Grandeur, delusions of

Seems to me that all these predictions of the imminent death of the printed newspaper are entirely too shortsighted. One historical parallel that comes to mind is the competition between cinema and theatre (an established form of entertainment since the early 20th century) and the forms of home entertainment that sprang up from the 1950's onwards (video, beta, DVD). Cinema and theatre never died, but they did change, and in time came to have an co-dependent relationship with television, video, and DVD. Perhaps a similar fate awaits newspapers, with all the hard reporting being done online, while a wide array of magazines and pamphlets are distributed in the printed form by a succession of poets and humourists and spruikers and authors. I'd personally love to see a return to the good old 18th century style of pamphleteering, though I suppose that the time for that form of publication has passed.

On a completely unrelated note, would anyone like to buy my poetry zine? I'm taking some copies in to Sticky this morning. It's called A Child's Garden of Hearses, and it's been illustrated by Alexis, with cover art by Kingsley. I can't give it out, because it cost two dollars to do the cover alone, aside from the other 23 pages. Also, I have to pay my artists, who are currently beating down the door baying for my blood (that's what they ask for in terms of minimum wage these days, I hear.)