Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Charity case: guilt-plagued reporter coughs up money to buy subscription to Miami Herald and other troubled newspapers


Used to getting his information from the Internet, reporter Brian Till has been experiencing pangs of guilt whenever he would hear reports of the financial troubles plaguing newspapers. So he decided to do something about it: he bought subscriptions to 4 troubled newspapers, including the Miami Herald:

So I made a decision amid this existential crisis. I will soon be a subscriber to four American newspapers: the Miami Herald, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Rocky Mountain News, and the Chicago Tribune — all publications in major financial distress.
Count on it -- when newspapers become charity cases, they are dead as a commercial enterprise. (Photo: Creators Syndicated)
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14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Soon McClatchy Watch will step in to cover the news, covering car wrecks, chicken suppers and school board meetings.

Thank god we can finally remove the left-wing bias from the Eagle Scout listings.

Anonymous said...

They are all ready dead and most readers know it. You can't give away a product that nobody wants if it is crap.

Kevin Gregory said...

Most people stay away from begging like this: link

Anonymous said...

Newspapers are where news comes from. Blogs like this one -- particularly this one -- would have nothing to write about if it weren't for news that newspapers unearth. Amateurs don't break news. They don't have sources. They don't make phone calls.They don't leave the house. Half of them don't even put on pants.

Without newspapers: Nothing to critique, nothing to cheer for, nothing to comment on.

Nothing. Nada. Rien. Gornisht.

Prove me wrong. Break a real story.

Anonymous said...

You can fill volumes with the number of REAL stories that Bloggers have uncovered while leftist media slept. As for your lofty claim to the legitimacy of "Newspapers" I'd remind you that Plumbers, Carpenters, Doctors, Lawyers, and Hookers all need some sort of qualification, certificate or License to claim their title. A Journalist need only make the claim. They are every bit as legitimate as your local newspaper hack, and usually, infinitely more honest.

Anonymous said...

Your "real" stories are conspiracy theories.

No blog can do the investigative reporting that newspapers do. What blog could replicate the New York Times' reporting on the corrupt railroad disability board? Or The News & Observer's exposes of politicians on the take and the state's deadly mental health system? Or the Birmingham News stories that have sent politician after politician to prison for ripping off taxpayers?

It takes time, money, expertise and sourcing. Not merely attitude and snide rancor.

And if you want to live in a country where journalists are licensed, I could name some excellent dictatorships where you would feel right at home.

Anonymous said...

You're so full of yourself you can't see what is happening before you. As newspapers are driven out of business where do their former employees go? That is right, many to blogs, and many to online entities that are scooping Newspapers with stories by the thousands. So much so that your "Newspapers" are not only starting their own blogs, but relying on blogger content to fill their advertising wrappers.

The best thing about bloggers is their ability to ferret out phony "reporting" from "Newspapers" and "News Agencies" in turn holding them accountable and exposing them for what they are.

I think my favorties were the phony AP, Reuters and BBC photography that they had become so accustom to photo shopping.

Face it man, you belong to a "profession" that has been rendered, obsolete, and you all did everything you can to ensure a lingering and painful death. Few will morn your passing because as a group you have earned their contempt.

Anonymous said...

9:22 is the poster child for the arrogant assholes that have destroyed a profession.

Anonymous said...

How come you're not as good as the Gannett blog? Is it because you, well, weren't as good a newspaper employee? This is probably the worst media industry blog around today. Good work.

Anonymous said...

Good blogs don't need a Spammer.

Anonymous said...

11:39 If you feel that way then you must be an idiot for being on it. Or just plain stupid.

Anonymous said...

Dear troll... please, for your sake, don't waste your time commenting on blogs. Take advantage of the time you have remaining to update your resume'. Perhaps even go back to school and take some classes to buff up that English or journalism degree. Something like auto shop or dental hygiene. You know, something useful in the real world.

Anonymous said...

Hey 10:25, do the production people in all of this go to the "blogs" too? Your so busy being caught up in your little McClatchy hating world that perhaps you should remember that there are real working people that are affected by this to. Real work, not sitting on their asses spouting off their agendas or grinding their axes to the tune that suggest they were somehow robbed of something. I visit this site because it allows me to hear things before I hear them at work. Things that are usually not good, but good to know.

This is my hometown and I work at my hometown newspaper. A newspaper that I delivered as a boy and a newspaper that everyone I know still takes. They read the paper for what it is to them, their hometown newspaper. They are smart enough to decide for themselves if they agree with the content and viewpoints and they honestly care about the local news, sports and business because they live here. I guess we just don't have the time or energy to focus on the hate that keeps you going and I hope that your wishes for our demise don't come true and you can somehow find something to occupy your time besides wishing ill on others.

Anonymous said...

These people revel in destruction -- but what does this blog create? What new facts does it bring out? How can its assertions be believed when they are so plainly driven by animus?

How does McClatchy Watch propose that communities will get the information they need?

How does McClatchy Watch comfort the people who lose their jobs -- not the executive but the ink-stained pressman, the shoe-leather cops reporter, the crack-of-dawn carriers?

Whom does this blog help?

There are no answers for anyone here. Just ignorant anger at institutions that have served their communities for scores of years.

Their very obsession is a tribute to the importance of these newspapers. I know a lot of blogs about newspapers. I don't know any newspapers about blogs.