50
1942-1992
THE JEWISH NEWS COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE
Playing a Di ere Tune
Jewish newspapers try
to become more than
house organs.
BY NOAM M.M. NEUSNER
Staff Writer
UICK. Let's
take a tour of
Jewish Amer-
ica through
the eyes of its
newspapers.
In Memphis' Hebrew Wat-
chman, a front-page story
urges the community to help
raise money for an annual
Jewish federation campaign.
In San Antonio's Jewish
Journal, there's a similar
story. And in New Orleans'
Jewish Voice, the same story
with different words.
In another handful of pa-
pers, there is the same exact
story on how Israel's coali-
tion resisted a political
challenge. Then there are
stories on the Mideast peace
process and West Bank set-
tlements.
If one only read Jewish
newspapers, one would
think that these two issues
— Israel and fund raising
were the only things Ameri-
can Jews cared about.
There are exceptions. In
Atlanta's Jewish Times,
there is a cover-story on Jew-
ish education. In Denver's
Intermountain Jewish News,
there is a first-person ac-
count of the intifada.
But the exceptions do not
spare the American Jewish
press from frequent criticism
that it is obsessed with only
two issues — Israel and fund
26
raising — at the expense of
good journalism.
"One of the things Ameri-
can Jews are very good at is
reading, writing, commen-
tating and analyzing," said
William Novak, who
ghostwrote autobiographies
with Lee Iaccoca, Nancy
Reagan and Oliver North
and worked for Jewish
periodicals for 10 years. "For
THE JEWISH NEWS COMMEMORATIVE ISSUE
some reason, we have not
transferred those skills to
the Jewish press."
Some estimates say that as
much as 25 percent of Wash-
ington's press corps is Jew-
ish. Considering this, and
how much Jews have con-
tributed to American lit-
erary life, the dearth of good
Jewish newspapers is an
enigma.
It's not that there's
nothing to write about.
American Jewish life is rife
with controversy, from
where community funds
should be spent to the deli-
cate, but challenging, prob-
lem of intermarriage. And
Jewish institutional life
isn't the only thing that
makes for journalistic
fodder; Jewish politicians,
artists and thinkers are fre-
quently in the limelight,
raising Jewish issues to
prominence.
Few Jewish papers,
however, venture beyond a
format which publicizes
Israel, fund raising and
community banquets. Wed-
ding announcements are big.
So are graveside unveilings.