Friday, May 1, 2009

Friday May 1 -- Got news or an update?

If you have news or an update, leave it in comments.
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55 comments:

Anonymous said...

-Herding cats: Washington Post begins combining print & digital-

April 29: Washington Post editors are now slipping into new roles designed to simplify the way news is gathered and presented at one of the nation’s most significant newspapers.

The change will be sweeping: the newsroom’s core will tighten as the Post’s two distinct print and digital teams begin merging into one. But just because the ride – which has been a long time coming – is in motion, there’s no guarantee the journey will be smooth
http://www.vocus.com/invocus/blogapril09.html

Anonymous said...

Ethical questions from the marketing department?
---
Reporters at 'Trib' Say Stories Shown to Readers--Before Published
Reporters at the Chicago Tribune say they believe the marketing department in recent weeks solicited subscribers' opinions on stories before they were published, [a practice they said raises ethical questions,] as well as legal and competitive issues. - @ Editor & Publisher
April 30, 2009

Anonymous said...

ETHICS, CHICAGO, PAPERS?...OXYMORON

Chicago Tribune news staff raise concerns about subscribers getting look at news stories

CHICAGO (AP) — Reporters at the Chicago Tribune say they believe the marketing department in recent weeks solicited subscribers' opinions on stories before they were published, a practice they said raises ethical questions, as well as legal and competitive issues.

An e-mail signed by 55 reporters and editors, sent Wednesday to Editor Gerould Kern and Managing Editor Jane Hirt and obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, questions why the newspaper was conducting the surveys and what stories were used. They also wanted to know which readers were surveyed and whether any story had been altered as a result of reader comment.

MAS1916 said...

Humorous look at and second thoughts on the Press Conference at:

http://firstconservative.com/blog/top-ten/obamas-press-conference-top-ten-highlights

The Wednesday presser was such a joke!

This is why the NYT and other institutions using leftist hacks to write their stuff, are failing!

News media will be the next round of bail out victims because they can't survive in the realm of free ideas.

Anonymous said...

Take a look at this which got posted too late for anyone to see it on a Wednesday strand. Maybe it will start a dialogue?

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Any minimally educated person should have studied enough history to know that it is progressive thought, not conservatism, that moves society forward.

Think of Abe Lincoln, with his radical plan to free the slaves. Oh, but some of you guys would say that was a bad thing, eh? Or let's take Jesus Christ. He led the largest spiritual movement in the history of the world. But he was just a troll rabblerouser, right? Then there's Adolf Hitler: "Let's kill off everyone who's not like us," he said. What a great result his conservatism got us! A world war.

Rah rah, go conservatives.

Anonymous said...

Anyone want to guess how much MNI lost with Chrysler filing bankruptcy? Hold on to your hats........conjecture is GM is not far behind!

More cuts coming!!!!

Anonymous said...

PINCH, TEAR DOWN THIS WALL (CLOSE DOWN THE GLOBE)

GLOBAL STAKES FOR NY TIMES (Will Pinch shut down the Boston Globe today?)

Arthur "Pinch" Sulzberger faces the uncomfortable task of having to shut down the Boston Globe today if holdout employees refuse to fork over $20 million in savings to his family.

If the Sulzberger family carries out its threatened shutdown by today's deadline, it would be an admission that they wasted $1.1 billion in buying the paper in the first place.

But if they back down, it would show a weakness of will that Wall Street investors who hold big stakes -- particularly hard-nosed billionaire Carlos Slim -- might turn against the family to wrest away its control of the enterprise.

Dave D. said...

...Ah, 6:42....The BONELESS WONDER returns. How's that Commie crap working out for you...long run wise ?

Anonymous said...

Low planes frighten New Yorkers! Obooma is furious, just furious, and his vow of government transparency is a sham already. Why don’t the watchdogs find out what really happened, and the blame go to the ‘Boo’ no matter what? Cover-up, I smell a cover-up, Nanny Palousy should gather the goon squad to look into the wrong doing. It cost $328,835.00 for the photo op. Obooma just has to say it was a mistake, and it won’t happen again, and all questions cease. Some watchdogs, but we already knew that, didn’t we?
***
KC Star Joins the White House in "Spinning" the N.Y. Plane Buzz Item
The KC Star's headline proudly proclaims: "Obama ‘furious’ after planes buzz N.Y." Really? The Obamassiah wants to distance himself from the blunder that was done for his benefit. Will we ever find out who was on the plane? Not a chance.
KC Star - Obama ‘furious’ after planes buzz N.Y.
http://www.kcnewswatch.com/

John Altevogt said...

Dear Troll:

You do seem to have minimally educated covered.

1. It wasn't Lincoln's plan to free the slaves. It was promoted by the abolitionists, a group of largely evangelical Christians very similar to the conservative pro-life movement today.

Christ was neither rabblerouser, nor troll. Amazingly, his message has been denounced by progressives in every country in the world, but thank you for thinking of Him.

Hitler was not a conservative he was a socialist. Hence that one word in the title of his political party National *Socialist*.

Anonymous said...

6:42 just another useful idiot, tebagging, butt boy who couldn't pretend to be conservative to save his life.

Anonymous said...

Dave D, why don't you actually discuss 6:42's question instead of spewing your usual nonsense?

Anonymous said...

CONFLICTED LIB, FOOD STAMP JOURNALISTS TURN DOWN LAW ENFORCEMENT JOBS BECAUSE OF "ETHICS"

Hey Laid-Off Journalists: The SEC Wants To Hire You (business insider)

As the recent arrest of Danny Pang proved, regulators are frequently behind the media when it comes to discovering and prosecuting business malfeasance. Pang's fraud was first reported by WSJ over a week ago. He was finally arrested yesterday.

So what happens to enforcement as newsrooms lay off journalists? SEC Chair Mary Schapiro is worried.

Her message to journalists: come work for us!

Anonymous said...

6:42 AM Reads just like some kind of Lewis Duiguid garbage. Is that you Lewis?

Anonymous said...

Washington Post Co. Swings to First-Quarter Loss

The Washington Post Co. swung to a loss for the second time in less than a year, as the company's first-quarter earnings were dragged down by losses in its newspaper and magazine divisions and expenses in its education division....

The newspaper division reported an operating loss of $53.8 million caused by steep fall-offs in advertising, which are being felt across the industry. Print advertising revenue at The Post plummeted 33 percent in the first three months of this year, compared to the same period last year, and revenue at The Post's online properties -- chiefly, Washingtonpost.com -- dropped 8 percent in the quarter, the first decline in ad revenue at the online unit in recent memory.

By comparison, first-quarter ad revenue decreased 28 percent at the New York Times and 34 percent at USA Today. ...

In a piece of good news for the embattled paper, Monday-to-Friday print circulation during the first quarter of this year rose .7 percent, bolstered by strong home-delivery and inauguration sales, despite an increase in the cover price to 75 cents. Daily average circulation now stands at 642,000. Average Sunday circulation, however, dropped 1.7 percent to 871,000. ...

The Post Co.'s Newsweek magazine reported a $20.3 million operating loss in the first quarter, compared to a $32.3 million loss in the same period last year.

Revenue at the company's six television stations fell 21 percent for the quarter, to $61.2 million, while operating income fell 54 percent, to $12.1 million

Anonymous said...

Swine flu pandemic, what swine flu pandemic?
The Obamassiah, and the big Butch says there's no sense in closing the borders to illegal aliens, and other border traffic. Butch will not even allow airport people to wear masks.
Now, everyone that dies of the swine flu can blame the Teleprompter President. Isn’t that still the rules, everything is the Presidents fault?

Obama lied
People died
New bumper sticker for the Obama trinket collection.

Anonymous said...

6:42 has to be the dumbest post I've ever seen on this blog. And that says a lot.

Anonymous said...

6:42 it's...the return of lokeman!

Anonymous said...

Lokeman is 6:42, no doubt about it. Her style of stupidity is unmistakable. She had no grasp of history, or honesty. Spewing garbage was her game, and she tainted the whole newspaper. How could Zieman live with such a lowlife creature I wonder?

Anonymous said...

How could Zieman live with such a lowlife creature I wonder?


-----------
If you ever met him, you'd know. He needed a man in his life.

John Altevogt said...

"If you ever met him, you'd know. He needed a man in his life."

Now that's humor. Cruel, but very, very funny.

How to explain his relationship to Brisbane then?

Anonymous said...

6:42 said: "Maybe it will start a dialogue?" No, it just brought name-calling for all those who can't stand anyone to express an opinion they disagree with. The only (partial) exception was John, who actually expressed a legitimate reasonable opinion about flaws in 6:42's post, but couldn't resist calling him a "troll." John, you seem like an intelligent person. Why do you feel the need to call names when you disagree with someone, even someone who was just calling for a dialogue? You are better than that.

Anonymous said...

9:29 If you ever met him, you'd know. He needed a man in his life.
==================================

You missed your calling in comedy writing!!!!

Anonymous said...

How to explain his relationship to Brisbane then?
-----
They say that people go through 5 year growth cycles where their personality and basic beliefs can be entirely different from one to the next.

If this is true, it is clear. Mark had a Dominatrix period!

Anonymous said...

The reason for the continual use of "troll" by our moderator is quite simple. This is an older gentleman who's better years have passed and since he couldn't hack it at a real newspaper, he's just a blogger. News to you sir, bloggers aren't writers. They're people who aren't any good at what they do so they blog.

But please keep up the good work. We folks at the FWST love reading the daily rants from all you unemployed writers that weren't any good to begin with.

Anonymous said...

....But please keep up the good work. We folks at the FWST love reading the daily rants from all you unemployed writers that weren't any good to begin with.

Signed,
Troll


Fixed

Anonymous said...

How sad that 10:35am is so full of himself there. A nice clue for you, most bloggers like to write about things they enjoy doing. Thus why they're a blogger, and not a journalist who write about what their editors tell or let them write about.

Just because someone blogs doesn't make them a simpleton that couldn't cut it at at paper. Welcome to why so many despise newspapers now. I'm sure (or at least hope) this attitude isn't too common in newsrooms, though it would explain a lot.

Anonymous said...

“We folks at the FWST love reading the daily rants”
I think you must mean, ‘Wee folks at FWST,” that’s what I heard anyway.

Anonymous said...

As always I appreciate the comments and the addition of troll to my name. Please keep it up. Sticks and stones people, sticks and stones. Life is too short to be miserable all the time. I wish you all a peaceful weekend.

Anonymous said...

McClatchy welcome to the toilet !

Anonymous said...

Gotta love that hilarious mistake in 10:35's post.

Third-grade English isn't a job requirement at the FWST?

Anonymous said...

Thank you again for the comment. So what you are showing us that your only contribution to society is to be the grammar police. Perhaps there's position available for you at some weekly paper.

But again, please continue to criticize the smallest things out there. I'm sure that it makes you feel better about your obselete skills.

John Altevogt said...

To the Troll(s) at the FWST. The first thing to distinguish is who the moderator of the blog is, and it ain't me.

Second thing, about the only thing you have gotten correctly is that yes, I am old. Old enough that I neither buy green bananas, nor suffer fools.

Referring to someone as a troll is hardly name calling. It is a term used in reference to someone who frequently comments on a blog without contributing anything of value to the discussion.

Look back on our resident troll(s) and I would be stunned if you found even one instance where they either constructed a logical argument, or logically refuted an argument made.

Instead what we get are the same tedious sarcasms about "It's Hillary's fault" and "It's Obama's fault", or the same silly question to questions repeatedly answered in detail as in the moron who made the same stupid comment about my old column just a couple of days after I foolishly wasted time explaining it to him the first time.

These people are not interested in dialog, indeed, they are not capable of dialog and so they get on here and behave like three year old(s) looking for attention and yet contributing nothing.

And so to the person who suggested that I am better than speaking ill of someone of that caliber, no, I'm not. Sorry to disappoint. Far from being too judgmental in this country, we are not judgmental enough and those who behave boorishly deserve to be treated as such.

I could care less what anyone thinks if it is presented in a civil and respectful manner. Behave like a fool and I will treat you as one.

Finally, in addition to not being a moderator, I am also not a writer. My old column at The Star was done as a guest, not as an employee. I was paid by the column ad did it only because I felt obliged to take advantage of the opportunity to see a hint of balance in an otherwise Stalinist rag. I was delighted when it ended and my income went up $22,000 the year following its termination (or roughly the income of the troll who keeps bragging about the vast wealth derived from peddling ads for whoever he/she/it peddles ads for).

Thank you, and have a nice day.

Anonymous said...

Uh, John, I think that the "otherwise Stalinist rag" regularly runs opinion pieces by editorial writer E. Thomas McClanahan, carries Jonah Goldberg and George Will's columns, until very recently carried Michelle Malkin's (!) column, and (before he was diagnosed with cancer) had Jerry Heaster as its main business columnist. Are they all "Stalinists," or did you misspeak again?

Anonymous said...

***Far from being too judgmental in this country, we are not judgmental enough and those who behave boorishly deserve to be treated as such.***

Amen to that! And that would include about 90 percent of the people who post on this blog, including you.

John Altevogt said...

2:43 You name 3 people who you indicate are conservative writers at The Star and two who did write. So that would be, at most about 5 columns a week from conservatives?

Barb Shelly, their lead handmaiden to corruption is nothing if not prolific and produces almost that many pieces by herself. Then add in Lewis, Dave Helling, Judy Thomas, Miriam Pepper, Derek Donovan, et. al, ad nauseum.

Additionally, the people I just mentioned are the ones writing about local issues. Who cares if Michelle Malkin writes a screed on some national issue in The Star. I can find her column, and many more like it, online any number of places.

Ah, but when the hate campaign starts against a Frances Semler, where were the voices supporting her? Which regularly featured columnist stood up for her? Which reporter took the time to report that The Star had made the false claim that the NAACP was going to boycott Kansas City because of Frances Semler without ever talking to anyone at the NAACP who could make such a decision?

3 writers currently writing and 2 of them national columnists that could be found online elsewhere, please.

John Altevogt said...

2:46 Make your case. Any fool can manufacture a number, and 90% of them do.

Anonymous said...

The Star had made the false claim that the NAACP was going to boycott Kansas City because of Frances Semler without ever talking to anyone at the NAACP who could make such a decision?

=============
I've often wondered exactly who all was behind that. There was no way it was just the author. That story was where I drew the line and canceled my subscription.

John Altevogt said...

The Star claims that there's a firewall between the editorial department and the news division. There isn't.

Dave Helling manufactured some of the early stories about Mrs. Semler and then the inevitable piling on began from several sources for days on end until she was driven from office.

For those who aren't familiar with the story, Frances Semler was a member of the Minutemen organization. She was appointed to the Park Board in KCMO by Mayor Funkhouser and because this 73 year old grandmother, appointed because of her love for growing roses, supports the rule of law and opposes illegal immigration, The Star's hatemongers went to work on her in one of their classic Der Sturmer campaigns. Day in and day out there were columns and articles about the veritable demise this woman would bring to Kansas City owing to her radical belief in the rule of law.

During the same period of time a man who had resigned in disgrace just a few short months before as President of Johnson County Community College amidst allegations of sexual misconduct against staff, Charles "Groper" Carlsen, was appointed to the Arts Commission down there with only passing mention by one reporter at The Star.

A grandma believes in the rule of law and is vilified for weeks as a racist destined to cause economic ruin to KCMO while an alleged sexual predator is appointed to a similar position and not one peep from the hags on the editorial board of The Star.

Did I mention that the predator was in tight with the left-wing, anti-evangelical hate group that many on the editorial board and Mr. Helling and other reporters pal around with? As I recall either a board member, or an adviser to the aforementioned hate group.

One person supports the rule of law, the other, the head of a community college before resigning in disgrace for alleged sexual misconduct and which one does The Star pillory?

Kevin Gregory said...

John, do you have links or more info on what the The Star did to Mrs. Semler?

I hadn't heard about her situation.

John Altevogt said...

This occurred in late 2007. Unfortunately, The Star's archives are not open to the public. however, those in the KC area can get a Johnson County Library card and access the Star's library indirectly.

It was simply one of dozens of hate campaigns launched against conservatives and evangelical Christians, including one that is currently being discussed on John Landsberg's site (bottomlinecom.com).

He currently has both sides of The Star's latest attack on one of the area's large (conservative) mega-churches. The "reporter", Judy Thomas attends a nearby left-wing mega-church that competes with the one she assaults in her articles.

This one is actually mild compared to the all out hate campaign launched against Semler, but then again Miriam Pepper, the head of the editorial page, and Mary Sanchez, one of The Star's lefty editorial writers are both Hispanics.

During that period there were multiple cartoons on Lee Judge's blog, news stories, the prime buzz blog, the midwest voices blog and editorials virtually everyday, most ginned up out of thin air, to keep the hatemongering going full speed. To be here and to see that campaign is to begin to understand the kind of material that appeared in Der Sturmer against the Jews in Nazi Germany and I invite anyone who thinks that's hyperbole to go research the issue yourself to understand just how bigoted this rag is.

Anonymous said...

Bottom Line Communications has an article along the same lines. It seems the First Family Church stands against the gay agenda, and the KC Scar is out to get them, facts be damned. The Scar deserves to go down the tubes.
SEE:
-FIRST FAMILY CHURCH RESPONDS TO KC STAR ARTICLE-

Kevin Gregory said...

Thanks John for the info...

I'd like to find out more about what the Star did to this lady... might make good reading for the blog.

Anonymous said...

Two of the most racist organizations, The NAACP and the Hispanic rights organization "La Raza" demanded Mayor Funkhouser fire parks board appointee Frances Semler because she's was a member of the Minutemen Civil Defense Corps. Trying to secure our borders is criminal!

John Altevogt said...

It would be hard to even scratch the surface. Back then Lee Judge had his own blog tied to The Star and he would have multiple cartoons against her on his blog and in the paper. There were editorials, there were articles and it seemed that almost every writer was to come up with some kind of way in which Frances Semler being on the park board would damage Kansas City in their baliwick. This went on for literally weeks.

But keep in mind, this is just one of many, many, many of these campaigns we've seen at The Star.

There's another against Phill Kline and his two aides. Kline became a national hero for his work in prosecuting Planned Parenthood and the infamous Tiller the Killer for their alleged violations of Kansas law. Not in Kansas. The state's media has run him out of office and now the libs on our corrupt Supreme Court are trying to get he and his aides disbarred when they're the ones who have disgraced their oath of office.

Then there was the hate campaign against Kay O'Connor for allegedly saying that she didn't agree with the 19th amendment. Except she never said it and The Star, after three extensive interviews could not get her to say it. That did not deter them from implying that she said it, over and over and over again, all with the same carefully worded boilerplate.

The list is endless. The Star is like an establishment version of the White Aryan Resistance newsletter, only targeting conservatives, evangelical Christians and anyone who opposes the establishment's scams.

Anonymous said...

Re: Embattled Kansas City Parks Board member..

The Kansas City.Com comments are still available. It looks like Semler had a lot of support.

http://pod.prospero.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=2&nav=messages&webtag=kr-kctm&tid=11210

Anonymous said...

To be here and to see that campaign is to begin to understand the kind of material that appeared in Der Sturmer against the Jews in Nazi Germany and I invite anyone who thinks that's hyperbole to go research the issue yourself to understand just how bigoted this rag is.

####################

I used to work there. This is no exaggeration.

Anonymous said...

I did read the article at BLC, and it looks as though the KC rag is doing just what we are discussing, yet again. Disgusting, this fishwrap waste of trees is disgusting.

-FIRST FAMILY CHURCH RESPONDS TO KC STAR ARTICLE-
http://bottomlinecom.com/kcnews/ffcrespondstostar.html

Anonymous said...

I saw the targeting of Gov. Palin en mass by the media. I am still shocked to see how corrupt the media has become. The only thing worse than seeing the end of journalism, is that the corruption succeeded, and we have a totally unqualified president. They may think they have won the day, but journalism as a profession is over, and Obama will tank. The problem will be how to get the USA back into order.

Anonymous said...

There you go again, John -- any reporting you don't like is a "hate campaign" and any court ruling you don't agree with is "corrupt." For the minority of MW readers who are actually interested in reality instead of ideological rhetoric, read the actual reporting on the church (rather than what John says it is) and make up your own minds.

Kevin Gregory said...

I found more on the attack on Frances Semler here.

If anybody has a link to the Lee Judge cartoon attacking Frances Semler, please let me know.

John Altevogt said...

Not cartoon, cartoons, often more than one in a single day. he had a cartoon in the paper and then he also had a blog (which they got rid of when he came back from being fired) where he would often publish multiple cartons on the same topic.

Look for Dave Helling and De Ann Smith. They were the ones who kicked it off. After that, everyone was getting in on the act. Midwest Voices is also part of the official hate-o-rama. It's also the most restricted of the blogs.

One point that a couple of posters brings up. Newspapers are not monoliths. Many reporters want nothing more than to write about what they see in front of them fairly and accurately. Then some idiot tacks an equally idiotic headline on the piece after his editor has inserted his comments, or gutted stuff he didn't want in, etc.

The trolls on here, like 7:38 are not reporters. Who and what they are I don't know, but reporters they aren't.

As for the church stuff. I don't necessarily agree with how First Family is run, but I find it interesting that The Star is more interested in how it handles its private money than it is how the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City handles the public's money.

I also find it strange that they would use a reporter with several known axes to grind to cover the story. And by all means read this crap. Take note if you can find the second installment wherein The Star tries to imply that First Family is under a criminal investigation when it isn't.

Yes indeedy, do your due diligence. Find a library with free access to the Star's archives and run Frances Semler. Then realize that what you'll get just scratches the surface.

John Altevogt said...

Remember also, that while The Star was smearing Frances Semler on a daily basis for being a Minuteman, they were ignoring the apointment of a pal of theirs, Charles "Groper" Carlsen to another commission only months after he had resigned in disgrace amidst allegations of sexual misconduct with staff.

In an even bigger comment on that event, the board had covered up the allegations for years and neither The Star, nor The Sun broke the story. The student newspaper did, and when the college retaliated against the student journalists, The Star said not one word in their defense.

Anonymous said...

Kansas City is boring.

Anonymous said...

10:39

Sorry, I still work at the paper. I think I know who you are and I sit right by ya. Don't say its former workers postings, since I spy on you and see you posting on a regular basis.

But I guess Journalism, Fort Worth, Lying and Gary Wortel should and could be used in the same sentence with a great deal of accuracy.

When the end comes..........I looked forward to that!