Thursday, December 11, 2008

Blah blah Blagojevich



Via my fellow former Chicagoans at The Daily Swarm. And hey, how about a bailout for the Tribune? This Minneapolis editorial makes a case for newspapers' continuing relevance as necessary watchdogs. Just as the automobile manufacturers need to change their products to keep up, so does the print media. If only they realized their job is not to compete with the Internet, but concentrate on those things print does best: in-depth reporting and investigative journalism--photo journalism, too, while we're at it. Ironically, the antique format The New Yorker has clung to all these years (while simultaneously keeping up a big Web presence) turns out to be the most pertinent. There's no question art looks better in art magazines than on the Web, and if we're going to read criticism (which has a responsibility now more than ever to define art for our times) we shouldn't be sitting in front of the computer, but on the couch with a glass of wine. Art in America's redesign takes this into account, and Marcia Vetrocq, in her January editor's letter, promises to bring the magazine up-to-date on the Web with "market reports, updates on exhibitions and events, interactive features, reviews and more." Hopefully this will ultimately include what would be most valuable: an archive.

1 comment:

CAP said...

What about in front of the computer with a glass of wine? On a big screen, some of those JPEGS can look mighty good (much bigger than even AF or AiA).

But I agree the AiA makeover is really looking good. I've never paid much attention to their website, but the idea of hiving off quick news and figures in the market to the website seems sensible - make more room in the hard copy for what, as you say, is done best by hard copy - extended reads.