OLD MEDIA - The rise and fall of the NYT!

Terry Mattingly is a religion writer I've followed for as long as I can remember, back to the mid '80s. I've always been impressed with his thoughtful analysis of issues and culture as it relates to the Kingdom of God.

This week's column by Mattingly looks at the "paper of record," the New York Times. It's worth the trip if you've ever wondered what goes on inside the bowels of the behemoth ... or even the heads of its execs.

If you're like me, you've wondered, how can something so influential in everything that goes on in this country be so blind to so much of what makes her up? Do they even know about the stereotypical rut their brains are in?

He opens with ...

When it comes to capturing the worldview of New Yorkers, it's hard to top Saul Steinberg's famous cartoon entitled "A View of the World from Fifth Avenue."

It appeared -- where else? -- on the cover of The New Yorker. The city is in the foreground and, beyond the Hudson River, there is a void dotted with mesas, mountains and hints that Chicago, Texas, Nebraska, Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean exist.

There are no steeples anywhere.

In this column he melds two separate events involving Daniel Okrent, the Time's "public editor," to show how thinking at the Times functions.

Will they ever free themselves from the rut? Perhaps, if they move their headquarters to Hutchinson, Kansas! Just remember, a rut is nothing more than a grave with both ends kicked out!

My conclusion? I think they feel more comfortable laying end-to-end in their rut than they do in "Jesus freak-land."

See my post on "The rise and fall of the LAT!"