Everything you need to know ...

In talking about the evolving role of the printed newspaper – becoming as much summary and briefing as headline provider – I often cite The Week, a little magazine that boasts it includes "All You Need To Know About Everything That Matters." There are four or five subscriptions delivered here in the corporate suite, but Americans generally haven't been very aware of the product.

That's changing, as David Carr reports in the New York Times. Already a strong brand in England, it's growing by double digits here. His examination of why is worth reading. Here's a taste:

Last week, the power grab by Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan was boiled to a few hundred words, name-checking (and grabbing content) from The Weekly Standard and The Economist, along with The Boston Globe and The Washington Post. That way, when I go to a dinner party tomorrow night and Benazir Bhutto’s steadfast opposition to his use of mass arrests to maintain power comes up, I can sound as if I actually made my way though that stack.

Recession, the presidential candidacy of Rudolph Giuliani and soccer hooligans in Italy all get the same short-form, high-density treatment. Rather than inveighing against the Web’s hit-and-run informational ethos, Mr. Dennis has rendered it corporeal, producing a 42-page primer on the week that was, without getting bogged down in, or even acknowledging, the details.