Quotable: Gladwell on the beauty of newspapers
Malcolm Gladwell, staff writer at the New Yorker, has been blogging about the reactions to his controversial Enron piece in the current issue. I especially like his point from this post last Thursday: I think we should also recognize what the Enron case tells us about the value of newspaper journalism. Maybe, in other words, ...
Malcolm Gladwell, staff writer at the New Yorker, has been blogging about the reactions to his controversial Enron piece in the current issue. I especially like his point from this post last Thursday:
I think we should also recognize what the Enron case tells us about the value of newspaper journalism. Maybe, in other words, we have underestimated the value of impartial, professionally-motivated, under-paid and overworked generalists in tackling the kind of information-rich, analysis-dependent “mysteries” that the modern world throws at us.
All of which, of course, points out the irony of what’s happening in the newspaper business right now. We are dismantling the institution of newspaper journalism precisely at the moment when it seems to be of greatest social value.
More from Foreign Policy

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose
Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy
The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now
In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet
As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.