Bookworms upset over AJC changes
April 26, 2007 at 2:23 pm by Scott Henry in NewsIn addition to dealing with a newsroom full of demoralized reporters, AJC execs are weathering a fairly public protest of their decision to eliminate the position of book editor, long held by staffer Teresa Weaver. It’s yet unclear exactly how the AJC intends to alter its book coverage — perhaps using wire reviews or thinning down its two-page Sunday book section — but readers seem to fear the worst.
New York-based John Freeman, who serves as president of the National Book Critics Circle and is a frequent contributor to the AJC’s book reviews, has posted an online petition that challenges the newspaper to reinstate Weaver as book editor and to avoid trimming the section. After praising the AJC’s book section, Freeman is blunt:
I am a subscriber to and/or a frequent reader of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and I want the AJC to continue publishing a book section edited by Teresa Weaver that gives Atlanta a unique, thoughtful approach to books, one that represents a diverse array of voices, and is not simply fed by wire copy from the Associated Press or the New York Times.
So far, the petition has collected more than 3,000 signatures, many accompanied by comments. AJC editor Julia Wallace has sent several correspondents a letter that seeks to soothe reader concerns:
Let me allay your fears: We are not killing our book coverage or book pages. So long as books are important to our readers, we will continue to dedicate space to them.
Judging from the fast-growing number of signatures on the petition and the tone of many of the comments, readers have not found her words reassuring.
April 26th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Ya know, Julia Wallace’s communique’s rival only some of mine in their utter and total bullshit quota. She really should get out of the office and blog more.
April 27th, 2007 at 12:20 am
I agree…I interpret that as “We won’t have original thought, but we’ll have thought, and selling thought is what counts.”
I suddenly have less reason to read the AJC; who will take its place?
April 27th, 2007 at 8:27 am
Bloggers, Mikey Dear, bloggers. Green ones, red ones, blue ones, sparkly ones, utterly boring ones, trite ones, poetic one… ones with video, ones with data, ones with podcasts, ones with a stutter, ones with an agenda, a bone to pick, a bone in their nose, a dog with a bone. The blogosphere is nothing if not seriously dee-verse.
Speaking of such, where’s yours? Let’s get with the program, Mikey. Fire up that blog; you seem like a dude with something to say.
April 27th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and if the book worms can squeak together & loudly enough, the AJC may just have to back down and reinstate a book editor. I sure hope so. We’ll see . . .