A nice essay from the San Fran Chronicle about one of my favorite magazines, Mother Jones:
The current version of Mother Jones is almost rollicking. A lot of the information is packaged in bite-size data pockets, useful koans to use in meditating on corruption, scandal and greed. In the current issue (September-October; stick figure on a blackboard cover) has a two-page bushel o' factoids written by Dave Gilson about the credit crunch.[...]
The center of the magazine still belongs to the kind of investigative reporting that Mother Jones has done so well for so long. The cover story, by Jennifer Gonnerman, is summed up in its subhead: "Eight states are sending mentally retarded and emotionally troubled kids to a facility that punishes them with painful electric shocks. How many times do you have to zap a child before it's torture?"
Rollicking is absolutely the right word for this magazine. For such an advocacy publication it's incredibly accessible, and I think this quality makes it very unique in the crowded and competitive magazine marketplace.
My commute highlights the magazine's great balance between its lengthier articles and essays and what Carroll calls 'bite size data packets.' In a 20 minute commute standing on a crowded subway train, the easily digestible fact 'koans' make for the perfect (and often amusing) reading. Reminds me of Harper's Index in a way. And on the flip side the investigative reports (Hilary's long participating in a prayer circle article is really interesting; if you haven't read it do so) and essays are deliciously consumed in my free time in my apartment.
Side Note: Is it me or does the San Fran Chronicle have some terrific writers?
[Thanks Kaizar!]