But until the ProJo gives the public a more compelling reason to pick up the print product — I've argued, in this space, for more opinion and analysis on the front page — the hemorrhaging may continue.
Make the local news interesting, and the paper might be rescued. The Boston Globe, smart and colorful, just saw its circulation go up for the first time in eight years.
GEM REVEALED
This week, I took a dive into the world of museology — producing a cover story on the RISD Museum and its new director John Smith's efforts to give it a higher profile (see "Making the RISD Museum Sizzle," p. 8).
We spoke in his modest office; Smith, a charismatic, chatty fellow, sat beneath James Tissot's painting The Women of the Chariots (1883-1885), a procession of women on horseback that Smith described as "startlingly modern" and almost "cinematic."
At one point, he neatly captured the museum's conundrum: "Frequently I've seen this museum referenced as, you know, a 'hidden gem,'" he said, a pleasant and rueful chuckle bubbling up from his open collar. "I hate that expression."
"Gem" is great. "Hidden," not so much.
It is Smith's job to polish the gem a bit. To get our attention. But we've got a role to play, too. If you've never been to the museum — or haven't been there in awhile — head on over.
The Spencer Finch exhibit up now won't disappoint.
