Of Dying Fishwraps and the Future

The Former Fishwrap of Record AKA THE OLD GRAY HAG ON SPRING STREET thinks Joseph Mailander of Street Hassle is laughing when he takes them to task for their abyssmal election coverage this season.  In reality, Joseph is crying.for the Times that was and the Times that could have been.  In the meantime, like Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, the Times is waiting for it's close up that will never ever come again.

Speaking of the Times that could have been and speaking of Joseph Mailander, check out an excellent op-ed piece that could have been, In LA Mayor's Race, Democracy Lost.  It pretty much sums up why people are simultaneously turned off to politics and local fishwraps.

Still speaking of dying fishwraps, tech writer Leo Laporte on his radio show this morning discussed the rapid termination of local newspapers.  A huge shot across their bows was the debut of Craig's List, an online source for classified ads that are free or nearly free, and which made the wants pretty much go the way of the phone book.  Couple that major loss of revenue with slanted coverage and the wraps are soon toast.  One option - Leo suggests that the New York Times save itself from certain death by cutting the print edition and giving a free Kindle to paying digitial subcribers.  The Kindle is the quarter inch thick "e-paper" wireless internet device produced by Amazon.com that allows users to read digital content without a computer.