Friday, November 21, 2008

The front page

Since we began here at SemiObama, we have spent a lot of time discussing the covers of newspapers and magazines, despite the fact that newspapers and magazines are losing their grip on American journalism.


As much as we love blogs and watch television, there is still something different about newspapers and magazines that make them crucial when an historical moment happens. We know this, and sales of The New York Times and Washington Post, days after the Obama election, or the cumulative effect of something like this, show how strong an effect the tangible has on us. 

In the case of a long election that ended in history, the need for the tangible may be overwhelming. Television news was thrilling, reading the blogs surprisingly less so, but reading the newspapers and the commemorative magazines, though decried as cynical by some observers, gives people a sense that something real has happened.

--J.S.


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