Value

I started the morning by Googling “Ron Charles” to confirm that he was gone from the Washington Post since it has shut down its Books section. It wasn’t hard to find his cheerful face - but also a reassuring post : “I’ve been laid off - but I’m not done” on S.ubstack. He’s been there for some time - all for free and has still not set up a paywall. But I immediately set up an annual pledge t ostart when it does.

Ron Chrles has won many awards as a book critic and he knows his sfuff, but really comes across is his humanity - funny, modest, profound. It’s like a family member that you don’t see all the time, but you can pick up immediately and we also know his teacher wife and their daughters. Who else will send you a weekly poem?

Thank heavens he will not be constrained by a Post hgher up who thinks that these cuts will be to the paper’s advantage. “The Washington Post has laid off one-third of its staff, eliminating its sports section, several foreign bureaus and its books coverage” I can read in today’s edition. This was the paper that broke the story of Watergate. The sports fans will be lamenting their loss but the current journalists will soon appear elsewhere as so many previous writers at the Post already have.

I stopped my subscription when its owner refused to endorse a political candidate in the fall of 2024. I was still able to access the weekly books column with some appreciation. It informed my book buying for gifts and for myself. I once recommended a book and got a personal thank-you note from Mr. Charles himslef.

There is no doubt that we will have to step up to the plate and pay good jounalists directly. It’s the least we can do to save what we value.