tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post6387891977398389807..comments2023-09-15T04:27:57.129-04:00Comments on Commentarama: Letter To The EditorAndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-76984834174354586342009-12-08T10:01:36.121-05:002009-12-08T10:01:36.121-05:00USArtguy, That's exactly the problem -- they h...USArtguy, That's exactly the problem -- they have disdain for their audience. They have politicized themselves and they think that they are a superior group who need to keep us in check and tell us what's good for us. That's why they are blind to reality.<br /><br />Rather than understanding that people don't like their product and changing their ways, they blame the people for not being sufficiently enlightened. That's why they have no qualms about shading the truth or lying or presenting the most bizarre illogic as logic -- they don't respect their audience and feel no need to be up front with them.<br /><br />And if you want to see their view of us, look at the crappy, over-sexed, over-violent, under-thought articles that they put out under the banner: "this is what our stupid, unwashed audience demands." That tells you all you need to know about how they view their readers.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-41348426369594315912009-12-08T09:51:35.236-05:002009-12-08T09:51:35.236-05:00To add to a couple points already made, while in m...To add to a couple points already made, while in my second go-round as a college student I took a Newspaper Layout and Editing class taught by a City Desk Editor from our local paper. Because by this time I was a "non-traditional" student (older, part-time at night because I already had a full time job) I wasn't afraid to challenge the teacher. Especially when the subject dealt more with opinion rather than the mechanics of the subject. Anyway, her attitude was journalists are the "gatekeepers" of news and the arbiters of language, the defenders of words to keep the great unwashed masses from poisoning the lexicon. To even disagree was akin to blasphemy in her mind.USArtguyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06062334713741697082noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-85345223141711724132009-12-08T09:48:11.219-05:002009-12-08T09:48:11.219-05:00CrispyRice, Thanks, we do try to keep you informed...CrispyRice, Thanks, we do try to keep you informed of as much as we can!<br /><br />You put your finger on one big advantage newspapers do have -- they can easily gather all sorts of information that people may not want to hunt for across a dozen different websites. But to be effective, they need regain people's trust, and to do that, they need to drop the left wing bias. Good comment!AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-65332929738401630762009-12-08T09:46:01.686-05:002009-12-08T09:46:01.686-05:00Thanks Pitts. I suspect the Democrats cling to th...Thanks Pitts. I suspect the Democrats cling to these "institutions" because they are heavily unionized and they want to keep their union friends employed.<br /><br />And I think you're right that they won't change, so there isn't much point in sending this article to any editors. But you never know, it might be worth a shot.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-34540191170649277662009-12-08T08:32:05.542-05:002009-12-08T08:32:05.542-05:00Great article, Andrew! I remember enjoying readin...Great article, Andrew! I remember enjoying reading the paper as a kid - mostly funnies and Dear Abby and doing the crosswords. But as I graduated toward real news, it wasn't long before I became really aware of the biases and got turned off. <br /><br />Then, yes, the internet put the fork in them for me, because I was able to seek out information that I want. However, my problem still with the internet is that I don't get as in-depth information as I like, and I don't have time to hunt around to 15 different sites to gather tidbits. It's one of the things I really enjoy about your site - you sum up so much information and present in a very reader-friendly format.<br /><br />Good analogy, PittsburghEnigma. By letting the "dinosaurs" fail, there is room for new, better business models to succeed, leading to growth and improvement. Something better WILL fill a void.CrispyRicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07302075204880024936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-9466818954114419542009-12-08T01:38:01.029-05:002009-12-08T01:38:01.029-05:00Great article Andrew. I feel like forwarding it t...Great article Andrew. I feel like forwarding it to the editors of our local paper, the <i>Pittsburgh Post-Gazette</i>, which incidentally has recently been surpassed in circulation by the more conservative <i>Pittsburgh Tribune-Review</i>. But as you point out, the "we know better" editors would just ignore it anyway.<br /><br />This subject also reminds me of the whole GM thing. I don't get the hand wringing about not wanting these "important" institutions to fail. I'm thinking about some in Congress (John Kerry?) who have made comments about the need to bail out journalism. Let them fail (both GM and the newspapers.) Then something better will come along to take their place. Don't liberals claim to want change? Then they turn around and cling to all their pet dinosaurs.Pittsburgh Enigmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06452716444698202766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-66694090109699637922009-12-07T22:42:15.101-05:002009-12-07T22:42:15.101-05:00Patti, Great minds right?!
I'm not surprised ...Patti, Great minds right?!<br /><br />I'm not surprised you got the response you did. I have yet to see an editor or a journalist who wants to confront any of these realities. They would rather believe that the readers are wrong and put their heads in the sand than wake up to the things they've done wrong. It's easier to blame others. And with everyone telling the same story, these editors can get away with pretending that there's nothing they can do to stave off the end.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-8481875851288226202009-12-07T22:31:22.866-05:002009-12-07T22:31:22.866-05:00you've pretty much said everything i have thou...you've pretty much said everything i have thought. i write a running blog for the local newspaper, but would never consider writing for the paper edition. matter of fact, two years ago i had a very similar discussion with the editor about many of the points you addresses. i got raised eyebrows of "what do you know" in response. i often wonder if he recalls the conversation. what do i know? plenty, it turns out...pattihttp://www.notawonk.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-37629160015832110802009-12-07T21:39:48.403-05:002009-12-07T21:39:48.403-05:00Stan, I think that's exactly the point -- the ...Stan, I think that's exactly the point -- the idea that the internet is killing newspapers is just an excuse for a group that doesn't want to face the fact that they've been misbehaving. They've been lazy, nonresponsive and insulting to their consumers.<br /><br />As you put it, no one wants to buy a newspaper that holds them in disdain. Start treating the customer right and the customers will return. Blame the internet and go under.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-38933027037086361162009-12-07T21:26:09.079-05:002009-12-07T21:26:09.079-05:00My Dad, and I were talking about failing newspaper...My Dad, and I were talking about failing newspapers this evening. We had dinner this evening, and he wanted to pick up a newspaper while we were out, to see the BCS Bowls. He wanted to know if I would like to read the paper when he finished, I said without hesitation, no sir. As the conversation ensued we both had canceled our subscriptions to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution around 1986 to 87, their treatment to Reagan. In following years, I cancelled my subscriptions Wall Street Journal at the office, US News & World Report, Time, etc. all gone by around ’92. The point is this has been falling apart for me long before the internet. I refuse to support something that holds me in disdain, and like you, I’m a big boy, just tell us the facts, report the news, and your circulation will return.StanHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07395708786509590321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-74937016672178018922009-12-07T18:31:08.516-05:002009-12-07T18:31:08.516-05:00Andrew: Should call that ex post facto editorial ...Andrew: Should call that <i>ex post facto</i> editorial correction? LOL<br /><br />The beauty of it all is that while they are trotting out the fake fairness, they still don't understand why they're going under. I would be very sad to see a venerable institution such as print journalism go under, but if you can't do the job, get out of the way.LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-30869008752828111182009-12-07T18:23:18.888-05:002009-12-07T18:23:18.888-05:00Lawhawk, Even when the ombudsman is capable, they ...Lawhawk, Even when the ombudsman is capable, they have little effect. Note the Washington Post, for example, which discovered after the election that they weren't entirely fair in their treatment of the Republicans. Net result? Nothing changed.<br /><br />All they do is pat themselves on the back for having the courage to have an internal review. It's all public relations, that's it.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-41852275624719324102009-12-07T18:20:09.184-05:002009-12-07T18:20:09.184-05:00Joel, Thanks. The classified ad revenue is one pa...Joel, Thanks. The classified ad revenue is one part of their advertising revenues, and while it has certainly hurt (especially the smallest papers) the real killer for the larger papers has been the dramatic drop in the advertising budget of national and local businesses. And those are falling in part because of the recession, but in larger part because the readership numbers are drying up so dramatically.<br /><br />That's their number one problem, and it's a problem they seem unwilling to fix.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-53404332552038081182009-12-07T18:18:35.541-05:002009-12-07T18:18:35.541-05:00The New York Times actually had a fairly decent om...The New York Times actually had a fairly decent ombudsman until 2005. Daniel Okrent was hired in the wake of the Jayson Blair scandal. Then, off with his head. Okrent was a little soft on Democrats, but he was far too clear about his opinion that the news pages actually acted as a pro-Democrat editorial page. So--bye-bye, Danny. <br /><br />The current ombudsman, properly called "the public editor" (as in "protect the public from editorial bias on the news pages) has been searching for pro-Democrat and pro-Obama bias, and darn, is really having a hard time finding it. It has also been reported that he has trouble finding his behind while sitting on both hands.LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-12565184875496115292009-12-07T18:09:29.918-05:002009-12-07T18:09:29.918-05:00Andrew,
Great points, all of them.
One you didn&...Andrew,<br /><br />Great points, all of them.<br /><br />One you didn't mention is Craigslist and other free listing services from the Internet. A good portion of the revenue of a newspaper was the classified ads. This cut destroyed most newspapers outright.Joel Farnhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15856960977033430002noreply@blogger.com