Passing Thoughts

Thomason's Tracts

Broadly speaking, British journalism was born in the English Civil War, starting around 1640. This was when the forebears of modern newspapers—the first corantos, newsbooks, and mercuries—began to appear in quantity... Continue

Godey's

On Saturday afternoon we visited our favorite used book store, a rabbit warren of little rooms and jumbled shelves, with books stacked in every murky nook... Continue

Kids and Media

We rarely see stories in the media about the social effects of the media—and even rarer are stories that look at the issue in serious depth. This absence of coverage is... Continue

The Size of Mr. Wanamaker's Organ

We had originally planned to use this space to write deep profundities, but were pleasantly sidetracked by news from what used to be... Continue

Civilization and Book-Burning

The word civilization literally means “living in cities,” which is something that humans haven’t been doing very long in the overall scheme of things... Continue

Handwritten Newspaper in the 21st Century

Here’s something to pause and consider as we debate technology’s impact on media. The Wall Street Journal has found a 23,000-circulation daily newspaper... Continue

Circulation Directories

Although it’s sometimes hard for publishers to live with circulation auditing bureaus, it’s almost harder to imagine life without them... Continue