Thursday, August 21, 2008
News / Chicagoland Raising the RedEye Flag
Posted by Whet Moser on Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 12:47 PM
Just try to sneak it by me when I'm on vacation, why don't you:
RedEye editor to lead day-to-day operations of Chicago Tribune as managing editor.
I know the tempting reaction is total revulsion, but Jane Hirt clearly isn't as stupid (or as behind the curve) as cover stories on dudes who shave below the neck would suggest. As I've argued before, RedEye is structurally brilliant--it's an actual, total commuter paper, not just a daily newspaper that's convenient to handle on the bus. It's a true structural innovation that will only seem more revolutionary over time. And the deep-space vacuuity (current headline, I shit you not) of its content and the miraculously consistent sheen and cynicism of its tone speak to McDonalds/Coke/Kraftlike commitment to quality control.
Which is a roundabout way of saying that even if you think RedEye is apocalyptically horrible, you cannot deny that they do what they intend to do every day and deserve points for execution. Whether or not they (Joe Knowles is moving to a position under Hirt) can shift gears from the crack cocaine, or more accurately the gas-soaked paper bag*, of print journalism and maintain the execution while elevating, um, everything else, is really the challenge. At least I think it is, but I am wrong a lot, and sic transit gloria.
*"She understands audiences and how to satisfy them": Damn, we are a long way from afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted. I suppose RedEye is as far as you can get from that before you turn into Cook County Magazine.
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Posting anonymously because I don't want to be seen as currying favor with the new boss: Jane Hirt is very, very bright and innovative ... took a tough assignment and crafted just the publication her supervisors wanted and then some. I'm pretty confident that she'll bring that intelligence, energy and innovative spirit (back) to the newsroom, but that she understands very well that Blue ain't Red and that her mandate is different. At the very least doubters and critics should wait and see (and recognize that the coming redesign will be orchestrated by many, including her supervisiors)
Underestimate Jane Hirt. Please. Just go ahead and do it. She's smart. She understands how a newspaper works. She's an insanely hard worker. And she brings an energy that is infectious, something LONG missing on the Blue side. So, please, go ahead and discount her. The Sun-Times tried to and has been getting killed by her.
While some very talented and dedicated folks who've recently left Mother Trib are already greatly missed, energy and fresh air is desperately needed after AML. (There are still some egotistical FOAMs/hacks who should take the hint and leave.) Hirt has indeed done her job well and curried favor with the sups. And she should fit in well with the youth-oriented culture that has taken over the Tower. Still, RedEye is a blatantly dumbed-down rag with a limited appeal to commuting Millenials. Suburban soccer moms and retirees are the biggest Trib subscriber base. Can Hirt make the jump to a broader audience? More importantly, can she keep Gerry Kern at bay while giving ad side a product they can sell? ("Why yes, Gerry, I'm sure we can keep every story to less than eight inches.") That'll be the real test.
Is "dumbed down" another way of saying "I hate ordinary people who work for a living," Communist homosexual? And you wonder why America hates the Communist homosexual MSM, why the New York Post is America's fastest-growing newspaper and why Fox News Channel is THE MOST POWERFUL NAME IN NEWS!
Hmmm...Nope, I'm pretty sure "dumbed down" is just a short way of saying that the aforementioned publication offers only 1/100th of the available information about any issue in a format that relies on frequently incomplete graphics and inane slang to put forth its message. Said publication's appeal is extremely limited to a demographic that considers sparkly things and spoonfed information preferable to actually having to use their reading and analytical skills. And no, actually, I don't wonder about anything you mentioned. Except perhaps: 1)I've never met a communist homosexual -- all the LGBT folks I know make far too much money to be communists. What do they look like? 2)I thought Jon Stewart was the most powerful name in news. He's not?
Must be nice to act exactly like your parents did, aging Boomer elitist snob. Just what is it you Boomer journalists hate about the key demographics that advertisers want? Why do you worship the senile old farts and attack the young, vibrant and creative? Why do you hate our free enterprise system and love Communism so much? Maybe if the Tribune started focusing on the demographics advertisers want and stopped pandering to the senile old farts, it would be making money and people wouldn't be laid off.
Wait, I thought the Commies were the elitism fighters and conservatives were the fighters of low-brow, anti-intellectual mediocrity. How did I have it backwards all these years? I'm so confused. I don't even know which side I'm supposed to be on any more. But it does alter how I view the Olympics. Michael Phelps: 8-time elitist!
"The Sun-Times tried to and has been getting killed by her." Really? You're sure it's that and not the fact that RedEye *gives away their product for free*?
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