It’s editorial time again, which means — as usual — I’m racking my brain for possible topics. There are plenty this week, both serious and not so much.



There’s Susan Boyle — she of overnight fame thanks to Britain’s Got Talent — and even more so Youtube. Boyle is a clinically average looking 47-year-old woman who has managed to amaze the masses with her stellar voice, a voice that seems at odds with her Old Maid appearance. It’s an ugly duckling triumph story perfect for the depraved Internet, our shortsighted pop culture fascinations and our ever-shrinking attention spans.

In an editorial regarding the Boyle phenomenon, the News Tribune offered this gem: “She didn’t just stun and shame a celebrity-worshipping pop culture. She struck a blow for humanity.”



Damn. “A blow for humanity.” Sounds like something we’ll be talking about for years to come …



Or not.



Speaking of the Trib, perhaps Tacoma’s daily is the perfect place to spend this week’s editorial.



On Tuesday the Trib unleashed its new design — or facelift, as Executive Editor Karen Peterson called it. The new format seems designed to be more visually appealing, more bite sized, a little bit flashier and — perhaps most consequential to readers — more condensed. Monday through Saturday the paper will combine national news, local news, international news, business news and obituaries into one, well, overarching news section. It’s the same approach the Trib has used in its smaller Monday papers for some time. This change will allow the Trib to shrink — as the economy demands — while still maintaining the news coverage we’ve come to expect (or at least that’s the idea).



Also potentially of note, the paper’s flag now matches the Trib’s Web site flag, perhaps a nod to the growing dominance of the Internet in the realm of print journalism.

Here are my thoughts on the changes.



First of all, it’s a classic spin job. The economy sucks and ad revenues are way down. The condensation of all the paper’s news into one section is much more about adjusting to this reality than maintaining some quality of coverage. Such are the times, and such is the truth.



Let it be known, however, that the Trib fills a vital role in our area. Whether you love or hate the paper, Pierce County would be in piss poor shape if it suddenly disappeared. While I often think it could do better (as, I’m sure, we all could) the Trib and its coverage are incredibly important to this area. It’s in all of our best interest to hope they eventually conquer current economic woes.



There are many things the Trib does well, and many things it doesn’t. Like most daily papers, engorged by a previous level of prosperity that’s no longer realistic, the Trib covers a whole load of topics, some better than others. It’s a paper that, at least in the past, seems like it’s tried to be in too many places at one time.



As Peterson herself points out, the Trib’s new design is part of the paper’s dedication to “watching over those in power and bringing you the information you need to live life here to the fullest.”



Which brings me back to the Susan Boyle editorial. 



Perhaps, in the future, with a new focus, new design and new dedication to what it does best, the Trib can leave such meaningless, 15-second pop culture crap out of the editorial page. Covering Tacoma and Pierce County is what the paper does best — and where it’s needed. Susan Boyle is not.  



We’ll see what happens.