Boxes Within Boxes
Boxes
Within Boxes
Reader discussion forums
such as
Slate
's "The Fray" are one of the advantages of publishing on the Web. But
they also create a weird anomaly. On the one hand, the writings of professional
journalists and others who appear in
Slate
at our request, and
get paid for it, are put through an editorial process more or less like that of
a traditional paper magazine, which can take several hours to a week or more
from manuscript to "publication." On the other hand, any stranger anywhere in
the world can have his or her words posted on our site instantaneously and with
no editing at all (except very occasionally after the fact).
Faced with this
contradiction, we decided not to start rigorous editing of the Fray. It remains
a place where
Slate
members can speak out, unmolested by
meddlesome editors wielding software programs such as Semicolon
Killer TM and Shut Up Already 98 for Windows TM and
Antitrust AutoPurge Pro TM (which automatically erases any turn of
phrase analyzed to agree with the Justice Department--about anything).
Instead,
we have been experimenting cautiously with the opposite approach: giving a few
trusted writers the same freedom to publish in
Slate
that the
readers enjoy. Our first "fraytech" feature was "Today's Papers."
To be honest, this decision was based less on philosophical insight than on the
fact that none of us wanted to be up every weeknight at 3 a.m. or so, when
Scott Shuger files his copy.
More recently, we've added "Chatterbox"
(political scuttlebutt and speculation) and "Culturebox" (insights
and musings about culture, high and low). Both these departments are updated
with new material two or three times a week, very approximately, on no set
schedule and at no particular time of day or night. From the author's laptop to
Slate
, nonstop.
Now we are
adding two more fraytech features. Or rather, two established
Slate
features are evolving in accord with the Web imperatives of
frequency and speed:
"The
Motley Fool," James Surowiecki's weekly column on business and finance, becomes
"Moneybox"--still
written by Jim, but shorter takes, more frequent, and more timely. We hope to
continue our happy relationship with the Motley Fool shortly with a new
feature. (Surowiecki has left the Fool to become a columnist for New
York magazine.)
"The Gist," our weekly
background briefing on some issue in the news, will become "Explainer." An
explainer is journospeak for an article that, um, explains things (he
explained). Our Explainer (the person, not the article) will be standing by
every weekday to explain things the newspapers and television and even news Web
sites leave unclear. It might be the historical background of some current news
story. It might be a straightforward rundown of the facts and arguments in a
controversy that has been clouded by strong passions and flying sound bites. Or
it might be a snappy summary of some issue that would be clear enough if you
actually read the entire five-part Philadelphia Inquirer series, which
you're not about to do, because life is short. That's fine! Explainer will read
it for you.
Explainer
is fully capable of finding news stories confusing or unclear without
assistance but also welcomes suggestions from puzzled readers. E-mail [email protected] any time,
day or night. The Great Explanation begins around June 10.
Now With
Extra Spin
There's
also been a change in "The Week/The Spin" that we hope you'll approve of. It now comes
with two or three mini-essays a week by William Saletan on the order of his
"Frame Game" feature: shrewd analysis of how an issue is
being framed by the contending interests and who is winning the frame game.
These essays are accessible directly from the Contents page or from the
relevant item in The Week/The Spin.
Free
Fiction
"Reply All," our
experimental novel-by-e-mail written by three anonymous authors in three
different cities, moves outside the subscription wall for a while, beginning
today. In other words, you can get it free. You can also download all 26
existing chapters as a Microsoft Word or an Adobe Acrobat file.
In recent weeks the characters have become embroiled in the Monica Lewinsky
affair, as Ken Starr tries to subpoena a manuscript the three e-mailers are
desperate to keep unpublished. Enjoy the story so far--on us. But you may have
to subscribe to find out whodunit.
Hard
Covers
The
Accidental Asian , by
Slate
Contributor Eric Liu, has been
published by Random House. A "personal and poignant defense of assimilation,
written in the tradition of Richard Rodriguez and Henry Louis Gates, Jr.," says
the BarnesandNoble.com Web site (whatever tradition that might
be--apart from the one of books on ethnicity that sell a lot of copies, to
which we hope Eric's book does indeed belong). For selfish reasons of our own
(i.e., we get a small cut), we prefer you order the book from Amazon.com. But it's the same price at both sites: $16.10, or 30
percent off the list price of $23. You can read some of Eric's writing in
Slate
on ethnicity and other topics by clicking here.
Slate Tupperware Party
What are friends for? They
are for buying what you're selling, among other things. With that thought in
mind,
Slate
announces our Referral Program: Persuade a friend to
subscribe to
Slate
, and we'll extend your own subscription for
six free months. Just e-mail the new subscriber's name and, if possible, e-mail
address, to [email protected]. Send as many names as you wish, as often as you
wish, and get six additional months of
Slate
for each one. We
will check to make sure that people by these names have really
subscribed--but we won't check on whether they're really your friends,
or if you really persuaded them to sign up. Click here for more details
and to read the fine print.
Meanwhile, is that computer
you got your father for Christmas--hoping to bring the old man out of the Stone
Age, for heaven's sake--sitting mockingly dark and silent in the den, unused
and unloved? What that computer needs is a subscription to
Slate
.
You, meanwhile, need a Web®TV Plus, the box that turns your television into an
Internet terminal. Fortunately,
Slate
has a special Father's Day
offer: Buy a Web TV®Plus (a $285 value), and Dad will be entered in a
sweepstakes to win a fabulous $19.95 subscription to
Slate
. No,
wait. That's wrong: Buy Dad the
Slate
subscription for
just $19.95, and you get entered into a drawing for a Web TV®Plus.
See official rules for
details. No purchase necessary. Some restrictions apply. (We've always wanted
to say that.)
--Michael Kinsley
