Economist , Aug. 8
(posted
Saturday, Aug. 8, 1998)
The
Panglossian cover editorial welcomes a stock market slump: "[A] modest
drop in share prices could be exactly what is needed right now." Stocks remain
overvalued, and a harmless fall now will prevent a tragic fall later. A true
crash is unlikely, argues the piece. ... A story examines the growing business of international
Internet medical prescriptions. If you live in a country where Viagra is
banned, you can order the drug from an American pharmacy's Web site by giving a
credit card number and minimal personal information. Legislation banning the
practice seems inevitable. ... A story says Fox Sports Net is eating
into ESPN's market. By buying local sports networks instead of relying on
national programming, Fox gives viewers more coverage of their home teams.
Disney (owner of ESPN) is kicking itself for not having done the same
thing.
Vanity Fair , September 1998
(posted
Friday, Aug. 7, 1998)
Three
stories about writers. VF excerpts a new book by Joyce Maynard, who
chronicles the affair she had with J.D. Salinger in the early '70s. She was 18,
he was 53. Tasty morsels: 1) Salinger got so frustrated at her inability to
have intercourse (it was stress-related) that he brought her to a naturopathic
practitioner in Florida (it didn't work). 2) Salinger's New Agey wellness mania
led him to purge after eating unhealthy foods. 3) Salinger worked on his
fiction every day (despite not having published in years), and his house holds
a room-sized vault of unseen manuscripts. (For a
Slate
take on
Maynard, see Alex Beam's "I Was a Teen-Ager for the New York Times.") ... A story
profiles Stephen Glass, the New Republic writer fired for fabricating
articles. Glass' former colleagues say he was pathologically insecure and too
eager to please. He lied up until the bitter end, even in the face of damning
evidence. ...
VF interviews Tom Wolfe about his new novel, A
Man in Full , due to be published this fall. The 700 page work centers on a
debt-ridden Atlanta aristocrat. Wolfe seems very conservative, very arrogant,
very foppish, and very genuine.
New
York Times Magazine , Aug. 9
(posted
Thursday, Aug. 6, 1998)
The cover
story examines claims that author Raymond Carver's short stories were more a
product of Carver's editor than of Carver himself. Yes, editor Gordon Lish used
a heavy hand in shaping Carver's early voice (rewriting long passages,
violently cutting text, changing the tone). But this does not differ from what,
for example, Ezra Pound did to T.S. Eliot's work. Besides, Carver's later (many
say better) stories were entirely his own. The piece notes that authorship is
always a collaborative process to some degree, be it with editor, spouse, etc.
... An article covers the forthcoming whale hunt of the Makah. The
Washington state Native American tribe is fighting environmentalists and
politicians for the right to resume hunting a few whales a year, an old Makah
tradition. Not an old Makah tradition: the .50-caliber rifle they will use in
the hunt. ... A story profiles new Christian Coalition head Randy Tate,
a k a the guy in Ralph Reed's shadow. Tate lacks the political savvy of his
predecessor, Reed, and critics say Tate's unrelenting focus on gays will hurt
the coalition in the long run.
Time and Newsweek , Aug. 10
(posted
Tuesday, Aug. 4, 1998)
They're loony for Lewinsky.
Time 's seven piece cover package includes an hour-by-hour account of Ken Starr's
machinations to secure Monica's testimony, including a behind-the-scenes look
at the meeting that sealed the deal. (Key to success: Monica's lawyers brought
a 46-year-old female colleague to guide Monica through the sensitive parts of
her story.) Other features: a breakdown of Clinton's options ( Time likes
the idea of a public apology but thinks Clinton's team would never go for it);
a recapping and analysis of Starr's evidence, as Time understands it; a
prediction that the House will do nothing before elections; and a piece
claiming the scandal has ruined any chance for Clinton to burnish his legacy
before he leaves office--he simply doesn't have the political clout anymore.
...
Newsweek 's more modest package adds this nugget: "Starr's
team ... has discussed indicting the president for obstruction while he is
still in office, but holding off on the trial until he is a private citizen,"
when a conviction would be easier to obtain. Newsweek also runs an essay
from Clinton-loyalist-cum-moralist George Stephanopoulos, who urges the prez to
come clean. Stephanopoulos thinks Clinton has been hurt by confiding in only a
small circle and cutting off many of his advisers.
Time says steroids aren't just for boys anymore. Teen-age girls are
taking them to improve performance and win college athletic scholarships. How
do you know if your daughter is on steroids? Her breasts shrink and her voice
deepens.
Newsweek runs a rant bemoaning the glitzification of the Hamptons.
Clinton's recent visit marked the final straw for a quiet community besieged by
rich and gaudy outsiders.
U.S.
News & World Report , Aug. 10
(posted
Tuesday, Aug. 4, 1998)
U.S.
News ' scandal package delivers much the same info as
Time 's and Newsweek 's in far less space. One piece argues that
middle America just wants the scandal over with and wants Clinton to stay in
office. ... A story says anthropologists are redefining themselves. Having
slipped too far into the sheltered and irrelevant world of academia,
anthropologists now strive to make a difference: One anthropologist hired by a
slaughterhouse helped explain meatpacker society to factory supervisors.
The
New Yorker , Aug. 10
(posted
Tuesday, Aug. 4, 1998)
A story
looks at life in Cambodia, post-Pol Pot. While the genocide has ended, random
killing by policemen continues. Leader Hun Sen ignores election results and
intimidates his people but still has U.N. support. Latest outrage: Hun Sen
inducted several former Khmer Rouge soldiers into the Cambodian army.
... A piece celebrates amateur astronomy. It doesn't take a huge
telescope or federal funding to make important discoveries--it just takes
patience and luck. The godfather of amateur cosmology: John Dobson, a monk who
would tote his "Dobsonian" (a cheap, powerful telescope) to street corners and
convince passers-by to stargaze.
--Seth
Stevenson
