Gongol.com Archives: January 2009
Brian Gongol


January 13, 2009

News Chicago Tribune launches tabloid edition on Monday
There's really no good reason why tabloid-sized papers haven't been used more widely in the US. They're more convenient to hold, and as many papers have been shrinking the physical size of their papers for several years (in fact, more than a decade) anyway, then the traditional fights that newspapers have had with advertisers about what constitutes a full-page ad (advertisers tend to want to pay less for a full tabloid page than for a full broadsheet page) are already out in the open anyway. Besides, customers pay the same newsstand price for each. And switching to tabloid web widths has been a profitable move for UK newspapers. The real future of newspapers lies in micro-editions, but virtually no one has figured that out yet.

News Dress your dog up and get sent to jail
British animal-welfare authorities say people could be prosecuted for dressing up their dogs. Not for being a travesty against good taste, but because it could cause the animals to overheat.

Health Improving knowledge of our own genetics raises huge new ethical issues
How much knowledge is enough? What rules should guide what decisions are made about children who will have genetic conditions?

Business and Finance Years of reckless lending may have wiped out interest in lending more today

Water News Another reason the cold is unpleasant

Feedback link