Swimming Against Titillation

The Great Plotnik had a talk with his big boss yesterday, a veteran newspaper man who has been swimming against the tide as Managing Editor of AOL's content pages. He and Plot commiserate from time to time about the mindless wonks who run AOL nationally. Now it seems that there is a plan afoot to eliminate freelance writers entirely (that would include Plottie, most likely) and simply pay for content from other sites. It may not happen this time -- but eventually it will.

The reason is simple: few turn to their on-line content provider for a review of a new musical. They get that info from TV, or the newspaper, or from friends. The only way to keep an online audience is with online columnists. We don't read the Chron for national news -- we know our hometown paper's coverage stinks on just about everything. We read the Chron for its local features -- for John Carroll, for the funnies, for sports, for movie reviews. Local news for a local paper. Online columns for an online service.

But AOL has no local columnists. Plotnik has tried for years to convince them that people have great loyalty to the few people whose opinions they value. But the prevailing opinion seems to be that it's all about advertising, now that free internet service has taken such a huge hit on AOL's bottom line, and the only advertisers they crave are the ones attempting to titillate thirteen year olds with credit cards.

So one of these days The Great Plotnik's byline will not be seen on yet another vapid, dispirited review of The Chocolate, Wine, Art, Music, Free Love, Gay Puppies and Shakespeare At the Mall Festival. He hopes they keep sending him out to restaurants and plays, though.