Wednesday, July 27, 2005

 

listless...

Part of RedEye's "edge" is its habit of running snarky lists behind stories to provide some sort of comic relief. Indeed, the publication is list-happy, from the numbered items in the news sections to Nine Lines in the gossip section, Critical Mash in television, and Canine Lines in sports. Unfortunately, like many "hip" design elements, this one has become a default add-on, an obvious filler. Consider the list in the lower left of today's page 9. It begins as a blurb on the flap over a recent "Doonesbury" that focused on one of Karl Rove's less fortunate nicknames ("turd blossom") but ends up as a list of potential "alternate" nicknames for the Bush adviser. They are: Poopy Head, Chatty Cathy, My Brain, The Lame Duck, Mr. Rove.
Only the second is potentially funny. "Lame Duck" doesn't even make sense, nor does "Mr. Rove."

A similarly inane list appears on p. 54: alternate names for the revamped TV Guide. It includes "The Boob Tube (R-rated version)." I'll spare you the rest.

Lesson for Tribune Corp. -- if something isn't funny, kill it. Even ridiculous filler graphics would be better.

ALSO: in yet another list summarizing the characters from the new "gritty" war drama "Over There," the character Tariq Nassiri is described as "an Arab-American who deals with discrimination." Good to know that's not the only reason he's on the show...

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