Diary of a Mad Editor

Archive for November 20th, 2008

The Writing on the Wall Pt. 2

You remember that movie, Office Space? Remember that character, Milton and how the boss kept moving him around until he was working in a basement storage room? Well, the great downsizing of American print journalism continues. According to Editor & Publisher, in addition to a buyout of 151 of its reporting and non-reporting support staff, Newark’s Star-Ledger has moved two of its journalists into the mailroom. Can you fucking believe that? The mailroom?!

Here’s my thoughts on this bullshit: Don’t blame New media for killing Old media. This is a death by suicide. Like the auto industry and every other failing industry in the United States, print media is suffering from a supreme lack of imagination, innovation and entrepeneurial spirit. All these buyouts will do nothing to save this industry in the long term — it just drags out the death of the industry. Either make a serious, long term investment in fixing this broken industry — I mean reinvent the fucker or shut it down outright and spare us all the death rattle.

Man with the George Hamilton Tan

standing on top
of his world, man
looks like george
hamilton in godfather
III — a shiny
armani suit, silver
hair and unnaturally
dark skin

he thinks, tanning beds
have a low hum . . .
my home tanning bed
makes a low hum

da dum dum
dum dee dum dee
dum

dumb

he burns other
people’s money
with the best of
‘em

just another
would-be master
of the universe,

golden parachute
attached
to his
golden skin

arms outstretched
and
flapping

like he thinks
he’s superman
and can
fly.

(This is the kind of thing you write at 2 a.m.)