May 25, 2012
Times-Picayune
Front page story in today's NY Times announces the end of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Its 175 years of mediocrity comes to an end. Well, not an end per se, rather scaled back to three days a week, cutting staff of course (possibly the owners could get some advice from Europe--"onward austerity!").
Not surprisingly, editor Jim Amoss will remain with the paper. His title is just right for late night comedy: "vice president for content." A less than clear discussion from Amoss reads, "The shock of the new [sic] has to wear off and it will take some talking and thinking about. This is hard news to wrap your head around and adapt to." Whoa Nelly!
The paper said reporters were "heartened to hear from Amoss," (I'll bet they were as happy as the guy on death row seeing the warden coming down the hall) but the reporters wondered why their paper had suddenly become a guinea pig. Why? Because the reporters do not have a strong union, that's why.
Meanwhile, back in Milwaukee, the Journal Sentinel, possibly changing its name to the Milwaukee Picayune, seems to be trying to make-up for its outrageous endorsement of Governor Walker. Today it tells readers that the jobs numbers used by Walker in his TV spot are mostly false!
In explaining the inexplicable Purple Wisconsin--a billboard of "moderate" blogs" the editorial page says it wants to elevate the level of discussion about the most important issues of the day!" Silly me. I thought that was why papers write editorials and dig for news.
I am not making this up. Journal Communications, in addition to right-wing editorials the newspaper published daily, provides right-winger Charlie Sykes countless hours of right-wing talk five days a week, three hours a day, not to mention the rightward leaning of WTMJ TV, and tells us that it wants to elevate the level of discussion? Give us a break! Let's apply the truth-meter to JS's reasons for Purple Wisconsin: Pants on fire!
If the JS wants to elevate the discussion it should send Sykes to New Orleans to save the Picayune and balance the talk shows on WTMJ!
Oh, the job figures? JS's candidate, Walker, manipulated data and lied about job creation. Get this: "When Matthews (Walker's spokesperson) stopped responding to our questions" the JS tried to help their candidate by doing the math for him. "The Truth-O-Meter" says Walker's claims are "mostly false."
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Up here in the Fox Valley area the once decent newscast of NBC26 before Journal Communications aquired it, now its news is unwatchable. So much for Journalism.
-WisconsinLiberal | Fox Valley, WI | May 25, 2012
As Dan Rather recently pointed out, in the 1960s there were at least 50 major media companies that covered national and international news. Today there are six or less. Big media now reports on big government who in turn regulates big media. Any wonder why we cannot get free and unfettered news.
John Nichols was right when he said at Bobfest a couple of years ago that everyone can have their number one issue, be it war, equal rights, etc, but everyone needs to make keeping the press free in America must be their number two issue.
-Jeff Ehlers | Cedarburg, WI | May 25, 2012
Today's media is all about making money. Profits depend on advertising dollars more than on reporting the news. There's no money in sending out a reporter to do what is factual and in-depth. There is money is selling paper space by the inch. Small papers cannot survive. Large conglomerates gobble up the little guys who have tried to make a difference. Corporations have enormous appetites for anything that makes them bigger and richer. Soon good media become no more than positive numbers on a profit & loss statement. Bad media are dissolved and forgotten.
There is no journalism anymore, and we all are to blame.
-Maria Caliente | Middleton, Wisconsin | May 26, 2012
The absolute control and destruction of a free press surely is the first step toward the establishment of tyranny.
-Franz Fripplfrappl | Madison | May 26, 2012
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