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Has the Jewish Observer Lost Its Teeth?
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Fox




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 17 2008, 3:30 pm
Let me preface this post by saying that I fully realize that the Jewish Observer, published by Agudath Israel, is read primarily within the Yeshivishe/Litvishe community. However, I deliberately chose not to post in a closed forum because, first, it's quite possible that some people who classify themselves as other than Yeshivishe/Litvishe might read it (I mean, no one asks for ID if you buy it or send in your money); second, I don't think I'm saying anything "private" that might lead to a lack of achdus or loshen hora.

So here's my observation:

When I was growing up and during the early years of my marriage, the Jewish Observer published very challenging articles. Some articles focused on societal issues within the frum community; others were more oriented toward issues in personal behavior. But whatever the slant, the articles were incredibly well-written and never avoided controversy. While the Jewish Observer wasn't necessarily the only or even the first publication discussing difficult topics, they never shied away from tough examinations of issues like women in the workplace, kids at risk, extravagant simchas, and problems within the shidduch system.

The last few years, though, I feel like the Jewish Observer has been rendered toothless. The articles, while nice enough, are so vague as to be almost meaningless. Recent articles have taken bold stands to carve out a minority position in favor of bitachon, encouraging your child, and kiruv. As opposed to what? The many Torah leaders and publications that encourage readers to forget Hashem, damage their children needlessly, and let non-frum Jews rot? Even the biographical pieces seem bland and re-heated.

The quality of the writing seems to have eroded and editing seems non-existent. Sidebars often bear little relationship to the main article they accompany, and the most recent issue referred to speaking to your "son" and encouraging "her"!

With every issue, I feel like I've lost a very important resource in my life. It also bothers me that the Jewish Observer, while championing the fight against the Internet, seems to be running up a white flag of surrender to Torah-oriented websites and blogs, saying, in essense, "If you want to read a challenging Torah perspective in English with regard to contemporary issues, you'll have to use the Internet!"

Have those of you who read the Jewish Observer noticed this decline? If so, to what do you attribute it? I realize there has been a change in editorial staff during the past decade, but surely they didn't have to let the proofreaders go, too!
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Tova




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 17 2008, 4:28 pm
Fox,
I really can't comment on your specific post, as I do not subscribe to the JO.

What I did want to mention was that a few years ago I took out a whole bunch of old issues from the lending library here (I'm talking about late 70's, early to mid 80's). My husband and I spent a few very enjoyable evenings reading through them. Very very interesting articles. And some observations we had:

-the same "kol koreh's" that you now see against internet they then had against television
-all the (US) gedolim that were quoted are now no longer with us Sad - R' Moshe Feinstein, R' Yaakov Kamenetzky, R' Mordechai Gifter, etc.
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greenfire




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 17 2008, 4:57 pm
I don't read the magazine & I'm not that intellectual - but I wanted to support your plight ...
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chavamom




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 17 2008, 5:02 pm
Believe it or not, kiruv is controversial in certain circles.
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Fox




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 17 2008, 5:08 pm
chavamom wrote:
Believe it or not, kiruv is controversial in certain circles.


I understand; I was being facetious. And even though kiruv is not universally endorsed -- or, in most cases, specific types of kiruv activities are not endorsed -- it's not as if the JO is exactly standing alone against a sea of anti-kiruv agitators.
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Fox




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 17 2008, 5:12 pm
greenfire wrote:
I don't read the magazine & I'm not that intellectual - but I wanted to support your plight ...


You are too funny, Green! Muchos gracias for the support!

Although, based on the imamother feedback, it's beginning to sound like I'm the only one who's been reading it. Maybe they had a meeting, and someone said, "Look, the only one who's really into this magazine is some lady in Chicago. What do you want from us already?"
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chavamom




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 17 2008, 5:42 pm
I quit reading it probably 7 - 8 years ago. The few times I've picked it up in recent years, I've found it frankly, boring. And yes, I was a former avid reader. Maybe they are running out of things to say?
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gryp




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 17 2008, 5:44 pm
I don't read it either, Fox. But I noticed the same thing with the Reader's Digest, if that means anything. Who knows.
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greenfire




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 17 2008, 5:50 pm
Fox wrote:

You are too funny, Green! Muchos gracias for the support!


por nada Wink
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Raisin




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 17 2008, 7:02 pm
I do remember enjoying it years ago. I haven't seen it for a while, but then again, I don't see a lot of things.

there is also a lot more competition - now there is mishpacha, bina, hamodia and probably other weekly publications that were not around 10 years ago. If you have 2 or more weekly publications that need to fill their pages every week, then perhaps there is not much left to say.

Gr, is it just me, or do you find the nshei chabad newsletter is also less interesting then it used to be?

Maybe this is a general trend...
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gryp




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 17 2008, 7:04 pm
Um, ahh, ehhh,... I stopped reading the Nshei a while back, Raisin. LOL
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dillie




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 17 2008, 7:06 pm
I agree with you.
More than the 'toothlessness,' it bothers me how much the tone of the magazine has gone down. Reading the articles used to require a certain level of concentration. Most of them are only skim-worthy these days.
Why not email the editor in chief, instead of telling us?
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Raisin




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 17 2008, 7:08 pm
GR wrote:
Um, ahh, ehhh,... I stopped reading the Nshei a while back, Raisin. LOL


really? I live in hope that there is something good... I read it, when it finally comes, 6 weeks late, in about 5 minutes.

Maybe all the good writers are busy writing on blogs and messageboards.
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gryp




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 17 2008, 7:11 pm
I was actually just thinking this week that maybe I should give it another shot, but then you came and told me that it isn't that interesting, so maybe I won't. Confused
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Atali




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 17 2008, 7:58 pm
GR wrote:
I was actually just thinking this week that maybe I should give it another shot, but then you came and told me that it isn't that interesting, so maybe I won't. Confused


I haven't read the JO recently, but I found previous issues quite interesting. But I definitely agree about the Nshei, although I think it would be more interesting if it contained less obituaries. Perhaps we should suggest that?
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gryp




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 17 2008, 8:58 pm
I don't mind obituaries, as long as they're accurate. I'd rather read a true story than a made-up one 9 times out of 10.

But I feel bad to have diverted from Fox's original question. My only point was that maybe it's not just the JO.

(Someone gave us a gift subscription to the Reader's Digest so I'm stuck reading those.)
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chocolate moose




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 17 2008, 9:25 pm
Maybe they don't want to alienate certain members of their readership?
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bashinda




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 17 2008, 10:11 pm
but if that's a concern now why wouldn't that have been a concern before (from someone who doesn't subscribe to the JO but has read it on occasion)
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anonymom




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, Dec 17 2008, 10:34 pm
I am sure I am not alone, but their articles used to be too deep for me. I got lost after 3 paragraphs. Now I can actually read most of an article if it interests me, which proves your point.
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Imaonwheels




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Dec 18 2008, 2:09 am
Thank you, I made a similar comment on other threads.

I certainly do not subscribe to JO, Bina, Mishpacha, etc but I do see them.

They have little real to say on chinuch so the articles for me, a professional, are very repetitive. They keep rehashing the "brilliant revelations" of such pseudo intellectual books like Miriam Adahan, Zelig Pliskin, etc. from the 80s. These cater to the stereotype that every melamed is still slapping, pulling ears, etc. Thanks to these a bad melamed now tries to control his class with a bag of candy instead. So much do they need to cater to the ratings of pseudopsychology, especially if intended for women.

We are not sheltered anymore, we know that there are bad ideas and bad guys, we know the difference between a rasha and a tinok shenishba. We are not necessarily rallied by being anti something and prefer to be united for positive reasons. It was not me but rather someone high in the Aguda who said that the American Aguda has defined their movement as what the Mizrachi is not.

They are into politics but try to be polite about it. Don't support anyone or go to shiurim of those we don't ever mention no matter how much good they have done.

And last but not least, their reporting on EY infuriates me. It is obvious that in most cases Mr. Heimishe Reporter picks up the phone to someone who thinks just like him in Bnai Brak or Yerushalayim and ask vos iz nayez? That is what he prints and that is what the frum public in the US thinks is true. Then on a forum people in NY fight with me that what is here is not true because the latest popular rabbi writer says otherwise.

The main problem is that today people want news and facts and to make up their own mind or talk to their own Rabbi. Gone are the days when we are happy to get a mush of a small amount of news intended to sweeten a hashkafa lesson.

I almost never read the Nashie because I feel it is also trying to be cool, from the NY style graphics to the need to be in the forefront of every new fad in the natural movement. All at the expense of chassidishe tochen. As I said in another thread I do not read any publication where women are the targeet audience, they insult me.
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