Who gives an eff about DFW.com?

by Steve Smith of West and Clear

I’m kind of tired of writing about things related to the Star-Telegram because it seems like piling on, but here’s one more just because it’s impossible to ignore.

Last week, the DFW.com Ink Edition hit newsstands around town with promises to be, according to the press release that found its way to my inbox, “a cutting-edge complement to the entertainment and lifestyle news now showcased on DFW.com . . . but in the accessible, carry-on newspaper format beloved by coffee drinkers and office workers for generations.”

However, my initial thought was, “Who gives a fuck?” Because this is the Internets, and I have few standards to go along with my vulgar mind, I can type that without compunction. And, yes, it feels good to type as you think it does. My second thought was why the Star-Telegram believes that staring in the face of extinction — a crisis that most believe is driven by the aforementioned Internets — they see fit to launch another print advertising vehicle. It doesn’t seem to really address the problem, does it? The few times I’ve tried to use DFW.com, I found it to be kind of janky — it needs work in the user experience department. If the Star-Telegram really wants to be innovative, I would suggest building a less sucky website. A little free consulting for you, Gary Wortel.

And that’s about all I thought about Ink Edition until I caught wind of this little controversy somewhere in the Inter-Twitter-sphere — seems that some people are shocked that the S-T thought it was a good idea to publish a segment in Ink Edition called "Three people we want to eff this week."

Sure, it’s a lot closer to Perez Hilton than Amon Carter, but is this really a dagger in the throat of journalistic integrity in Fort Worth? I don’t think so, but I also dropped an f-bomb back in the third graf. Besides, the Ink Edition is hardly the op-ed page. Pushing the envelope a little actually seems like a good idea, but is it well executed? Meh.

To me, the biggest problem with this list is popping Keith Urban and Madonna in the top two spots. Wow … that’s so Us Weekly. And then “you dear reader” at No. 3? That’s so obsequious that I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.

But the question remains — is Ink Edition a good idea for the Star-Telegram? At this point, I guess, why the eff not? It’s kind of like emptying out the junk drawer looking for a make-do part to save a trip to the hardware store. You know it’s pointless, but — hey, that duct tape just might work.

What do you think? Edgy and cool? Ill-conceived? Irrelevant?

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