“In most rich countries, the old distinction between high and popular culture is breaking down… Millions more people are going to museums, literary festivals and operas; millions more watch demanding television programmes or download serious-minded podcasts.” As Philippe de Montebello likes to say, “the public is a lot smarter than anyone gives it credit for.”
Tag: 2008
The Death Of Newspapers: It’s Not Journalists’ Fault
“When the obituaries are written for America’s newspapers, count on journalists to indict themselves in their own demise… We could have saved ourselves, goes the refrain, if only we had been more creative and aggressive and less risk averse. To which I can only reply: Oh, please… Newspapers are in trouble for reasons that have almost nothing to do with newspaper journalism, and everything to do with the newspaper business.”
Truth in Vocabulary
To clear up any confusion, author Chris Offutt has assembled a glossary of modern literary jargon. E.g., “short story: An essay written to conceal the truth and protect the writer’s family”; “chick lit: A patriarchal term of oppression for heterosexual female writing”; “deconstructionism: A moderately successful attempt by the French to avenge the loss of Paris as the global center of literature.”