Down Goes WaPo!

The New Republic has a lengthy and withering profile on the decline of The Washington Post. Donald Graham, chairman of the board of The Washington Post Company responded with a letter so tepid and so picayune that it only serves to make the TNR profile all the more damning.

Way to Go!

Planning travel in 2009? You will want to consult the 2009 Washington Post "Way To Go Guide." It contains all kinds of useful tips for everyone ranging from the experienced traveler to the neophyte.

RIP Book World

The rumors are true. The Washington Post is abandoning the Sunday Book World as a stand-alone section and will be integrating it with other sections of the newspaper. This is terrible news for book lovers and especially for those of us who feel that serious writing about books is important.

When I lived in Washington, and whenever I travel there, which is fairly regularly, I have always looked forward to Book World as a staple. It always provided a non-New York centered look at books, and often was every bit as good as its New York Times counterpart, and on some Sundays could be significantly better. Much will be lost in this transition. And virtually nothing gained. I'm not quite in mourning. But I'm also not far from it.

On: The Glory of Newspapers and the Pats' World Dominance

One of the great joys of being on the road and in a major city is the ability to read that city's daily newspaper. We dedidedly do not live in a golden age of newspapers, but almost despite themselves, local papers still provide a sense of a city and its character. More than that, though, is that a world class newspaper (and despite accusations to the contrary and the constant, sneering invocation in some ideological corners of the "Mainstream Media," or MSM, usually for not covering some story that may or may not actually be essential news, or for not covering a story the way the accuser feels it should be covered, there are world class papers in the United States) provides a tactile connection to the world. I can read The Washington Post online every day, and I do. But it is so much better to be able to hold the Post, to flip through it, to let the stories draw you in, to carry it around.

This unintended homage to newspapers is merely my way of directing you to Sally Jenkins' column today in the Post's sports section, which is easily one of the five best in the country. I probably would not have discovered it had I not been flipping through that sports section this morning. It provides the best non-Boston, non-Pats-fan perspective on the various pseudo-controversies swirling around the Patriots these days. It really is a fantastic column.

Now I need to go check out the op-ed pages. And then wash this damned ink off of my hands.