We’re in Miami this week where traffic on I-95 is beyond the pale, and with my home delivery on hiatus I haven’t seen the new “redesigned” Wall Street Journal, but I did come across Rob Horning’s “review” Marginal Utility.
“This morning on the train I unfolded my Wall Street Journal and suddenly felt like the Amazing Colossal Man, as the paper had suddenly shunk down to mini size to become to the old WSJ what Teen Vogue is to Vogue.
My first thought was optimistic: This means less space for the
editorial page! But then I became disoriented, as I tried to find and
read Justin Lahart’s “Ahead of the Tape” column without having to go
below the fold or spill my coffee on the unsuspecting rider to my
right. It couldn’t be done. Everything seems to be in longer narrow
columns. Gone also were the left-column previews of the Marketplace and
Personal Journal sections that used to summarize all that was
within—again my desire to consume the paper without actually opening it
was foiled …Things were happening too fast. All that was solid seemed to be melting
into air. So for mollification, I consulted the special “Reader’s
Guide” insert, which features a triumphalist rundown of what’s happened
that somehow fails to note, amid all the celebrating over how much
easier the paper will be to use and how much more forward-looking it’s
going to be, how much less space and less information the paper
suddenly has.”
