We are proud to announce the receipt of our first ever Letter to the Editor. It comes from that guy who designs all those snazzy buildings in Washington:

From: Shalom Baranes
Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2007 11:31 AM
To: mark@bisnow.com
Subject: The Number 5

Mark,

Two puzzling aspects about your newsletter below:

• If a publication is called a "Weekly," wouldn't you expect to see it once a week? Isn't it time to change to B on B Real Estate “Daily”?

• I counted 5 ads not three: three large ones and two small ones in last email.

Let's see, 5 times a week, 5 ads per issue......my therapist would say you’re in denial of the number 5 (fivophobia). My former math teacher would say you can't add. My Talmudic scholar brother-in-law would refer you to a relevant verse in Leviticus which would change your life for the next 5 years. And my cousin Vinnie would go place a five dollar bet on a horse and subscribe to your newsletter if he won.

Shalom

Exhibit (from yesterday's issue):

Editor’s Reply:

Dearest Shalom, or, if I may, "Shalom!" Shalom:

You are one of our favorite people, and we are tempted to plead nolo contendere (ask your brother-in-law). However:

• Many readers lack your keen literary and analytic skills and may not notice the inconsistency. If they do, they may have better things to do with their time than to write us. (Oh, sorry.)

• We are behind in our graphics work, plus do you know how much they charge for changes? If you were an advertiser with us, we could afford it. (We are full up for several months, but could start you tomorrow if necessary.)

• We lack the time and imagination to dream up new names for our publication—cut us some slack. When was the last time you came up with a new architectural style?

• "Daily" does have a nice ring to it. Okay, approved. Thanks for the suggestion.

• "Tiles" are not ads. Okay, they are. We’ll change that copy, too.

• No further argument, but just needed this due to our fiveophobia.

All our best.

Mark

P.S. New copy below: