Fun and Justice

"They say they've matured. Yes, they have in some areas. But Belo has such a media concentration in this town that when upper management decides to give its support to something, there isn't much coverage given to the opposition, except with you guys."

Ah, yes, us guys. The other theory, espoused in this very paper several times during the past decade, is that the Dallas Observer stepped in to fill the void. New management allowed more money and resources to be devoted to covering issues The Dallas Morning News wouldn't tackle. First with Laura Miller and now with Jim Schutze, we have columnists dedicated to reporting on these big issues of which Jarrett speaks. All of which is true.

Peter Calvin

Roy Bode, the paper's final editor, still gets wistful when he sees the parking lot where the Times Herald once stood. "Every time I drive by, there’s an empty place in my heart."

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• Will Jarrett
• Molly Ivins
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But to think that a weekly newspaper can effect change like a major-market daily is incorrect. It simply can't. Not that we don't try, and do a damn fine job of trying. But an alternative weekly, in this market, does not have the ability to focus a usually complacent citizenry on injustice and corruption like a daily newspaper can. That is where the Herald is missed.

And remembering Ivins' quote above, its sense of fun is lacking, too. It is amusing that the Morning News now tells its feature writers to use more snap, crackle and pop (a.k.a. "attitude") when telling stories. They are generally unable to, because the ethos of the place forbids it. It is not, will never be, a fun newspaper. By all accounts, the Times Herald was. When it was good, it was hard-working and hard-drinking, the kind of fun had by those high on the thrill of kicking ass and taking names. When it was bad, it was still fun, because you could say anything, write anything, try anything, and who was gonna stop you? It was the sort of place where reporters threw editors into a pool and still had their jobs on Monday. It was a time when a newspaper offered something to laugh at besides Dilbert, and if for no other reason than that, I miss the damn thing.