I have always loved newspapers and so it pains me to see my hometown San Francisco Chronicle struggling, like a ship without a captain. They’ve reduced the page size, are printing on glossy stock (big deal!), they’ve consigned their brilliant columnist Mark Morford to their website (here), they have no Voice.
However, here’s one thing they’re doing right: partnering with Dave Eggars (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius), a newspaper lover, who is publishing (via his McSweeney’s publishing house):
“• A 120-page broadsheet, including a 48-page news section, 24 pages of arts, 16 pages of sports (an 8-page sports section and an 8-page special World Series section featuring Stephen King), 16 pages of comics, and a 16-page food section
• A 112-page magazine
• A 96-page books section
• Pull-out posters
A bunch of writers and artists “…use their creativity to unleash the full potential of a daily newspaper? The result is San Francisco Panorama, a unique publication filled with breathtakingly innovative features and sections.”
You can order a copy ($16) from McSweeney’s.
