The Jones on Ebert

If you want proof of how much people still value long-form, search "Ebert" in Twitter and you'll find thousands of "tweets" on this story. It's a nice way to see real-time interest. It's no "readership study," whatever that means.

 

I love Ebert and Jones and this wonderful feature story. I'm among those who retweeted it.

But Twitter isn't really a representative sample of the American public -- at all. Lots of "average" people couldn't care less about it. It's not fair to use Twitter popularity (or lack thereof) as an indication of overall popularity in the real world.

 

I dunno. Obviously Twitter doesn't represent everyone, but check some of them out. There's a lot of non-media, non-techgeeks that use it now. Of the people who consume media now, because really who else would read long-form in the first place, I'd bet Twitter is one decent tool (not the only one) to gauge popularity in a case like this.

 

Ebert on the article ... http://j.mp/cFtCAA

 

A gorgeous story. Dead-nuts on.

 

I am not a big movie guy and I don't read much about them. My only real knowledge of Ebert comes from seeing his TV show as I would flip around back in the day and his incredible skewering of that Rob Schneider movie (think it wa sone of the Deuce Bigalow ones) that has been linked on here before. But this was a tremendous story.

 

Don't really have time to delve too deeply into this right now -- and trying to talk seriously about writing always brings out the grumpy trolls, especially when certain writers are involved -- but what makes this story such a success, in addition to the observational details (obviously), is the framing. I don't think framing is something you can teach or learn. A good editor helps, obviously, but it's how you see the world. Think about the questions this piece poses and answers. Why do words matter? What are they really? How does each section establish tone, and how does it build and carry the emotional weight of the piece? That's what I think one of the things Chris does so well. There are better phrase-turners working. But there are few writers who can see what there is in front of them and then show us WHY THIS MATTERS without injecting themselves into the narrative.

Sure, Ebert is a great subject. And his openness was a helpful. But a lot of writers would have stepped on some of the sad beauty of this piece. People who get upset that Chris is overly praised here and elsewhere, I think, are focused on something that has nothing to do with the work before us. It's a dumb argument for comparison's sake. "Stop fawning on this great piece! Someone else could have done this just as well!"

Well, they didn't. Chris sees the world a certain way, and thought up the idea of WHY EBERT MATTERS, and then was able to boil down a way make us understand that.

Frame the story, establish what is at stake, put me there, make me feel invested in the subject, and leave me thinking. That's what so well struck here.

 

Jonesy's great story should now be considered to have a companion in the form of Ebert's response. Taken together, they are a fascinating look at both an intriguing man and the process by which a great profile comes to be. It's not often (in fact, I don't ever recall it) when a story's subject is able to then beautifully and artfully respond to his own profile.

Both men (and Chaz Ebert) come out as winners.

 

Profound.

 

The people who live in my head are delinquent, and I am considering eviction.

A preposterously good story. The tired cliche is true ... Jones uses the same set of letters I get, but somehow can do that and I can't even dream it.

rb

 

Someone suggested a Presidential Medal of Honor or something for Ebert.

How 'bout the Academy Awards show honor all film critics on March 7, and give Ebert a lifetime achievement award or something?

I could see him not wanting to be honored by the industry he essentially has covered, especially while he's working in it. But he wouldn't be the first, and they could sell him on it by emphasizing that it will be part of a segment honoring all great film scribes.

Or have they already done something like that?