thirty year relationship ends this week.
Some people may view a weekly newsmagazine as an anachronism. Others may feel that a magazine subscription is a wasteful expenditure. And there are people who could never find the time to commit to reading a weekly. None of those apply to me.
I am not dropping Newsweek in favor of an online publication. I tend to print long articles from the New York Times and other publications when I find something of value online. I’m willing to spend the money on books or magazines to read at my leisure. And yes, I make time to read, to learn, and to understand what is happening both here in the States and around the world.
No, I am dropping Newsweek because Newsweek has abandoned me. The magazine that I hold in my hand more closely resembles the gossip rags one finds on the racks by the grocery store check-out and in doctors’ waiting rooms than the comprehensive newsmagazine I read and loved.
Tina Brown, Editor in Chief of Newsweek and The Daily Beast, is attempting to convert her online site into a tangible ink and paper publication. Instead of pictures enhancing articles, we now have copy explaining pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. Ads are up. Content is down. The magazine assumes that we have the attention span of a beagle. Paragraph. Paragraph. Squirrel!
I miss the great writers and thoughtful, in-depth reporting. There are weeks that I have scanned this version in less time than it would have taken to read a Fareed Zakaria article.
So good-bye Newsweek. Thank G-d I still have Esquire.
Try Playboy for your articles !!
David,
When the Daily Beast acquired Newsweek, it was just a matter ot Time before Newsweek became Newsweak. Time has stood the Test of Time. Thank G-d they Fareed Zakaria.
No Names Please
Howard: you READ Playboy?
Michael: Yes, thank G-d indeed.
Paragraph, paragraph, squirrel. It’s the Facebookization of print, and it won’t work. There’s a place for print journalism in the future – particularly weeklies or monthlies with in-depth, long-form reporting and interpretation – but this isn’t it.
I subscribed to the New Yorker for several years, but I found I couldn’t keep up with it. At any given time I’d have an eight issue backlog, and I’d end up skimming.
Esquire has always been my magazine when I need a long intelligent read.