Fred Hiatt, Editorial Page Editor of The Washington Post, wrote an email to subscribers Sunday to introduce the newspaper’s new product, The Week in Ideas, which he describes as “eye-opening”.

In his own words:

The column we start with today is not an uplifting one, but it is eye-opening: Children are being put to death in Belgium. Post columnist Charles Lane has been following the evolution of euthanasia laws in Europe closely, and he has the latest.

Other stories that appear in this first edition of The Week in Ideas:

—Danielle Allen’s piece on inmates fighting wildfires in California — something she knows well, since her cousin was one such prisoner.

–Okay, time for uplifting? How about a lovely essay from Christine Emba coming to the defense of snow days — of childhood, really — in response to a school district that wants kids to work from home when the school buses can’t roll.

Then an intriguing piece that I read and shared:

—G uest writer Jonathan Zimmerman says colleges do discriminate against one kind of applicant — but maybe not who you think.

They allegedly discriminate against the shy, introverted students.

What this new product shows is that newsletters and briefings are NOT just limited to “news”, and that many readers will appreciate this curated email that points out significant stories that we may have missed.  A good thing.

And it carries advertising, too:

Let’s hear it for the power of the press

On Thursday more than one hundred newspapers in the US will publish editorials defending the press and emphasizing the importance of watchdog journalism that protects democracy.

https://money.cnn.com/2018/08/11/media/boston-globe-free-press-editorial/index.html

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