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‘Newsweek’ Editor Tries to Appeal to Black-Turtleneck-Wearing Columbia JerksLike many before him, Newsweek editor Jon Meacham went to speak to the students at the Columbia Journalism School and found that kids today are nothing but a bunch of ungrateful no-goodniks with no respect for their elders. Did anyone in the room even read his magazine, he asked plaintively, according to the Observer? “No!” a black-turtleneck-clad pupil shouted back. They all read the Economist now, the student explained. (Obvs! Because it has way better fonts and is funny in that British-y way, you know, like with the “sir” thing.) “The success of the Economist — the fact that you read it, a black-turtlenecked guy at Columbia,” Meacham sputtered. Then he began, sadly, to plead. “Look, I need you,” he said. “I need — I’ve got people out there risking their lives right now … I’ve got four people in Baghdad who could be killed at any moment … and how to get you past this image that we’re just middlebrow, you know, a magazine that your grandparents get, or something, that’s the challenge. And I just don’t know how to do it, so if you’ve got any ideas, tell me.” The students suggested he try “re-branding.” Hey, maybe he could hire Jay-Z!
Jon Meacham’s Cri de Coeur [NYO]