Humor columnists don’t come whole from the womb. Jeff Kramer proves that this week.
Kramer didn’t always write funny stuff. He began his career as a newspaper reporter, covering serious stories. And he learned the trade well. So after a story over Thanksgiving was reported like a digital tease instead of the real news it was, he stepped in to show what should have been done. Want to know how reporters work … or should work? Read Kramer’s column HERE.
Week in and week out, Kramer pokes fun at the high and mighty in Central New York and, nearly as often, at himself. This week, he just got pissed. And good for him.
We made a special effort late Tuesday to accommodate his column; next week, we’ll print his original column. One of the changes we made was to cut into this week’s Campbell Conversation. And that was not a decision made lightly.
Since we added it in the spring, the Campbell Conversation has been among my favorite features. Grant Reeher, professor of political science at SU’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and director of its Campbell Public Affairs Institute, interviews newsmakers and policymakers.
But we’re trying a new approach: We’re going to publish them once a month instead of weekly. The Conversation will return the first week in January and then continue the first weeks of months to follow.
This change is for the best of reasons: We have a surplus of great stuff for readers. You can always find it at syracusenewtimes.com, but it’s been a struggle to squeeze it into the newspaper. This will afford us more opportunity to print the excellent television commentary of Sarah Hope, the film reviews of Mark Bialczak, the tech coverage of Joe Cunningham and the slice of life commentaries of Chris Malone.
We think it’ll be a win-win for our readers. Tell us if we’re right.
Larry Dietrich is the Editor-in-Chief of the Syracuse New Times.
