[abb]

GONE WITH THE WIND - 2007

"There was a land of Publishers and Editors called the Newspaper Business... Here in this pretty world Journalism took its last bow... Here was the last ever to be seen of Reporters and their Enablers, of Anonymous Sources and of Stringers... Look for it only in books, for it is no more than a dream remembered. A Civilization Gone With the Wind..."

With apologies to Margaret Mitchell...

[abb]

Ping

[weegee]

Media Schadenfreude and Media Shenanigans PING

Message from the ivory tower:

Don't bother sending anything to that e-mail address below -- because I don't care.

That address on the bottom of this column? That is the pathetic, confused death knell of the once-proud newspaper industry, and I want nothing to do with it. Sending an e-mail to that address is about as useful as sending your study group report about Iraq to the president.

Here's what my Internet-fearing editors have failed to understand: I don't want to talk to you; I want to talk at you. A column is not my attempt to engage in a conversation with you. I have more than enough people to converse with. And I don't listen to them either. That sound on the phone, Mom, is me typing.

[WideGlide]

Joel Stein is a sanctimonius bed-wetter.

[trisham]

Where does this end? Does Philip Roth have to put his e-mail at the end of his book?

*************

Hey, Joel! Guess what? Quite a few authors list their e-mail addresses these days. Welcome to the 21st century, Luddite.

[george76]

Sinking readership and revenue, because of biased and mediocre reporting, is finally taking its toll ...

[ClearCase_guy]

It seems that Mr Stein has no interest in hearing what I have to say. Fair enough. I can't force him to listen to me, and I don't even want to.

But why do I get the idea that if I tell people not to subscribe to his fishwrap, that he may berate me for trampling on his First Amendment rights?

[ibheath]

Hey, I can respect the honesty in that column.

[Tamar1973]

I actually found the article quite humorous. LOL! (This comes from someone married to a journalist and who went to journalism school herself) : )

[Hawthorn]

Wow! How the blogosphere is going to have fun with this one!

[KarlInOhio]

First of all, I did a tiny bit of research for my column,

And not one bit more.

A lot of e-mail screeds argue that, in return for the privilege of broadcasting my opinion, I have the responsibility to listen to you. I don't. No more than you have a responsibility to read me. I'm not an elected servant. I'm an arrogant, solipsistic, attention-needy freak who pretends to have an opinion about everything.

I haven't seen arrogance like this since GM, Ford and Chrysler in the 1970s - and I expect that the results for the MSM will be the same but faster.

[bkepley]

I was always shocked that people who write columns *do* seem
to care so much about flame mail. They must have grown up post-usenet.

[SteveMcKing]

"Joel"

[gcruse]

" A piece of work that stands on its own, without explanation or defense, takes on its own power.'

Grafitti comes to mind.

[Luke Skyfreeper]

Thanks for your refreshing honesty, Joel.

In that same spirit, please let me assure you that you needn't be worried about receiving email from me anyway, since I basically never read the s--- you write, and don't give a f--- about your opinion anyway.

[TChris]

I predict that we will soon hear a "solution" of a taxpayer-supported MSM. It would be something like the ACLU, where there is no accountability to go with the money.

I can hear it now: "The MSM provides such a vital service to the country, we simply cannot permit it to fall to vicious market forces."

[Adder]

"I don't want to talk to you; I want to talk at you. A column is not my attempt to engage in a conversation with you. I have more than enough people to converse with. And I don't listen to them either."

And that is why you are going to be looking for a REAL job, you arrogant a$$wipe.

[tobyhill]

Publicity stunt because he really is irrelevant.

[King Moonracer]

Don't bother sending anything to that e-mail address below -- because I don't care. I'm too stupid to filter email.

[Nathan Zachary]

Sounds like Santa didn't think he was a very good boy, and now he's taking a tantrum.

[Cheburashka]

A piece of work that stands on its own, without explanation or defense, takes on its own power.
---
Dear Mr. Stein:

I think I can safely say that nothing you have ever written, are writing, or ever will write has, is, or will ever take on a power of its own. Ever.

This is why you are writing for a media that is destined to be thrown in the trash the next morning. If you're lucky.

Choke, Turn Purple, and Die,

Cheburashka