[lbo-talk] The Nation and brain death

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Sun Feb 21 17:45:38 PST 2010


On Feb 21, 2010, at 4:21 PM, SA wrote:


> I wonder if KVH is influenced by these people:
>
>
> http://www.inthesetimes.com/main/print/5583/
>
> Beyond Pale, Male and Stale
> Why ‘legacy’ progressive media must reinvent themselves to remain
> relevant.
> By Jessica Clark and Tracy Van Slyke February 17, 2010
>
> To reach out to and sustain relationships with so-called "minority
> users," progressive media makers need to move beyond their core
> white audiences (pale), reach out to women and queer communities
> (male), and stop being so serious all the time (that is, wonkish,
> humorless, and stale).

Well, KvH herself isn't male, nor is another top editor, Betsy Reed. It is rather white, except for the columnists Patricia Williams, Gary Younge, and now MHL. KvH has no interest at all in humor - any witty or otherwise striking turn of phrase is edited out.

But really, what's the political content of this sort of demographic analysis?

And "legacy," really? I've heard that applied to applicants to elite universities and software written in Cobol, but it's fucking dumb applied to publications with a history and some sort of influence. "Their expertise lies in their personal experience, background, and passion, which are reflected in the tone they adopt to communicate with their users—a tone that appeals because it represents an authentic and accessible voice, one that relates a shared identity and experience." Activistism in a new guise?

Doug



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