Friday, May 1, 2009

Newspaper sectionism

As newspapers shrink their staffs, all of the sections of the papers are becoming more and more interchangeable. The Washington Post recently discontinued its separate business and Sunday book review sections, and merged them into News and Outlook respectively. This is coming at a time when I often find myself reading a story and going back to first page of the section of the paper to check on what section I am reading. In USA Today terms, Life becomes Sport, or Money or News, and vice versa.

While the particular section of the paper does not really matter much, it is a commentary on today's life that items and sectors of our life are often interchangeable. Sports items are often found in the entertainment, business or news sections--sports are more and more a business or entertainment in its most commercial form. Entertainment is more and more a business if not a sport, and entertainment figures are often in the news. Recent business news often seems like the news of a sport with the chaotic rise and fall and hopefully rise again of the stock market. Life is complex but simpler in some ways.

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