Douglas E. Jessmer

OK, there’s two things on my mind. One is resolutions, which I’ve never made (and if so, not seriously) until, well, this year. The other is those pesky end-of-the-year retrospective sections and pages many of us have to churn out every year about this time.

Let’s start with the resolving. A few weeks ago, I started a diet, which is something I’ve never even contemplated. The wrong time to start a diet is when I did — two weeks before Christmas. Low sugar, low fat, high suck.

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I’ve been a fan of The Wall Street Journal for some time now.

And it should be required reading — because if you really want to know what’s going on, you have to follow the money. If you haven’t looked at the Journal lately, well, you should. Heck, keep reading my drivel here and you’ll find good reason to check it out.
I used to subscribe to the Journal, back when I lived in Pittsburgh and in Sarasota, and stopped it only because it was stacking up, unread. (I was only scanning the “What’s News” columns, and felt guilty.)

Well, my point is that for one day, there’s no need to feel guilty. The Journal’s going to make itself available for free Jan. 2, for one day only, both in print and online.

Poynter’s Romenesko blog has more about the freebie. Why would they do that, you ask? Easy. They’re introducing yet another redesign, this time with a serious size reduction.

Newspaper design guru Mario Garcia redesigned the WSJ a few years back, but he was commissioned to retool the paper again for a contemporary web width (in Europe and Asia, the Journal is tabloid size, a size deemed risky for its American audience).
Anyway, enough rambling. Go check out the paper on Jan. 2 and see for yourself why there’s so much good about the Journal. I might just have to reconsider my subscription….

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Even though this has been a tumultuous year in print journalism, and for many, there’s been a lot of bad news, there’s still much for which to be thankful. May the holiday season be a time to reflect on the year and look optimistically to 2007.

My warmest holiday wishes to you. Happy holidays!

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A few months ago, I lamented the departure of Knight Ridder from the newspaper landscape. (Those comments, I’m honored to say, were picked up by a few sites with some credibility, and I’m thankful someone other than me is reading this blog.)

But while many of us ink-stained wretches held our hats to our chests and bowed our heads — after all, KR was on the cutting edge of technology, had a tradition of great journalism, and its newspapers arguably had the most sophisticated design in the industry, led by San Jose and Detroit — there’s a certain cause celebre to its fall. OK, so maybe you think I’m looking for a “silver lining.” Here it is…

The days of massive public ownership in the news-gathering industry may be fading.

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You heard right. This…

… is no more, replaced with something a lot more complicated. One critic said its replacement looks more like something “an upstart airline” would use (see the link at the bottom of this post). From the Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune:

The CD insignia, which the association called “a relic from the cold war,” was eulogized by Richard Grefé, the executive director of the American Institute of Graphic Arts.

“The old mark fits in the same category of simplicity and impact occupied by the London Underground map,” Mr. Grefé said. (more…)

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