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.