Khoi Vinh on trying to hold onto (or worse, recapture) "the cool:"

Any time a media outlet publicly declares its intention to reach a younger demographic, chances are good that the results will make me cringe.

He's talking about NPR's Bryant Park Project, and how surprising it is that it doesn't include "jargon, zany sound effects or comedic narrative." He could be talking about newspapers, television or movies. I've read or seen too many horrible examples of 40-something suburban writing about 20-something urban trends.

Mostly, what (most) everyone comes up with is dumbing things down for a "younger" audience, adding a laugh track and calling it done. How insulting.