Enquirer on Monday

• The Enquirer somehow thinks UC hiring a new coach is more important than the city's murder rate, as exhibited in the way the stories are played on the front page. The new coach gets the big headline across the top of the page, which the murder rate is second. Nobody cares about UC football. They couldn't even sell out their game against Rutgers. This story doesn't belong on the front page.
  
  
• The editorial page finally comes out and says it's time to shift strategy in Iraq. Really? They should have written this a year ago, but of course they're too gutless to take a stand until they're sure it'll be popular. This is about as timely as Sunday's lame MySpace story, which also is at least a year late. To show how out of sync it is, the story only mentions Facebook once, in passing.
  
  
• I've seen this thing a few times in the paper recently. Above the story on the front page is the words "Premium In This Edition" (see the front page here). The Enquirer also used it November 10 on this story about veterans. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason about when the Enquirer uses it. What does that mean? Does that mean it's free? Or extra? I think today this refers to the two pages in the Local section devoted to the Enquirer's Wish List. There is much less local news in the paper today because of it. Does that make it a premium?
  
  
• If you're interested in the future of the Enquirer, read this story today in the Washington Post, which looks at how Gannett's new vision for news is being put to work in Fort Meyers, Fla. It's not encouraging. Read also this New York Times story about the changes coming to the Wall Street Journal. The paper is shrinking physically and the space for news is going to be reduced by 10%. The story says, "The move has alarmed some journalists there, but executives say it will save millions of dollars and that the reconfigured Journal will offer more information, not less." This is the same thing the Enquirer has been saying for years -- it looks like less, but it's really more. More bullshit, that is. Or should I call that a premium?