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Jan. 30, 2009, 7:35 a.m.

An outspoken fan of newspapers

I love Juan Antonio Giner and his blog, What’s Next: Innovations in Newspapers.

If you haven’t experienced it, look at it now.

Giner likes short sentences.

Never more than one sentence to a paragraph.

Sometimes just a phrase or single word in a paragraph.

It must be how he talks, as well.

A big picture leads every post.

It’s very effective.

Anyway, Giner is the founder of Innovation Media Consulting Group.  [UPDATE: To improve my earlier description of Innovation as a “design and media strategies firm,” Giner has sent me this description of the firm: “INNOVATION is an international media consulting group founded in Spain, operating now from USA and UK and our focus and vision is to help mono-media companies to become multimedia information engines.  We also do design but this is just a small part of our current work.”]

He’s an unabashed advocate of the printed word and great graphics.  At the same time, he understands the web, and pushes newspapers to find and interact with readers online.  He is outspoken and direct in everything he writes.  Here he is in a few recent posts:

On Nicholas Sarkozy’s proposed subsidies for French newspapers, including free subscriptions for 18-year-olds, and the New York Times column suggesting endowments for non-profit newspapers:

… I have to say that I don’t agree with the Sarkozy subsidies to save French newspapers.

And I don’t agree that endowments will save American newspapers either.

What we need to save is journalism, not newspapers.

What we need to save is free reporting.

Free editing.

Free distribution.

And the free press.

I’m sorry, but subsidies or endowments will only promote the laziness of managers and newsrooms.

On The Printed Blog (to which my own reaction is, good grief — how did that guy get so much attention for printing up a few thousand pieces of paper?):

A good idea.

Bad design.

Wrong platform.

Period.

What we need is just a blog with the best from the best blogs.

In short format.

Brilliant typography.

Fabulous design.

Clean labels.

Easy to read.

Vendredi is doing the same in France with better design but it doesn’t work either.

And on shoes thrown at George W. Bush:

Not the best way to say goodbye to Iraq.

And not the best way to screen journalists.

What a shame for the Iraq (mis)government.

What a mess!

So, today more than ever, please, Bush, go home!

Go to Texas.

Leave the White House.

Obama, please, we need you.

Subscribe.

You won’t be sorry.

I promise.

POSTED     Jan. 30, 2009, 7:35 a.m.
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