The Work of the News
Just the facts, Jack
Once upon a time, people read newspapers and magazines to learn what happened. Now they read them to get mad.1
Over on X, I watched as a poster I knew held an impromptu press conference and solemnly announced he was canceling his various subscriptions. The Atlantic, New Yorker, New York Times, Washington Post — all of them gone. He wasn't trying to punish anyone, he claimed. He was just done.
Writers notice these things. We study how people consume the stories we create. The subscription business fascinates those of us who make our living selling words. Many of us don't subscribe to the publications we write for, much less any others. Getting high on your own supply clouds the judgment.
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