In your democratic Wednesday media column: Letters to the editor are alive and well, the Washington Times sports section teeters, Hu Shuli rebounds, and Carl Kasell takes up whittling.

WWD asks, "Has Twitter killed letters to the editor?" Take heart, WWD! Letters to the editor are flourishing today still, thanks to easy "email" technology. Here is an actual letter we received from a reader just yesterday, in reference to this post, we think:

From: zolt
Subject: Dumb kids
To: Hamilton@gawker.com
Date: Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 5:10 PM

Like the ones who would believe that photo was taken in the U.S. Or...the ones who read Gawker and think it's fact. How about anyone who would live in NYC. Dumb enough that is. And by dumb enough I mean having sex w/a a stinky assed ghetto ho over and over not caring what you spawn. You know you see it everyday. Say it.

Democracy!


Everybody at the Washington Times thinks the flailing paper is close to shutting down its entire sports section. Just one more step towards death for what will probably be the next big paper to fold. Which is sad for the reporters, if not for the Moonies.


Hu Shuli, the former editor of Chinese business magazine Caijing, is launching a new magazine after she left Caijing because it wasn't hardcore enough. For serious! Good for her, a lady who unemployed US reporters will be begging for jobs sooner than you think.


Oh, Carl Kasell's final NPR broadcast was this morning. Farewell, Mr. Kasell. Here's hoping you go on to many enriching future endeavors, and don't just mope around the house and sit in your recliner till you're dead.