Some things you should know
(The following is reprinted from the July 1991 issue of The Cole Papers, which was the first paid issue.)
In a scene early in The Greatest Movie Ever Made (Citizen Kane), neophyte publisher Charles Foster Kane (portrayed by Orson Welles) earnestly scribbles down a statement of principles for his newspaper.
Neither scribbled in crayon nor remotely resembling a statement of principles -- and destined never to see a hot-lead composing room -- here are a few things about The Cole Papers I think you should know:
It will be a lively, informative, entertaining, accurate, useful and honest tool to explain the rapidly converging worlds of publishing, technology and journalism.
Humans weren't designed to run computers. The Cole Papers is designed to help reporters, writers and editors cope with -- and maybe overcome -- this fact. Every story I publish will have the end-user in mind -- not the guys who designed or bought the box.
Publishers don't know enough about technology; technologists don't know enough about publishing. The Cole Papers will explain the technology so any copy editor (or publisher) can understand it, and explain publishing so any programmer (or manufacturer) can understand it.
After a dozen years at the San Francisco Examiner, I left to become a consultant to newspapers. This monthly is not a full-time job and working with publishers and technology is still something I'll do. But I cannot reconcile publishing an independent newsletter and taking money from companies that market their products directly to the publishing industry. Since May (1991) I've turned down all offers from players such as System Integrators, Leaf Systems and Harris Composition. (When given the chance, I will work for makers of CPUs -- such as Apple and Sun -- because they don't sell directly to publishers.) If in covering industry news I sense a conflict of interest, I will be quick to note any connections I might have.
Advertising will not appear in The Cole Papers, though occasionally I may send readers accurate promotional literature which I find equally valuable and inoffensive.
My meager stock investments have not included media companies or vendors of pre-press products, nor will they ever as long as I'm in the business.
In the end, Charles Foster Kane proved something of a rogue. I intend no such role for myself. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I see that the principle thing I have in common with him is girth.
But, to quote an infamous UPI story, "now you know."
-- dmc
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