The free weekly tabloid that the paper started in order to reach "younger readers" is now a year old. (See earlier: "Reaching Younger Readers.") After reading it for a year, I've finally realized what it reminds me of. It reminds me of Pippin.
I don't like Pippin.
I've seen three different amateur productions — all of which were seriously lacking Ben Vereen.* And I've seen the movie version with Vereen, which also features lots of Fosse, Martha Raye and the Greatest American Hero. Those are all good things, but I still don't like Pippin.
Pippin is supposedly searching for transcendence, but he has no patience for the good, the beautiful or the true. Take away those things and you're pretty much just left with sex.**
Which kind of explains the subject matter of our weekly rag aimed at "younger readers." It assumes these readers, like Pippin, can't be bothered with art, or politics, or faith. Take off the table any discussion of the good, beautiful and true and you're left with only that other ancient trinity of transcendence: sex, drugs and rock & roll. Substitute "consumer goods" for drugs and that's pretty much where this weekly paper is coming from: Sex, stuff and rock & roll. Only, you know, kind of corporate.
The assumption here is that younger readers are shallow, so a paper designed for them must also be shallow. At some basic financial level, this might make sense. As H.L. Mencken said, no one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people. But it's also possible that insulting the intelligence and aspiration of younger readers may not be the best approach to winning them over. And, in any case, this is not what a newspaper is supposed to be for.
It's disappointing that this idea — the question "what is a newspaper for?" — is now seen as irrelevant or even transgressive or hostile by many of the people now in charge of the business of producing newspapers. Such people have no qualms about trying to maximize their readership by Maxim-izing their content.
Thus our Pippin-esque weekly paper for younger readers.
It's OK at what it attempts, I guess. If you want to know a little bit but not too much about the latest movies and music, or the latest trends or fashions, or any of the other latest things that might help you get laid. And if you have no aspiration higher or other than acquiring lots of the latest CDs, DVDs and clothes and thereby getting laid, then this might be your idea of a good read.
But it's not going to turn you into a reader of newspapers. And it's not going to help you find your corner of the sky.
– – – – – – – – – – – –
* NOTE to community theater directors: If you don't already have the phone number of someone who can sing/dance/act the part of the leading player, then maybe you don't want to be putting on yet another production of Pippin.
** These shouldn't be exclusive categories, of course. Ideally, sex should involve a healthy dose of the good, the beautiful and the true (and vice versa). But you probably shouldn't talk about it in such terms, 'cause that's kind of creepy and a potential mood-killer.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In