David Warsh wrote a letter to the Boston Globe over the weekend responding to Michael Paulson, who, in turn, was responding to Warsh’s observation — which I think I’m characterizing correctly — that the Globe’s coverage of the pedophile-priest scandal was perhaps more popular with the Pulitzer judges than it was with readers.
Specifically, Warsh objects to being called “insane.”
One point Warsh makes that is undeniable is that the Globe’s relentless pursuit of younger readers has not paid off. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good idea. But by putting so much effort into trying to convert non-readers into readers, the Globe — and many other newspapers — may only have succeeded in the opposite.
My earlier item, with links to Warsh’s and Paulson’s previous salvos.
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Warsh was spot on about keeping the readers you have before seeking new younger ones. (E.g.,they still make Caddys and Chevys but if you want a GM mid-price, you can no longer buy an Oldsmobile or a Pontiac. However, they can’t seem to kill the line bought by the oldest demographic in America: Buick.)